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 The project manager is the stakeholder who is responsible for assessing the solution scope to determine the project scope. The solution scope defines the features and functions of the product or service that will meet the business needs and requirements. The project scope defines the work that needs to be done to deliver the solution. The project manager is the person who plans, executes, monitors, and controls the project activities, and ensures that the project scope is aligned with the solution scope, the project objectives, and the stakeholder expectations. References: BABOK Guide v3, page 36; CBAP / CCBA Certified Business Analysis Study Guide, page 74.

 Surveys are a conduct stakeholder analysis technique that is useful for identifying shared characteristics of a stakeholder group. Surveys are structured questionnaires that are distributed to a large number of stakeholders to collect quantitative and qualitative data about their needs, expectations, preferences, and opinions. Surveys can help to identify common patterns, trends, and themes among the stakeholder group, as well as to measure the level of agreement, satisfaction, or importance of the requirements. Surveys can also be used to segment the stakeholder group based on their characteristics, such as roles, responsibilities, interests, or influence.

Scope modeling, brainstorming, and interviews are other conduct stakeholder analysis techniques, but they are not as effective as surveys for identifying shared characteristics of a stakeholder group. Scope modeling is a technique that defines the boundaries and context of the business domain and the solution. Brainstorming is a technique that generates a large number of ideas or solutions in a creative and collaborative way. Interviews are a technique that involves one-on-one or group discussions with the stakeholders to elicit detailed information about their needs, expectations, preferences, and opinions. These techniques are more suitable for exploring the specific and individual characteristics of the stakeholders, rather than the general and collective ones. References:

BABOK® Guide, p. 104-105, 377-378

CBAP / CCBA Certified Business Analysis Study Guide, p. 49-50, 52

Certified Business Analysis Professional™ (CBAP®) | Coursera, Course 1, Week 3, Video: “Stakeholder Analysis”

 A process configuration is a type of flowchart that shows all the processes and the interfaces that interact with the project processes. A process configuration provides a visual overview of the project scope, boundaries, inputs, outputs, and dependencies. It helps the business analyst to understand the project context, identify the stakeholders, and define the requirements. A process configuration is different from a Pareto chart, which is a type of chart that shows the frequency and impact of problems or issues in a process. A Pareto chart helps the business analyst to prioritize the problems or issues and focus on the most significant ones. A process configuration is also different from a control chart, which is a type of chart that shows the variation and performance of a process over time. A control chart helps the business analyst to monitor and control the process quality and identify the causes of variation. A process configuration is not a quality baseline, which is a document that defines the quality standards and criteria for the project or the solution. A quality baseline helps the business analyst to measure and evaluate the quality of the requirements and the solution. A process configuration is not a RACI chart, which is a type of matrix that shows the roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders in a project or a process. A RACI chart helps the business analyst to clarify the expectations and accountabilities of the stakeholders and improve the communication and collaboration among them. References:

[CBAP / CCBA Certified Business Analysis Study Guide, 2nd Edition], Chapter 6: Enterprise Analysis, page 217-218.

Business Analysis: Key Definitions & Strategy Analysis, paragraph 3

Business Analysis: Process Modeling, paragraph 1

Process Configuration - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics, paragraph 1

Process Configuration - Project Management Knowledge, paragraph 1

A data dictionary is a model that defines the name of the data, data aliases, and description of system data. A data dictionary is a collection of metadata that provides information about the data elements and structures in a system or a database. A data dictionary can include the following information for each data element: name, alias, description, data type, size, format, domain, constraints, default value, source, owner, and usage. A data dictionary can help the business analyst to understand the data requirements, design the data model, and ensure the data quality and consistency. A data dictionary is different from a class model, which is a model that defines the classes, attributes, operations, and relationships in an object-oriented system. A data dictionary is also different from an entity relationship model, which is a model that defines the entities, attributes, relationships, and cardinalities in a relational database. A data dictionary is not a CRUD matrix, which is a model that defines the create, read, update, and delete operations for each data element and user role in a system. References:

CBAP / CCBA Certified Business Analysis Study Guide, 2nd Edition, Chapter 8: Requirements Analysis, page 288-289.

Data Dictionary - Tutorialspoint, paragraph 1-2

What is a Data Dictionary? | Definition and How To, paragraph 1-2

Data Dictionary - Project Management Knowledge, paragraph 1

According to the BABOK® Guide, one of the elements of the conduct elicitation activity is tracking the time actually spent eliciting the requirements. This element helps to provide a basis for future planning by comparing the actual time spent with the planned time, identifying the variances, and analyzing the causes and impacts of the variances. Tracking the time actually spent eliciting the requirements also helps to monitor the progress and performance of the elicitation activities, evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the elicitation techniques, and improve the estimation and scheduling of future elicitation activities. The other options are not elements of the conduct elicitation activity, although they may be related to it. The number of stakeholders that did not participate in the requirements elicitation is an element of the confirm elicitation results activity, which helps to ensure the completeness and accuracy of the elicitation outcomes. The cost of actually eliciting the requirements is an element of the manage requirements traceability activity, which helps to track the relationships and dependencies among the requirements and other project deliverables. The changes that entered the scope throughout the requirements elicitation activities are an element of the maintain requirements activity, which helps to manage the changes and updates to the requirements throughout the project life cycle. References:

BABOK® Guide v3, section 4.2, page 108-109

Conducting elicitation activity – The Functional BA, paragraph 1

Prepare for Elicitation, paragraph 2

Elicitation and Facilitation—Tools, Tips, and Techniques, paragraph 2

 A one-to-one interview is the most common type of interview as part of requirements elicitation. A one-to-one interview is a systematic approach for eliciting information from a single person in an informal or formal setting by asking questions and documenting the responses. A one-to-one interview allows the business analyst to establish rapport with the interviewee, probe deeper into their needs and expectations, observe their non-verbal cues, and clarify any ambiguities or inconsistencies. A one-to-one interview is also easier to schedule and conduct than other types of interviews that involve multiple participants, such as many-to-one, many-to-many, or one-to-many. References:

Requirements Elicitation: Interview Dos and Don’ts, paragraph 1

Top 10 Most Common Requirements Elicitation Techniques, paragraph 3

Types of Elicitation Techniques for the Business Analyst, paragraph 2

What Questions Do I Ask During Requirements Elicitation?, paragraph 1

Interviews: Requirements Elicitation Technique, paragraph 1

A model is a simplified representation of a complex reality that is useful for understanding that reality and making decisions regarding it. A model can describe a situation or problem, define boundaries for the business domain, describe thought processes and action flows, and other aspects of the requirements. However, a model cannot define the resources that will be needed on the project team, as this is not part of the requirements but rather part of the project management plan. References: BABOK Guide v3, page 123; CBAP/CCBA Study Guide, page 181.

 Verify scope is a process to determine the completeness of the project work and to gain the customer’s acceptance to move the project forward. Verify scope involves reviewing the deliverables and comparing them with the requirements and the scope baseline. It also involves obtaining the formal acceptance of the deliverables from the customer or sponsor. Verify scope helps to ensure that the project meets the expectations and needs of the customer or sponsor, and to avoid scope creep or rework12. Phase gate review is a process to evaluate the progress and performance of the project at predefined points or milestones. Phase gate review involves assessing the deliverables, risks, issues, and resources of the project against the criteria and objectives of each phase. It also involves deciding whether to continue, terminate, or modify the project. Phase gate review helps to ensure that the project is aligned with the business strategy and value, and to control the quality and scope of the project13. Inspection of key results is a process to measure and evaluate the quality and effectiveness of the project work and deliverables. Inspection of key results involves checking the work and deliverables for defects, errors, or deviations from the standards and specifications. It also involves identifying and implementing corrective actions to improve the quality and effectiveness of the work and deliverables. Inspection of key results helps to ensure that the project meets the quality requirements and standards, and to prevent or reduce the cost of poor quality14. Quality control is a process to monitor and control the quality of the project work and deliverables. Quality control involves performing quality audits, inspections, tests, and measurements to verify that the work and deliverables conform to the quality requirements and standards. It also involves identifying and implementing quality improvements to enhance the quality of the work and deliverables. Quality control helps to ensure that the project satisfies the customer or sponsor expectations and needs, and to increase the customer or sponsor satisfaction1 . References: CBAP® Handbook, CBAP® Exam Prep Study Guide, Project Management Institute, Inspection of Key Results - iiba.org, [Quality Control - iiba.org]

 Business rules analysis is a technique used to identify, express, validate, refine, and organize the rules that shape day-to-day business behavior and guide operational business decision making. Business rules are specific, actionable, testable directives that support a business policy. Business rules can relate to access control, policy, calculation, or inference. Business rules should be atomic, explicit, and separated from the process that implements them. References:

IIBA®, 10.9 Business Rules Analysis

Business Rules Analysis — Business Analyst Learnings

Using Business Rules Analysis to Model and Analyze BI Requirements

Business rules analysis – The Functional BA

 According to the BABOK® Guide, a risk is “an uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on one or more project objectives such as scope, schedule, cost, and quality” (p. 10). A risk can have both positive and negative impacts, depending on the perspective of the stakeholders and the objectives of the solution. For example, a risk of adopting a new technology may be that it increases the productivity of the employees (positive) but also requires more training and maintenance (negative). A risk analysis in the business case should consider both the probability and the impact of the risks, as well as the strategies to mitigate or exploit them. References: BABOK® Guide, p. 10, 114-115; Certified Business Analysis Professional™ (CBAP®) | Coursera, Course 3, Week 2, Video: “Risk Analysis and Management”