Strategic Business Analysis

A word that comes from Greek and means primary structure.

• Entrepreneur
• Agriculture
• Architecture

Knowledge management has a key role within e-business since business success depends on staff knowledge of various business functions. One aim of knowledge management is to turn:

• Tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge
• Explicit knowledge into tacit knowledge
• None of the above
• Develop a common language and understanding

Benefits can be defined as detail savings in terms of revenue and productivity that are a result of achieving greater efficiency

• True
• False

Validate Scope can be BEST described as the process of

• Validating that all of the project's objectives have been met
• Validating that the project quality requirements have been met
• Controlling changes to the scope of the project
• Obtaining stakeholder's formal acceptance of the project deliverables

What are the four possible options when responding to risk?

The process of defining how to conduct risk management activities for a project is known as Project Risk Absorption Methodology (PRAM).

• True
• False

Change is all about taking a good idea or new direction and making it real.

• True
• False

Profitability stemming from how well a firm positions itself in the market is a key feature of which writer's view on strategy?

• Peter Drucker
• Jay Barney
• Henry Mintzberg
• Michael Porter

The business case is a key output to the project management plan .

• True
• False

Vertical integration forwards is when a firm mergers or acquires another…

• Towards the source of supply
• In another industry
• Towards the consumer
• At the same stage of the supply chain

A case, in management studies, gives an account of:

• a manager’s interpersonal problems
• social events in the company
• management problems
• a manager’s personal problems

In the present environment, functional level strategies require that

• different functional managers should come together only when required to create strategy.
• the management team synthesize and integrate the knowledge they possess in each functional area.
• there be little or no interaction among different functional managers, because some functional managers, such as marketing managers and finance managers, are often mutually exclusive of each other
• separate activities be performed by specialists who have acquired specific qualifications in the functional area.

The ability to think critically reflects a:

• sharp business sense
• questioning mind
• holistic personality
• thoughtfulness

The term 'change management' refers to managing changes to organisational processes and structure plus their impact on staff and culture. The introduction of e-business represents many challenges and requires careful planning. To help achieve different aspects of change, a series of success factors seem to be required:

• Organisational structure, culture and staff responsibilities
• None of the below are success factors
• Technology infrastructure changes
• Market and business model

Technological factors affect marketing and the management thereof in distinct way/s:

• New ways of communicating with target markets
• New ways of distributing goods and services
• All of the above
• New ways of producing goods and services

___________ environment consists of immediate inbound and outbound logistics service providers in the supply chain

• MESSO
• MACRO
• MICRO

The owner is responsible for ensuring the continued viability of the project and that the benefits defined in the business case are realized after project completion.

• True
• False

A focus strategy is one based on a broad competitive scope.

• True
• False

Tools and techniques used in the Monitor and Control Risks Process include risk register updates and change requests.

• True
• False

Too often, business processes and product scope are defined at a very low level

• True
• False

All of the below are inputs to Define Scope process EXCEPT:

• Project Management Plan
• Project Charter
• Organizational process assets
• Requirements Document

Strategic analysis is the foundation for understanding the strategic gap – the difference between the current position and the desired position of the organization.

• True
• False

Organisational culture is a concept that includes shared values, norms, and assumptions within the organisation as well as the practices that all groups share. Different types of cultural orientation can be identified in companies. Which of the following would be used to describe a culture where interfaces with the external environment are well structured and the company is typically sales driven and likely to have an hierarchical structure?

• Productivity (outward looking, ordered)
• Human relations (inward looking, flexible)
• Survival (outward looking, flexible)
• Stability (inward looking, ordered)

Inputs can be products, services or results.

• True
• False

The driving force when deciding how to build a business case will be how to demonstrate the value your project will deliver.

• True
• False

The one area where a rules-based approach to risk management may be sufficient to mitigate or eliminate risk.

• Strategic Risk
• Project Risk
• Internal Risk

Different types of change in business are evident and take many forms. Incremental change involves relatively small adjustments required by changes in the business environment. Discontinous change refers to a major transformational change in an industry. What is the term used when an organisation makes proactive changes in order to improve its efficiency or to create a business advantage?

• Anticipatory change
• Organisational change
• Just-in-time change
• Reactive change

Business analysts do not work solely on developing software systems, but work across the organization, solving business problems in consultation with business stakeholders.

• True
• False

Which of the following statements best describes risk?

Current state and future state process analysis go hand-in-hand when you are evaluating business processes.

• True
• False

It is a research discipline of identifying business needs and determining solutions to business problems.

• Project Risk
• Strategic Analysis
• Business analysis

The ability to quickly and efficiently respond to change is optional to survive within today’s volatile working environment.

• True
• False

The purpose of risk management is to eliminate all project risk.

• True
• False

A list of all possible states of nature and their probabilities is referred to as a probability distribution.

• True
• False

A/An _________ is some limitation within the organization or from the environment that is hindering the progress of an organization.

• business problem
• opportunity
• fortune

The executive summary helps the decision-maker:

• learn about the problem
• learn about various solutions to the problem
• avoid reading the case fully
• learn about the problem without reading the case fully

What is the term used in Ansoff's matrix for increasing market share with existing products in existing markets?

• Diversification
• Market development
• Market penetration
• Product development

Sustainable packaging is an oxymoron – to embrace it as part of the solution, part of the problem, is good for resilience on a resource-poor planet.

• True
• False

A/An ___________ is some area which the business has not still ventured into, but one that can have a positive influence on the organization’s fortunes.

• opportunity
• fortune
• business problem

When the impact of an event is negative, it is considered a risk; when the impact is positive, the event is considered an opportunity.

• True
• False

Indicate the item that does not reflect the essence of strategy.

• Strategy demands high levels of energy and an orientation to the future.
• In order to achieve the results expected by the stakeholders in the firm, strategy should be done every three years.
• Strategy should be defined as a consistent pattern of resource allocation directed to those competitive methods.
• Strategy includes many activities that come together synergistically to produce the results expected by the shareholders in the firm.

The definition of strategic analysis may differ from an academic or business perspective, but the process involves several common factors:

What is the term for the extent to which competition in one country is influenced by competition in other countries?

• Global competition
• Global economics
• Globalisation
• International trade

The strategic objective of a scope statement is to define focus

• True
• False

This environment within the organization (different business units, functional units, and the employees) is known as the ‘__________’ or Internal Environment.

• MESSO
• MACRO
• MICRO

Giving targets a sense of control is key if you want your change to be implemented with less resistance, and at speed.

• True
• False

These entities in the business context (business environment) are all known as stakeholders (individuals or groups that influence (impacts) or have an interest in the organization.

• True
• False

The BA must instead be able to listen, observe, learn and understand whatever is required to facilitate the process of providing solutions for problems and opportunities.

• Systems Thinking
• Learning
• Problem Solving

A risk management plan should define who has responsibility for causing each risk and hold the responsible party directly accountable for developing an appropriate solution.

• True
• False

_____________ includes all the work that needs to be done to create a product, or deliver a service or result.

• Business Scope
• Solution Scope
• Project Scope

What is the term for the action in which managers at an organisation analyse the current situation of their organisation and then develop plans to accomplish its mission and achieve its goals?

• Strategy formulation
• Synergy planning
• SWOT analysis
• Functional planning

Of what is advertising a form?

• Cost leadership
• Focusing strategy
• Growth
• Differentiation

Project Charter is an input to all of the following processes EXCEPT:

• Collect requirements
• Develop Project Management Plan
• Define Scope
• Create WBS

The cost per risk for risks discovered early in the project is often more than the cost per risk for risks discovered late because there is more opportunity for the risk to impact several dimensions of the project.

• True
• False

Which of these is not a source of risk?

What issues might confront the corporate strategist after the corporate strategy has been designed?

• The portfolio or mix of businesses and the problems of generating and allocating resources to these businesses.
• The portfolio or mix of businesses.
• All of the above.
• How to create the maximum return on the investment by integration of different business.
• The problems of generating and allocating resources to these businesses.

Indicate the item that is not accurate in describing of different strategies.

• Business strategy is designed to help each division or business unit of the firm contribute as effectively as possible to the overall company.
• Corporate strategy is concerned with the decision regarding what business should the firm be in and is directed toward the achievement of the firm's overall objectives.
• Functional strategies direct the efficient allocation of the organization's resources to each of the various divisions.
• These three levels of strategy should be in alignment if the firm is to achieve maximum levels of cash flow.

A _______ is a set of interrelated activities that are carried out by a business in an organized manner in order to convert the inputs to outputs.

• process
• product
• output

Corporate strategy focuses on the firm’s decisions at an operational level (e.g. in marketing).

• True
• False

A project risk is anything that may impact the project team's ability to achieve the general project success measures and the specific project stakeholders' priorities.

• True
• False

What does PEST stand for?

• Political, economic, social, technological
• Political, economic, strategic, technological
• Political, environmental, strategic, technological
• Political, environmental, strategic, testing

This refers to the process of conducting research on a company and its operating environment to formulate a strategy.

• Strategic analysis
• Project Risk
• Business Analysis

In order to realize its intended strategy, management of the firm must focus all its energies on alignment between

• business strategy and corporate strategy.
• competitive methods and task environment.
• core competencies and remote environment.
• core competencies and competitive methods.

Logical links between two events/facts are established by discovering:

• traditional links
• hypothetical links
• casual links
• causal links

The competitive methods of a company should reflect its management philosophy, which calls for

• consistent allocation of the resources.
• none of the above.
• anticipatory action in the face of rapid change.
• its core competencies.

Which factor is not normally considered in risk control?

Which objective(s) must be set, although they do not directly relate to the competitive method?

• Investment in insurance programs for risk reduction purposes
• Adjusting facilities for those customers with disabilities
• Environmental practices mandated by law
• All of the above

_____________ are concerned with customer service, collaboration and easy mobile access to key company information.

• Marketing and sales departments
• Internal communications departments
• Leadership departments

Quick and short-term profits can be earned with good market timing.

• True
• False

The risk register is an output from the "Identify Risks" Process.

• True
• False

The primary output of Identify Risks is the Risk Identification Matrix (RIM).

• True
• False

The future state can range from simple changes such as removing a feature in an application to complex changes such as entering a new market.

• True
• False

Cases dealing with an organization’s experiences and efforts to solve problems are described as:

• functional cases
• factual cases
• theoretical cases
• organizational cases

An individual, a group of people, or an organisation who can affect or be affected positively or negatively by your project.

• strategic analysis
• stakeholder
• market timing

Why Risk Management is Important? Which answer is incorrect?

• Failing to manage risk will result in more problems, higher benefits and a higher chance of project success.
• Reduce the number of threats that materialize into problems and minimize the effects of those that do occur
• Minimizes threats, maximizes opportunities and optimizes the achievement of project objectives.
• Results in more opportunities being captured proactively and turned into positive benefits for the project.

Validate Scope defines a process that:

• Verifies the scope management plan is aligned with the project management plan
• Occurs at the end of the project prior to closing
• Allows the customer to verify what was built against the requirements
• Formalizes acceptance of completed project deliverables

Which of the following is a Quantification technique?

_________ include - health and safety, equal opportunities, advertising standards, consumer rights and laws, product labelling and product safety.

• Legal factors
• Technological Factors
• Environmental Factors

The risk register is a component of the project management plan that describes how risk management activities will be structured and performed on a project.

• True
• False

When there is only one possible outcome to a decision, risk or uncertainty is present.

• True
• False

The content of your change is as important as your people strategies.

• True
• False

What is scope decomposition?

• Breaking down the work into increments of less than 40 hours each
• Breaking down the work by functional area
• Breaking down the work to the work package level
• Breaking down the work to the lowest level of detail possible

____________ is a framework or tool used by marketers to analyse and monitor the macro-environmental (external marketing environment) factors that have an impact on an organisation.

• PESTEL analysis
• Business analysis
• SWOT analysis

The Process component of your change strategy sketches out a high-level roadmap to get you from where you are today to where you need to be to achieve results from your change

• True
• False

A payoff matrix shows the profit that would be earned under certainty, risk, and uncertainty so the decision maker can choose which is best.

• True
• False

Which level of strategy impacts the operating staff to the greatest degree during their daily work experiences?

• business strategy
• functional strategy
• corporate strategy
• none of the above

‘__________’ a.k.a external environment consists of the external stakeholders including government, regulatory bodies, technology service providers, competitors, partners, vendors, etc.

• MACRO
• MICRO
• MESSO

When an analyst performs fundamental analysis on a stock or any security for that matter, he puts forward some assumptions which correlate to the timing of the buy or sell decisions pertaining to the stock.

• True
• False

Does the project manager look into risks:

• On the project
• In the Project
• On top of the project
• Beside the project

The benefits of identifying the right stakeholders and properly analysing them is that:

• You’ll improve the quality of the project, as stakeholders can give you vital information and make sure you don’t miss anything important
• All of the above
• You can avoid delays by making stakeholders supporters rather than obstacles to getting approval
• Supporters could provide you extra resources for the project.

A BAs role is to understand customer problems and be able to recommend suitable solutions.

• Learning
• Problem Solving
• Systems Thinking

The first requirement for being able to write an analysis of a theoretical case is thorough knowledge of the concerned:

Risk refers to a situation in which the probability of each possible outcome to a decision is unknown or meaningless.

• True
• False

The expected profit of a strategy is equal to the level of profit realized from the outcome with the highest level of probability.

• True
• False

There are several key goals or motivations for implementing current state analysis, including:

• All of the above
• Increasing customer satisfaction
• Saving money
• Improving existing processes or creating new processes

The expected value of a strategy is a measure of risk.

• True
• False

_____________ are concerned with employee engagement and company objectives.

• Internal communications departments
• Leadership departments
• IT departments

All case studies involve documentation of the process of:

• strategic decision-making
• storytelling
• evaluating a problem
• exploring alternative choices

A project plan and schedule for an e-business system needs to be put into place and would take the following sequence in this systems development life cycle:

• Initiation, Maintenance, Prototyping, Final implementation
• Initiation, Prototyping, Maintenance, Final implementation
• Prototyping, Initiation, Final implementation, Maintenance
• Initiation, Prototyping, Final implementation, Maintenance

All organization intends to operate at the same level all the time.

• True
• False

Building an effective change strategy will weaken your change and increase its cost.

• True
• False

Descriptive terms can change over time to portray organisational actions. What term would currently be more acceptable to describe 'an approach supported by software tools intended to increase process efficiency by improving information flows between people as they perform business tasks'?

• Business process re-engineering
• Business process improvement
• Business process management
• Business process automation

Business Analysts does not play a pivotal role in digital transformation projects carried out by organizations.

• True
• False

In order for the strategy to be implemented effectively, leadership/sponsorship at all levels needs to support and spearhead the change initiatives.

• True
• False

Which one is not an element in the primary activities of a value chain?

• Outbound logistics
• Inbound logistics
• Service
• Procurement

Change agent is the term attributed to those managers responsible for controlling change. In e-business, this could be a manager responsible for implementation, adoption, supply chain, and so on. Research examining leadership style with e-commerce implementation found the most common style to be:

• Consultative
• Directive
• Collaborative
• Coercive

The highest degree of uncertainty is in project closure.

• True
• False

In the scientific study of a problem, opinions are not allowed because they are not:

• subjective
• facts
• written
• widely known

A good Current State Analysis helps to change the culture of the organisation.

• True
• False

When does an acquisition take place?

• Two unequal partners join together.
• Two equal partners share resources.
• Two unequal partners become one after a buyout.
• Two equal partners decide to work together.

Identifying Alternative strategies’ is also knowing as a

• Incident plan
• Contingency plan
• Emergency plan
• Back-up plan

Corporate strategy refers to the firm's ability to match the opportunities in the business environment with

• all of the above.
• the choice of what business the firm will be engaged in.
• the functional strategies to develop.
• the specific products and services necessary to invest in.

Who creates the scope baseline?

• The project team
• All the stakeholders
• Senior management
• The project manager

In essence, an organization's strategy provides a basic understanding of

• how the resources will be allocated.
• none of the above.
• how the organization will invest.
• how the organization will compete.

More recent research in 2009 by the Standish Group examined reasons for failure as well as success. Lack of user input was given as the major reason for failure but what was the top success factor reported?

• Clear statement of requirements
• Proper planning
• User involvement
• Executive management support

___________ are concerned with making communication within the organization easier, employee engagement, cost savings and collaboration.

• IT departments
• Internal communications departments
• Leadership departments

As you move through your change process, you must ensure that your values and principles have intangible influence on your design requirements.

• True
• False

Market transactions, when performed with good command on timing, generate no returns.

Having a scope change control process without also having a well-defined product scope statement will most likely result in failure.

• True
• False

Business organization is any entity that takes in inputs (financial or non-financial resources) and converts them into outputs through various business processes.

• True
• False

When determining the risk of an event or activity it can be classed as major, moderate or minor – which of the following statements correctly describes the classification?

Strategic formulation is done

• dependent upon the environmental forces driving change.
• as a process.
• as a process; dependent upon the environmental forces driving change.
• only once every planning cycle.
• only once every planning cycle; as a process.

The areas that involve the shared belief and attitudes of the population.

• Economic Factors
• Social Factors
• Political Factors

At the highest level, corporate strategy involves high-level strategic decisions that will help a company sustain a competitive advantage and remain profitable in the foreseeable future.

• True
• False

In a case study, the executive summary is placed:

• at the beginning
• as part of the introduction
• with the recommendations
• at the end

_______________ is defined as “an uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on a project’s objectives”

• Strategic Risks
• Project risk
• Internal Risks
• Risks

The external environment encompasses everything that the company can not control:

• the economy
• forces of nature
• political decisions
• all of the above

______________ defines the design of a business operation, usually described in terms of business capabilities and supporting technology capabilities.

• Business Analysis
• Business Architecture
• Business Enterprise

The validate scope process can occur at the end of the project or at the end of a project phase. What is used to validate the scope of the deliverables?

• Technical performance measurement
• Variance Analysis
• Inspection
• Expert judgment

In the conclusions section of an industry-based case study, the recommended action plan is fully analysed in terms of its:

• viability
• benefit to the company
• feasibility
• viability, feasibility, and benefit to the company

When performing the scope control process, which of the following statements is correct?

• Scope control validates the delivered scope for the project
• The inspection process is a key tool and technique used in scope control
• The work performance measurements produced are part of the PMIS
• Scope control is performed in concert with other control processes

A BA is expected to look at needs of stakeholders thinking from different perspectives and suggest unorthodox solutions

• Creative Thinking
• Decision Making
• Analytical Thinking & Problem Solving

The future state description includes the new, modified and removed components of the enterprise.

• True
• False

1. Which of the following can be BEST described as a characteristic of Work Package?

• May be monitored subject to nature of the project
• Can be further decomposed into work packages
• Can be scheduled
• Work Package is the lowest level in the WBS, and is the point, at which it can be reliably scheduled, cost estimated, monitored and controlled.
• May or may not be cost estimated

The risk register is a living document and new risks can be added as they are discovered.

• True
• False

This is used to set boundaries which would be used to limit the available solutions which would be considered for implementation.

• Future state
• Scope of solution space
• Business goals and objectives

The BA must be able to understand and decipher requirements elicited and be able to devise solutions to overcome problems faced by customers.

• Decision Making
• Creative Thinking
• Analytical Thinking & Problem Solving

The business case captures the reasoning for initiating a project or task. It is the information needed for authorization of the project.

• True
• False

If the answer to the questions posed in the assessment stage is “Yes” or “Sure,” we undergo a planning stage where the company proposes strategic alternatives.

• True
• False

What are the most important components for business level strategy making?

• All of the above
• None of the above
• The distinctive competencies of the firm and its competitive methods
• The capabilities of the firm and the opportunities and threats in the environment

In order to understand the role of a business analyst it is imperative to, first of all, understand what a business is and about the complexities involved in operating a business entity.

• True
• False

The characteristics, features, or function of the product or service that is to be built.

• Business Scope
• Solution Scope
• Project Scope

SWOT means Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities _________.

• Threats
• Things
• Thrills

SMART stands for smart, measurable, achievable, _________ and time-bound.

• restricted
• related
• relevant

Corporate, business, and functional strategies differ in

• all of the above.
• focus.
• specificity.
• responsibility for decision making.
• time frame for implementation.

Taken that there could be problems in recruiting skilled staff, outsourcing could be a solution. The degree to which companies can outsource their human resources is dependent upon the type and level of service expected for a particular product. This can be significant in governing their capacity for growth without taking on additional staff. What term is used here?

• Outsourcing applicability
• Interim collaboration
• Scalability
• No term exists

________ are intangible but they too have features or characteristics that add value to customer expectations.

• Products
• Services
• Outputs

The context of business analysis refers to the analyst’s ability to make selection of a course of action or to be able to facilitate such a thinking process.

• Decision Making
• Analytical Thinking & Problem Solving
• Creative Thinking

In the 'five forces model', what is the type of competitive activity that exists between organisations?

• The potential for entry into the industry
• The level of rivalry
• The threat of substitute products
• The power of customers

___________ are concerned with technical objectives they want to achieve and becoming closer to business processes.

• Leadership departments
• IT departments
• Internal communications departments

Decisions made under risk require a decision maker to choose both a strategy and a state of nature.

• True
• False

Work Performance Measurement is an output of which process:

• Validate Scope
• Create WBS
• Control Scope
• Define Scope

Tools and techniques used in identifying project risks include documentation reviews, expert judgment, and assumptions analysis.

• True
• False

When complete, the risk register presents the results of both qualitative and quantitative risk analysis as well as risk response planning.

• True
• False

Strategic objectives are considered to be routine if

• they reflect implementation efforts to realize strategy.
• they are focused upon the functional areas of the firm.
• they are generic in nature.
• standards are not available as guides to management.