Business Analyst Community & Resources | Modern Analyst

Describe the BPMN Exclusive Gateway and how it is used in process modeling.

Sun, 12 May 2013 01:12:01 GMT

An Exclusive Gateway is one of the most common gateways used in BPMN and is depicted as an empty di...

Describe the BPMN Parallel Gateway and how it is used in process modeling.

Sun, 12 May 2013 01:01:56 GMT

A Parallel Gateway is one of the most common gateways used in BPMN and is depicted as a diamond wit...

Describe the BPMN Inclusive Gateway and how it is used in process modeling.

Sun, 12 May 2013 00:41:52 GMT

An Inclusive Gateway is one of the most common gateways used in BPMN and is depicted as a diamond w...

What is the difference between an interrupting event and non-interrupting event in BPMN?

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 00:02:19 GMT

To understand the difference between a BPMN Interrupting Event and a BPMN Non-interrupting Event it...

Describe the different Timer Events that are used in BPMN.

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 00:00:24 GMT

There are 4 variations of Time Event symbols that can be used in BPMN. Before describing how each i...

What are multi-instance activities in BPMN and how are they used?

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 23:22:58 GMT

Multi-Instance Activities or Tasks in BPMN are one of several forms of looping activities. While lo...

What is a BPMN Collaboration Diagram? - What is a BMPN Collaboration Diagram?

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 04:14:24 GMT

BPMN Collaboration Diagrams show how two or more processes without a central control interact with ...

What do the terms private process and public process mean?

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 03:31:47 GMT

Processes can be modeled at different levels of abstraction. The decision of what amount of detail ...

What are Message Flows in BPMN?

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 03:27:57 GMT

What are Message Flows in BPMN?Message flows are used in BPMN collaboration diagrams. Collaboration...

What is a Business Architect and is it different from a Business Analyst?

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 22:09:41 GMT

The term Business Analyst is broad. The name alone implies that a business analyst performs some fo...

What is the BIZBOK?

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 22:04:37 GMT

The BIZBOK stands for Business Architecture Body of Knowledge (also referenced as the BIZBOK Guide ...

What is Enterprise Architecture?

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 22:02:08 GMT

It should first be stated that there is some continued debate around the scope and definition of En...

How might a business analyst use BPMN differently for Business Models than for Executable Models?

Sun, 06 Jan 2013 19:50:43 GMT

The origins of BPMN began in the area of executable models. That is, it was created to be precisely...

How would you convince management that a business analyst is needed within a team?

Sun, 06 Jan 2013 19:44:00 GMT

Answering a few key questions and summarizing the results can help you objectively present to manag...

What are the advantages of fixing bugs early?

Sun, 06 Jan 2013 19:39:22 GMT

Once a bug is identified there are a number of advantages to fixing it as quickly as possible. Bugs...

Describe Porter’s Five Forces Analysis and its value to a business analyst.

Sat, 08 Dec 2012 21:32:32 GMT

Porter’s Five Forces was created by Michael E. Porter of Harvard Business School in 1979. Porter cr...

What information should a Business Plan contain? - What should my Business Plan contain?

Sat, 08 Dec 2012 21:24:28 GMT

The purpose of a business plan is to clearly lay out the vision and strategic direction of a busine...

What is the H-Method?

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 01:51:59 GMT

The H-method is an analysis tool that aids the BA in organizing a fact finding interview with a bus...

Explain Kurt Lewin’s Model of Organizational Change - Explain Kurt Lewin’s Model of Organizational Change.

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 01:47:29 GMT

If there is one thing that you can be certain of in business today it’s change. Kurt Lewin, a physi...

When do you use the Use Case relationship Extend versus Include?

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 02:26:31 GMT

The UML Use Case relationships Include and Extend remain a point of confusion for many business ana...

Describe what is meant by White Box Testing.

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 02:17:20 GMT

White Box Testing is a form of software testing that focuses not only on what the system should do ...

What is Infrastructure as a Service?

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 02:13:08 GMT

The term Infrastructure as a Service, or IaaS (also, occasionally called Hardware as a Service), fa...

What is Value Stream Mapping and how is it performed?

Sun, 07 Oct 2012 19:20:01 GMT

Part of the role of both business analysts and systems analysts alike is to improve upon existing p...

What is Black Box Testing and when is it used?

Sun, 07 Oct 2012 19:17:27 GMT

Black Box Testing is a form of software testing that focuses solely on WHAT the system should do an...

What is Platform as a Service?

Sun, 07 Oct 2012 19:12:11 GMT

The term Platform as a Service, or PaaS (also, occasionally called Development as a Service), falls...

What is OOAD?

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 17:27:36 GMT

The acronym OOAD stands for Object Oriented Analysis and Design. OOAD is a software engineering app...

What is Planning Poker? - Planning Poker

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 17:22:28 GMT

Planning Poker is a variation of the Wideband Delphi Method, a consensus-based technique for estima...

What is Cloud Computing and what are the pros and cons?

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 17:14:48 GMT

Cloud computing is the use of internet-based services to store, manage, and process data in order t...

What is the Velocity of an agile project?

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 04:04:13 GMT

The Velocity of an agile project describe the speed, in story points, at which user stories are com...

What are Story Points and why use them?

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 04:01:20 GMT

Story points are a unit of measure used to estimate the relative size and complexity of user storie...

What is the Cone of Uncertainty?

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 03:54:02 GMT

The Cone of Uncertainty is a term often used in project management to describe the phenomenon by wh...

What is the different between a business policy and a business rule?

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 06:57:57 GMT

Business Rules and Policies tend to be complicated for analysts to untangle because they are so clo...

What is SQL and would a business or systems analyst use it?

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 06:53:38 GMT

SQL is a standard scripting language designed for managing data in relational database management s...

What is a Database Index?

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 06:43:06 GMT

A database index is a data structure that is created to provide a fast and efficient means of findi...

What types of business modeling are supported by BPMN 2.0?

Sun, 08 Jul 2012 18:17:12 GMT

BPMN is intended to support only business process modeling . This means that other important types ...

How can the acronym INVEST assist the analyst during the development of user stories?

Sun, 10 Jun 2012 18:07:36 GMT

INVEST is an acronym that can help a Product Manager or Developer create quality user stories. INVE...

Describe the life cyle of a user story?

Sun, 10 Jun 2012 18:02:19 GMT

User Stories are used by agile methodologies to capture the functionality that a system or software...

What is SaaS and what are some of the advantages of SaaS?

Sun, 13 May 2012 20:31:20 GMT

SaaS stand for Software as a Service. The term Software as a Service falls within the subject area ...

What is Service Oriented Architecture?

Sun, 13 May 2012 20:28:50 GMT

Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) describes a set of principles used for designing and developing...

What are Scenarios within the context of User-Centered Design?

Sun, 13 May 2012 20:26:00 GMT

User-Centered Design (UCD) is an application design methodology which focuses on usability goals, u...

List the steps you would take to bring a product from idea to deployment and beyond.

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 20:25:31 GMT

There are many ways this question could be answered based on the type of SDLC method being used and...

Have you ever done any programming (and why does this matter)?

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 20:12:02 GMT

This may seem like an odd question to ask an analyst, but the reality is that many positions will r...

Which is better: waterfall development or spiral development?

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 20:08:43 GMT

When asked a question such as this, the interviewer is clearly looking for more than a one word ans...

What is a logical data dictionary and what are the benefits of maintaining one?

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 21:12:58 GMT

A data dictionary, also commonly called a metadata repository, is a centralized repository of data ...

Describe what is meant by Agile.

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 21:04:10 GMT

Agile is a general term and conceptual framework used to describe a number of “light-weight” method...

What is the Scrum method?

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 20:59:35 GMT

Scrum is one of several light-weight agile methods that use an iterative and incremental approach f...

What is a Fact Model?

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 20:48:46 GMT

A Fact Model is a static model which structures business knowledge about core business concepts and...

What is Model-View-Controller?

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 20:13:12 GMT

Model-View-Controller, or MVC, is a design and architectural pattern used to ensure that the modeli...

Describe the User Centered Design methodology

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 04:28:06 GMT

The User Centered Design methodology focuses on the user's needs and goals throughout the entire pr...

What are Personas and how are they used during application design?

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 04:25:13 GMT

Personas are used as part of User Centered Design methodologies. They are detailed profiles of fict...

What is meant by application usability?

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 04:17:26 GMT

Usability is a measure of the interactive user experience associated with a system such as a busine...

How do you define a database transaction?

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 06:20:38 GMT

Business analysts who work on system solutions should have a basic understanding of database concep...

What are OLTP systems?

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 06:18:18 GMT

OLTP or On-Line Transaction Processing systems are a class of systems which contain current, operat...

What is a Pugh Matrix?

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 06:16:54 GMT

The Pugh Matrix is a criteria-based decision matrix which uses criteria scoring to determine which ...

How is the 100-point method used to prioritize requirements? - How is the 100-point method be used to prioritize requirements?

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:10:23 GMT

The 100-point method is a prioritization method that can be used to prioritize items in a group env...

What is a Swimlane Diagram? - What is a Swimlane Diagram

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 08:03:12 GMT

A swimlane diagram (also sometime called a cross-functional diagram) documents the steps or activit...

What is Failure Mode and Effects Analysis?

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 05:17:52 GMT

Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) describes a risk analysis method for indentifying and docu...

What is 8-Omega?

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 04:58:11 GMT

8 Omega a business change framework conceived to aid organizations in the transformation and improv...

What is a Mis-Use Case? - What is a Mis-Use Case

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 01:25:06 GMT

A mis-use Case, which is derived from use case, is a business process modeling term used to describ...

Six Sigma DMAIC versus DMADV, what’s the difference?

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 01:19:10 GMT

The Six Sigma process improvement methodology defines the DMAIC and DMADV acronyms as follows. DMAI...

Describe the requirement engineering process SQUARE.

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 01:12:46 GMT

SQUARE stands for S ecurity Qua lity R equirements E ngineering. It is a requirements engineering p...

What is Six Sigma?

Sun, 04 Dec 2011 23:44:42 GMT

Six Sigma is a process improvement methodology. It is structured into 5 phases which can be iterate...

Describe Pareto Analysis and how is it used?

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 01:14:58 GMT

Pareto Analysis refers to the application of the Pareto Principle as a decision making technique. P...

What is The Agile Extension to the BABOK® Guide?

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 01:11:27 GMT

Understanding the resources that are available to the business analyst is paramount. Most good inte...

What is the Agile Manifesto?

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 01:08:52 GMT

The Agile Manifesto was created in mid-February, 2001 by 17 software development professionals. As ...

Explain how BABOK categorizes requirements.

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 02:48:13 GMT

The BABOK categorizes as follows: Business Requirements Stakeholder Requirements Solution Requireme...

What is a BPMN Event?

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 02:39:23 GMT

An Event is a BPMN process modeling element representing something that “happens” during the course...

What is a BPMN Gateway?

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 02:25:20 GMT

A Gateway is a BPMN process modeling element used to control how sequence flows interact as they co...

What is a Context Diagram and what are the benefits of creating one?

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 05:42:56 GMT

The Context Diagram shows the system under consideration as a single high-level process and then sh...

Can you depict data items in a business process diagram?

Sun, 11 Sep 2011 00:15:53 GMT

Data objects and associations can be depicted in business process flow diagrams. BPMN for example d...

What are the 5 basic categories of elements in BPMN?

Sun, 11 Sep 2011 00:09:09 GMT

BPMN is a robust notation designed to balance two competing needs. The notation should be simple en...

Why would the Business Analyst use Kano Analysis?

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 23:13:08 GMT

Kano Analysis refers to the process of analyzing a product or system requirements to determine what...

What are 2 common attribute categories sometimes used to extend the Kano Model?

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 23:10:47 GMT

Kano Analysis refers to the process of analyzing a product or system requirements to determine what...

How would the Pair-Choice technique be used with requirements?

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 23:07:55 GMT

The Pair-Choice technique is a prioritization technique that can be used in single person or group ...

Why bother with identifying use cases? Why not jump straight to process flows?

Sun, 10 Jul 2011 19:52:34 GMT

Whether documenting business processes or systems processes, use cases and process flows can both b...

What are the benefits of a developing a business entity model early in the analysis process?

Sun, 10 Jul 2011 19:48:08 GMT

There are numerous benefits to developing a business entity model (also called a logical data model...

How do you ensure that your use case model is effective?

Sun, 10 Jul 2011 19:41:24 GMT

Many analysts have at least some level of theoretical knowledge on how to properly apply use case m...

What preparation steps should be taken for a Requirements Interview?

Sun, 12 Jun 2011 21:58:43 GMT

The steps involved in preparing for a requirements interview are just as important (perhaps even mo...

What are some key characteristics of good set of Requirements Interview questions?

Sun, 12 Jun 2011 21:55:51 GMT

In order to walk away from the requirements interview with good requirements, the questions asked n...

What are the basic types of actors that can exist in a Use Case Diagram?

Sun, 12 Jun 2011 21:52:14 GMT

Actors can be primary or secondary actors. Primary actors initiate a use case, while secondary acto...

What is the BCG Matrix and how might you use it?

Sun, 08 May 2011 03:28:31 GMT

The BCG Matrix was developed by the Boston Consulting Group in 1986 in order to evaluate and analyz...

Which is better, delivering consistent results that meet expectations or being less consistent while sometimes exceeding expectations?

Sun, 08 May 2011 03:15:31 GMT

It’s not an easy answer, and I certainly wouldn’t give a hiring manager a simple, matter-of-fact an...

What is the difference between a Pool and a Swimlane?

Sun, 08 May 2011 03:10:22 GMT

A “swimlane” is a generic industry term used to describe the grouping of common activities in a pro...

What is a navigable association in UML?

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 02:53:40 GMT

Associations are relationships between classes in a UML Class Diagram. They are represented by a so...

What is jQuery?

Sun, 10 Apr 2011 00:03:10 GMT

As business and systems analysts sometimes it takes us a bit longer to learn about the latest techn...

From PEST Analysis to PESTLE Analysis, what is the difference? - From PEST Analysis to PESTLE Analysis, what is the difference?

Sun, 13 Mar 2011 23:29:01 GMT

PESTLE analysis extends the original PEST analysis , by analyzing the Legal and Environmental facto...

What are Use Case Points?

Sun, 13 Mar 2011 23:21:11 GMT

Use Case Points are similar to Function Points in many ways as they are used to size and estimate t...

What is PEST Analysis?

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 03:29:36 GMT

PEST is an acronym that stands for Political, Economic, Social, Technological . PEST analysis is on...

What is meant by Forming, Storming, Norming, and Peforming?

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 03:16:21 GMT

The phrase Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing was coined in 1965 by psychologist Bruce Tuck...

What is Function Point Analysis?

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 02:34:39 GMT

Function Point Analysis (FPA) refers to the practice of using function points to size and estimate ...

What is a Use Case Realization?

Sun, 09 Jan 2011 18:39:49 GMT

A use case realization provides a construct to organize artifacts which shown how the physical desi...

What is a RACI Matrix?

Sun, 09 Jan 2011 18:30:53 GMT

RACI Matrix is the name given to a table which is used to describe the type and degree of involveme...

What strategies might a business analyst consider when planning for a company's growth? - What strategies might a company consider when planning its growth?

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 16:31:12 GMT

If a company is to ensure its growth, it needs to plan for it. There are a number of growth strateg...

What is Benchmarking?

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 05:40:16 GMT

When companies want to improve, they first need to have an accurate means of measuring performance....

What is Balanced Scorecard?

Mon, 06 Dec 2010 01:18:53 GMT

Balanced Scorecard is a strategic planning and management system that was formalized in the 1990s b...

What is Document Analysis?

Sat, 06 Nov 2010 17:16:01 GMT

Document Analysis is a technique used to gather requirements during the requirements elicitation ph...

What does SWEBOK stand for and what does it mean?

Sat, 06 Nov 2010 17:08:22 GMT

SWEBOK stands for Software Engineering Body of Knowledge. It’s the term used to describe the sum of...

How familiar should a business analyst be with BA skills and techniques that aren’t used in their current position?

Wed, 03 Nov 2010 01:35:11 GMT

This may seem like an obvious question, as if the interviewer is asking you to say “very familiar, ...

What is Financial Ratio Analysis?

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 22:30:54 GMT

Financial Ratio Analysis is the evaluation and interpretation of a company’s financial data using s...

How do you resolve an issue involving conflicting requirements from two or more stakeholders?

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 22:30:32 GMT

In order to determine what action should be taken to resolve conflicting requirements, the analyst ...

What are the four fundamental methods of requirement verification?

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 22:28:37 GMT

The four fundamental methods of verification are Inspection, Demonstration, Test, and Analysis. The...

How do you define a role?

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 22:27:31 GMT

A role describes a related set of activities that someone may perform to complete a process. Here a...

What does the term 'Problem Domain' mean to a business analyst?

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 22:24:24 GMT

In broad terms, the Problem Domain describes the area undergoing analysis. The scope of the problem...

What is the PDCA method and how is its application by the Business Analyst beneficial?

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 22:23:40 GMT

PDCA is a 4-step, iterative method commonly used for Business Process Improvement. PDCA stands for ...

How do you define the term Requirement?

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 22:22:20 GMT

While this may seem like a very simple question, few Business Analysts ever take the time to ask or...

How is the Requirements Management and Communication knowledge area of the BABOK v2.0 defined?

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 22:19:55 GMT

The Requirements Management and Communication knowledge area describes what is involved in managing...

What is Stakeholder Analysis and how does it benefit the business analyst?

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 22:19:23 GMT

Stakeholder Analysis is the process of identifying project stakeholders, how their needs may impact...

What is an XML Schema and what is its purpose?

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 22:17:05 GMT

An XML Schema is a document that is itself described using XML and which defines how an XML documen...

What approach should be taken when creating a Context Diagram? Top down? Bottom up?

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 22:15:38 GMT

A number of factors should be considered when deciding what approach to use (top down or bottom up)...

How would you assess your value as a business analyst?

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 22:13:52 GMT

This question is not intended to determine how much you are looking to make. If an interviewer asks...

What is Gap Analysis?

Sat, 09 Oct 2010 21:52:47 GMT

Gap Analysis is the process of comparing two things in order to determine the difference or “gap” t...

What is a Communication Diagram?

Fri, 08 Oct 2010 02:03:03 GMT

A UML 2.0 Communication Diagram models the objects or parts of a system, the interactions (or messa...

What is a database view and why should the business analyst understand it?

Sun, 03 Oct 2010 01:38:16 GMT

While the business analyst usual works in the logical domain, understanding what a database view is...

Describe the basic classification of requirements as defined by the BABOK (v2.0).

Sun, 12 Sep 2010 21:15:49 GMT

The requirements classification schema used by the BABOK (v2.0) places requirements in one of the f...

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using screen mockups in the requirements gathering process of a system solution?

Sun, 12 Sep 2010 21:06:34 GMT

Screen mockups can support the requirements gathering process when introduced at the right time, bu...

How do you influence people when you don’t have decision making authority?

Sun, 08 Aug 2010 22:30:05 GMT

Few business analysts have the final authority to make critical decisions on projects. That’s why i...

How do you handle stress and pressure?

Sun, 08 Aug 2010 22:17:02 GMT

A nice, brief response to this question may sound like this: I handle stress well. I’m the type of ...

How is the Solution Assessment and Validation knowledge area of the BABOK v2.0 defined?

Sat, 05 Jun 2010 23:18:31 GMT

The purpose of the Solution Assessment and Validation knowledge area is to determine how closely a ...

How is the Requirements Analysis knowledge area of the BABOK v2.0 defined?

Sun, 09 May 2010 21:56:58 GMT

The Requirements Analysis knowledge area describes activities and methods used to analyze stated re...

What are the similarities and differences between a UML Class Diagram and Object Diagram?

Sun, 09 May 2010 21:45:55 GMT

Class Diagrams and Object Diagrams use almost identical notations. Both represent a static view of ...

When performing Cost-Benefit Analysis using discounted cash flows, how do you select and appropriate discount rate?

Sat, 03 Apr 2010 19:26:46 GMT

Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) is a critical activity in the work of a business analyst. While many bu...

How is the Enterprise Analysis knowledge area of the BABOK v2.0 defined?

Sat, 03 Apr 2010 19:24:04 GMT

The Enterprise Analysis knowledge area includes 5 tasks: Define Business Need Access Capability Gap...

What is Active Listening and how can it benefit the business analyst?

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 22:42:08 GMT

Active Listening is a method used to listen and respond to others in a structured and deliberate wa...

Describe the Elicitation knowledge area of the BABOK and its key tasks (BABOK v2.0)?

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 22:05:28 GMT

The Elicitation knowledge area structures the activity of eliciting requirements into 4 main tasks....

What is a Work Breakdown Structure?

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 04:57:50 GMT

The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) documents the subdivision of tasks and effort required to comple...

What is a UI Design Pattern and what are its benefits?

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 04:56:27 GMT

UI Design Patterns are an im...

What type of testing might involve the business analyst?

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 04:55:04 GMT

Of the various types of testing, the business analyst is usually most involved with Functional Test...

What is a Concentration Ratio and why would you use it?

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 04:53:03 GMT

Concentration Ratio (CR) is a measurement used to understand the level of competition that exists w...

What is the difference between a Primary and Secondary Actor in Use Case Modeling?

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 04:52:04 GMT

Use Case modeling is used to diagrammatically depict a system and those people or processes that in...

What is a View as it relates to system modeling?

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 04:50:57 GMT

A view organizes diagrams into logical groups to describe a particular aspect of the system. It is ...

What are the seven business analysis knowledge areas as defined by the BABOK v2.0?

Sat, 09 Jan 2010 19:45:16 GMT

The BABOK Knowledge Areas define categories of related information and tasks that a business anal...

How is the Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring (BABOK v2.0) knowledge area defined?

Sat, 09 Jan 2010 19:42:43 GMT

The Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring knowledge area describes the process of how a busin...

What is the difference between a business analyst and a systems analyst?

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 21:18:40 GMT

While the differences between the business analyst (BA) and systems analyst (SA) vary from organiza...

What is RuleSpeak?

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 23:36:21 GMT

RuleSpeak is a set of guidelines for expressing business rules using a natural language (such as ...

Explain the difference between strategic and tactical as it relates to a business.

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 23:11:25 GMT

The terms strategic and tactical are typically used in a business environment to refer to the two...

What are the characteristics of a good requirement?

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:16:15 GMT

While different organizations and authors may describe a slightly modified list, the following ch...

What is Model-Based Management and what benefits can it bring an organization? - What is Model Based Management and what benefits can it bring an organization?

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:52:38 GMT

Model-Based Management refers to the activity of managing and making informed decision regarding ...

What is XML (eXtensible Markup Language)? - What is XML?

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 07:03:06 GMT

XML stands for EXtensible Markup Language. It is a self descriptive markup language. This means...

What is HTML?

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 00:24:35 GMT

HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language. It is the predominant markup language used on web tod...

How do you keep management from reducing your estimated analysis hours in order to fit their original high level guesstimates?

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 00:04:38 GMT

As seasoned business analysts, we are often asked to provide estimates for how long a particular ...

What are some of the problems you are faced with when gathering requirements?

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:27:33 GMT

While this is a broad question, it is often used by interviewers to find out whether the candidate ...

What are some of the challenges you face in your role as a Business Analyst?

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:21:45 GMT

1. The Business Analyst must always maintain a reasonable balance between technology constraints a...

What are some guiding principles or tenants of UI design?

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 03:52:43 GMT

Usefulness Ensure that the system includes the most important features and functions nee...

What should be documented in a UI Design Pattern?

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 03:39:54 GMT

Though pattern descriptions vary somewhat, many pattern templates contain a set of common section...

What is the Herfindahl Hirschman Index (HHI) and why would you use it?

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:30:24 GMT

The Herfindahl Hirschman Index (HHI) is a measurement used to understand the level of competition...

What types of testing should be considered when developing an application?

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:21:20 GMT

There are so many different types of testing that it would be difficult to come up with a compreh...

Give an example of how you would use the problem restatement technique of ‘5W + 1H’.

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 21:00:17 GMT

The ‘5W + 1H’ technique (Who, What, When, Where, Why, + How) is used to create multiple variatio...

What techniques do you use to ensure that you have identified the principle problem or requirement?

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 20:59:33 GMT

Problem solving and problem resolution is a common part of a business analyst’s role. But before...

What is Management By Walking Around and how does it relate to Business Analysis?

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 20:58:41 GMT

Management By Walking Around (MBWA) is a popular management technique used by top-level managers ...

Describe Convergent and Divergent Thinking as a Problem Solving Technique

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 20:56:35 GMT

Divergent and Convergent thinking when used together can help an analyst arrive at better and mor...

What are some of the limitations of use cases and use case specifications? - What are the limitations of a use case analysis ?

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 20:55:45 GMT

Use cases are a valuable tool available to the business analyst for documenting functional requi...

What is MoSCoW and how is it beneficial for prioritizing requirements?

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 20:55:11 GMT

MoSCoW is a method used to prioritize functional and non-functional software requirements. Origi...

What is the difference between a Business Analyst and a Technical Writer?

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 20:54:06 GMT

The role of a Business Analyst is a broad and encompassing role with many different specialization...

What is SWOT Analysis?

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 20:06:43 GMT

SWOT Analysis is a strategic planning technique used to assess the internal and external environm...

What is the 4 +1 View Model as it relates to system modeling?

Sat, 09 May 2009 23:03:16 GMT

The 4 + 1 View Model is a predefined set of views for organizing the design and architecture of a...

Give an example of how you would use the problem restatement technique of ‘Repeatedly Ask Why’.

Sat, 04 Apr 2009 22:36:55 GMT

The Repeatedly Ask Why technique starts with the original problem statement and asks ‘Why’ to ide...

Give an example of how you would use the problem restatement technique of ‘Problem Paraphrasing’.

Sat, 04 Apr 2009 22:29:07 GMT

Problem Paraphrasing is altering the wording of the problem statement just slightly resulting in ...

What is a Requirements Traceability Matrix?

Sat, 04 Apr 2009 06:27:44 GMT

First of all, let’s talk about requirements traceability in general. Requirements traceability is...

Portfolios, Programs, and Projects—what’s the difference?

Sun, 08 Mar 2009 00:41:45 GMT

The term portfolio is use to refer to a collection of programs and projects. These programs and ...

What is the difference between a use case alternative flow and an exception flow? - What is the difference between alternate flow and exception flow in use case analysis?

Sun, 08 Mar 2009 00:40:54 GMT

A use case specification describes the functionality of a system in terms of a sequence of user-...

What is a Daily Scrum Meeting?

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 21:34:57 GMT

The Daily Scrum Meeting, sometimes also called a Daily Standup Meeting, is a brief status meeting ...

Which project participants benefit from Use Cases? - USE CASES

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 21:34:10 GMT

The full benefit of use cases are not always understood by all. Use cases provide more benefit tha...

What are the features and qualities that should be expected of a software modeling tool?

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 21:33:24 GMT

There are a number of features that should be supported by modern software modeling tools: ...

What is a fishbone diagram?

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 21:32:43 GMT

A fishbone diagram is a problem-analysis tool that derives it’s name from it’s shape which resembl...

What is a S.M.A.R.T. goal statement or objective statement?

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 21:31:44 GMT

SMART goals or SMART objectives are often used when creating a project charter and defining the hi...

What is Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA)?

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 21:18:48 GMT

Cost Benefit Analysis is a technique used to determine if the financial benefit s of a project ou...

Quality Assurance versus Quality Control

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 05:58:19 GMT

Quality Assurance is about Process. It describes the proactive method of establishing a proces...

What is the difference between a use case specification and a use case realization ? - What is the difference between use case specification and use case realization ?

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 04:52:29 GMT

A Use Case Specification is a textual description of the functionality provided by the system. ...

How might you reduce the occurrence of errors within a manual and highly repetitive process?

Sun, 07 Dec 2008 06:54:00 GMT

Business Analysts often analyze processes with the goal of improving them. Introducing the right c...

What is a SIPOC Diagram?

Sat, 08 Nov 2008 22:55:48 GMT

The SIPOC diagram is a tool that is used to outline the scope of a process improvement initiative ...

How do you identify your list of use case actors? - How do you go about generating or identifying your list of actors?

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 02:49:45 GMT

An actor is someone or something that interacts with the system by sending or receiving messages o...

What are User Stories?

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 17:52:08 GMT

Extreme Programming (XP), one of many Agile methods, introduced the practice of User Stories. The...

What is a Burndown Chart?

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 17:23:33 GMT

A Burndown Chart is a tool used by multiple software engineering methods to track the progress of ...

What is Joint Application Development (JAD)?

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:50:50 GMT

JAD stands for Joint Application Development. JAD is a requirements-definition and software system...

Why is requirements traceability important?

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:41:08 GMT

Requirements traceability is the ability to follow and audit the life of a requirement, in both a ...

What sort of existing documents should Business Analysts refer to when starting on a new project?

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 06:16:59 GMT

Few analysts are brought on to a project at the very beginning. For those that are, they will oft...

Tell me about a time when you were faced with a requirement/enhancement that was not feasible. How did you handle the situation?

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 06:14:25 GMT

Even if you know that a requirement is not feasible, be sure not to simply dismiss it away. Your ...

What is an Activity Diagram and what is its purpose?

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 21:07:19 GMT

An Activity Diagram is a behavioral diagram that shows the flow or sequence of activities through ...

What are the basic elements of an Activity Diagram?

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 21:00:18 GMT

UML defines a specific notation and set of rules for creating Activity Diagrams. The following are...

What is the difference between a Business Requirement Document (BRD) and a Functional Specification Document (FSD)? - what is the difference between a BRD (business requirement document) and a FSD(Fun

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 04:24:13 GMT

Business Requirement Documents are written to define the requirements of a business process or a s...

What is use case generalization?

Tue, 27 May 2008 19:59:21 GMT

In the context of use case modeling the use case generalization refers to the relationship which ...

What is actor generalization?

Tue, 27 May 2008 19:09:40 GMT

In the context of use case modeling the actor generalization refers to the relationship which can...

Is it the job of a business analyst or systems analyst to draw the class diagram?

Sat, 17 May 2008 07:06:04 GMT

It depends, it depends, and it depends! As for most questions in business analysis, there isn’t ...

In which document do you include the Class Diagram (business requirements, functional requirements, software specification document)?

Sat, 17 May 2008 06:48:10 GMT

The easy answer is “It depends!” Just like any other diagram, the Class Diagram is just a tool a...

What are some of the formats used for writing use cases?

Tue, 06 May 2008 05:02:13 GMT

To ensure that we understand what is meant by the term format, consider the following. Most authors...

Are use cases the functional requirements or do you think functional requirements are different from use cases?

Fri, 02 May 2008 04:56:48 GMT

It is generally accepted that use cases, specified in narrative form (also known as use case specif...

What is a Vision Document?

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:44:10 GMT

"What is a Vision Document? What are the typical sections in it? Is it different from a Business C...

How do you categorize non-functional requirements?

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:39:37 GMT

There are many different ways to categorize non-functional requirements depending on the type of sy...

What are non-functional requirements?

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:38:41 GMT

Non-functional requirements are characteristics of a system or solution which describe non-behavior...

What type of information should be documented in a use case specification?

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:32:28 GMT

While use cases are included in the Object Management Group’s UML® Specification, the UML specific...

If you were to group software requirements into levels, how might you group them?

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 00:12:53 GMT

The Business Analysis Body of Knowledge® (BABOK®) defines the following levels of requirements: ...

What is difference between an Essential Use Case and a System Use case?

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 09:46:42 GMT

“An essential use case is a structured narrative, expressed in the language of the applicatio...

How do you discover and elicit non-functional requirements?

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 06:51:48 GMT

Different organizations have different methods and processes for eliciting and discovering non-func...

What is a use case?

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 06:16:41 GMT

A use case is a representation of an interaction between business worker and a business process or ...

What techniques have you used to elicit business requirements?

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 23:58:13 GMT

There are a number of methods or eliciting and discovering requirements. These methods can be cate...

What is a use case diagram?

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 23:53:01 GMT

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What is a use case description (specification)? - What is a use case description?

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 23:52:19 GMT

A use case description is the textual documentation of an interaction with a business process or IT...

Why are you looking for a new position?

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 23:51:33 GMT

Most people look for work for greater financial reward or greater responsibility. Totally avoiding ...

What is Structured English (aka pseudocode)? Please provide an example.

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 23:17:28 GMT

Structured English or pseudocode is a technique used by systems analysts (and sometimes by IT busin...

What are User Stories?

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 23:16:23 GMT

User stories are one of the primary artifacts of agile and XP (extreme programming) project teams. ...

What is the role of the Business Analyst (BA), at each point in a typical project or programme of work?

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 23:13:11 GMT

How would you prove that an Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD) was in Third Normal Form (3NF)?

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 23:12:02 GMT

Third normal form boils down to every attribute depends on the whole primary key of the entity. Ins...

When faced with the user requirement "I want a flag to indicate premium customers" what questions would you ask?

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 23:07:47 GMT

The problem with the requirement as expressed is that it is a solution to a problem that you have n...

What approach should a business analyst take when gathering requirements from high level executives versus the end users?

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 23:01:43 GMT

For the most part, the methods and techniques for gathering requirements are the same regardless of...

What is the role of the business systems analyst in testing?

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 22:55:30 GMT

The business systems analyst is often responsible for ensuring that the business requirements are s...

What are some of the benefits of a requirements management tool?

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 22:33:41 GMT

A requirements management tool supports the analyst in documenting project requirements, versioning...

Why is it important to prioritize requirements?

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 07:34:52 GMT

The main reason why it is important to prioritize requirements is because like most of us, organiza...

What is your biggest weakness?

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 08:28:36 GMT

This is one of those questions to which only YOU have the answer. First of all, don't be afraid...

How would you control the scope of a project?

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 08:27:41 GMT

Every requirement (be it at high, medium or low level, every process step and control flow, every e...

Are there scenarios where the developers will produce something different from your requirements spec, and how would you handle this?

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 08:27:13 GMT

Yes, there are instances when the developers will produce something different than what the require...

What does a requirements document contain?

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 08:01:32 GMT

Short Answer: Requirements! ;-) Seriously... The reality is that there isn't such as thing as a...

What task is 98% of the required work of a Business Analyst?

Sat, 05 Jan 2008 22:47:02 GMT

The Yourdon introductory class on data flow diagramming used to (still does?) teach that 98% of the...

Why bother developing data models and why in Third Normal Form (3NF)?

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 21:55:18 GMT

Solutions are processes operating on data. It follows that any change to existing solutions will pr...

As a BA (business analyst) approaching a new piece of work, who would you interview and what questions would you ask?

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 18:11:49 GMT

For any new piece of work a BA (business analyst) needs to know 1. who are the key stakeholders ...

What is your greatest strength?

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 19:53:10 GMT

This is one of those questions which most interviewers ask. So it is important that you are prepare...

Do you feel UML models, or other types of models, have any value once the implementation code has been generated? Why?

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 18:42:55 GMT

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Would you use a sequence diagram or an activity diagram to model a process flow that has lot of conditional flows and concurrent processing?

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 18:22:53 GMT

Modeling of processes that contain a lot of conditional flows and concurrent processing is typically...

What is CRUD?

Sun, 14 Oct 2007 04:40:14 GMT

CRUD stands for: C reate, R ead, U pdate, D elete. The...