CAPM Practice Test 16 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A software development team has been using a feature branch workflow with long-lived branches. They frequently experience merge conflicts and integration delays. The team wants to adopt a more agile approach to reduce these issues. Which practice should the team adopt?

Choose an answer to begin — your selection is scored in the full session.

Accepted Answer

Adopt continuous integration, integrating code at least daily. Long-lived feature branches cause merge conflicts and integration delays because code diverges for weeks; continuous integration (CI) requires developers to merge to a shared trunk at least daily, which surfaces conflicts early and keeps the codebase integrable. This directly addresses the root cause of the team's pain. CI is a core agile engineering practice that shortens feedback loops.

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Implement timeboxed iterations for each feature

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Implement feature flags to hide incomplete work

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Use pair programming to improve code quality

Question 2

Which TWO are Scrum artifacts? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Product Backlog. The Product Backlog is a Scrum artifact because it is an ordered list of everything that is known to be needed in the product, serving as the single source of requirements for any changes to be made. The Sprint Backlog is also a Scrum artifact, as it comprises the Product Backlog items selected for the Sprint plus a plan for delivering the product Increment and realizing the Sprint Goal. Both are explicitly defined in the Scrum Guide as the three artifacts (along with the Increment).

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Kanban Board

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User Story

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Gantt Chart

Question 3

Which THREE are common project constraints that must be balanced?

Accepted Answer

Time. The three common project constraints are time (option C), cost (option D), and scope (option E), collectively known as the triple constraint. Risk (option A) is an uncertainty factor, not a constraint, and quality (option B) is often considered an outcome or a constraint that is balanced within the triple constraint, but it is not one of the three primary constraints.

Answer

Risk

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Quality

Question 4

In a predictive project life cycle, which three of the following are characteristics of a work breakdown structure (WBS)? (Choose three)

Accepted Answer

The lowest level is called a work package.. Option B is correct because in a WBS the lowest level of each branch is the work package, the smallest deliverable or work component that can be estimated, scheduled, monitored, and controlled. Option C is correct because the WBS is created by decomposing the total scope, so it serves as a completeness check that all project deliverables and scope are captured and nothing is omitted. Option D is correct because the WBS is by definition a hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work to be carried out by the project team to accomplish the objectives and create the required deliverables. Option A is not correct because assigning roles and responsibilities is done through tools such as a RACI chart or responsibility assignment matrix, not the WBS itself. Option E is not correct because the WBS displays scope elements only; cost estimates are developed separately (for example, in the cost baseline or activity cost estimates) and are not inherent components of the WBS.

Answer

It is used to assign project roles and responsibilities.

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It includes cost estimates for each element.

Question 5

During the requirements elicitation for a new software system, the business analyst (BA) conducts a series of interviews with stakeholders. After the first interview, the BA realizes that the questions are too technical and the stakeholders are struggling to provide clear requirements. What should the BA do to improve the elicitation process?

Accepted Answer

Revise the interview questions to be more open-ended and focus on business outcomes.. The BA's questions are too technical, causing stakeholders to focus on implementation details rather than their actual needs. By revising questions to be open-ended and focused on business outcomes, the BA shifts the conversation from 'how the system should work' to 'what business problem needs to be solved,' which is the core of effective requirements elicitation. This approach aligns with the BABOK's principle of understanding stakeholder needs before defining technical solutions.

Answer

Continue with the same questions but provide a glossary of technical terms.

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Replace interviews with a review of existing documentation.

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Reduce the number of stakeholders to only those with technical backgrounds.

Question 6

Which TWO of the following are commonly used techniques for requirements prioritization?

Accepted Answer

Kano. Kano analysis categorizes features based on how they affect customer satisfaction (basic, performance, excitement) to prioritize by impact. MoSCoW (Must have, Should have, Could have, Won't have) classifies requirements by necessity and stakeholder agreement. Both are standard prioritization techniques in business analysis for the CAPM exam.

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SWOT

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Fishbone

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Risk Register

Question 7

Your organization is initiating a new mobile app development project. The product owner expects to release a minimum viable product (MVP) within three months, with subsequent iterations based on user feedback. The development team is experienced with agile methodologies. The project sponsor, however, is accustomed to traditional waterfall projects and insists on a detailed upfront plan covering all requirements and a fixed schedule. You need to select a project life cycle that balances the product owner's desire for iterative delivery with the sponsor's need for predictability. What is the most appropriate approach?

Accepted Answer

Use an iterative life cycle with a high-level plan and regular releases. An iterative life cycle with a high-level plan and regular releases balances the product owner's need for iterative delivery (MVP and feedback-driven iterations) with the sponsor's need for predictability (high-level roadmap and scheduled releases). This hybrid approach provides enough upfront planning to satisfy the sponsor while allowing flexibility for agile execution.

Answer

Combine agile and waterfall by using waterfall for planning and agile for execution

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Use a pure agile approach with no upfront planning beyond the MVP

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Use a waterfall life cycle to create a detailed plan as the sponsor wants

Question 8

A business analyst is conducting a stakeholder analysis and discovers that a key stakeholder has high power but low interest in the project. According to the Power/Interest Grid, what is the recommended engagement strategy for this stakeholder?

Accepted Answer

Keep satisfied. The Keep Satisfied strategy is recommended for stakeholders with high power and low interest to ensure their needs are met without over-engagement.

Answer

Manage closely

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Monitor

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Keep informed

Question 9

A business analyst is facilitating a workshop to define the scope of a new customer relationship management (CRM) system. The project manager insists on including a feature that automates email campaigns, but the BA has identified that this feature is outside the agreed budget and timeline. The product owner supports the feature because it was requested by a key customer. What should the BA do first?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a prioritization session with all stakeholders to discuss trade-offs.. The BA should first facilitate a prioritization session with all stakeholders to discuss trade-offs because this aligns with the business analysis framework's emphasis on collaborative decision-making when scope conflicts arise. By engaging stakeholders, the BA can evaluate the feature's value against budget and timeline constraints, ensuring informed trade-offs rather than unilateral rejection or escalation. This approach maintains stakeholder alignment and avoids premature scope changes without consensus.

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Reject the feature because it exceeds the budget.

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Add the feature to the backlog but flag it as out of scope.

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Request a budget increase from the project sponsor.

Question 10

A business analyst needs to document the relationships between requirements, design, and test cases. Which artifact is best for this purpose?

Accepted Answer

Requirements Traceability Matrix. A Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM) is specifically designed to map requirements to design elements, test cases, and other artifacts, ensuring bidirectional traceability. It documents relationships and helps verify that all requirements are covered by tests and design. This directly matches the business analyst's need.

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Use Case Diagram

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Work Breakdown Structure

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Business Requirements Document

Question 11

An XP team is practicing pair programming. A new developer feels uncomfortable because the partner frequently corrects their code. What is the best way to foster a positive pairing experience?

Accepted Answer

Encourage the pair to set expectations and rotate roles (driver/navigator) regularly.. Setting expectations and rotating roles (driver/navigator) is a core XP practice that fosters collaboration, psychological safety, and skill transfer. In pair programming, the driver writes code while the navigator reviews and suggests improvements; rotating roles ensures both developers contribute equally and learn from each other, reducing the new developer's discomfort by making corrections a shared, constructive process rather than a one-sided critique.

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Ask the senior developer to only observe and not comment.

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Have the new developer work alone until they gain more confidence.

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Discontinue pair programming for that pair.

Question 12

Which THREE items are typically included in a business analysis plan? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

Deliverables and artifacts. A business analysis plan typically defines the deliverables and artifacts that the BA will produce (e.g., requirements documents, models, traceability matrices), so option A is correct because it scopes the tangible outputs of the BA work. Option B is correct because identifying the stakeholder list and their roles is essential to plan engagement, communication, and elicitation activities throughout the initiative. Option C is correct because requirements prioritization criteria (such as MoSCoW, value/risk ranking, or business value scoring) must be agreed upon in the plan to guide how requirements are ranked and approved. Option D is not typically part of the BA plan because budget estimates belong to the project manager's cost management and business case, not the BA work plan. Option E is also not included, since the detailed project schedule is a project management artifact (e.g., developed with scheduling tools like MS Project) rather than a component of the business analysis plan.

Answer

Budget estimates

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Detailed project schedule

Question 13

Refer to the exhibit. A business analyst has documented the current and target states for invoice processing. What business analysis technique is being used?

Accepted Answer

Gap analysis. The business analyst is comparing the current state and target state of invoice processing to identify the differences or gaps that need to be addressed. This is the core definition of gap analysis, which is a technique used to determine the steps required to move from the current state to the desired future state. The exhibit explicitly shows a 'Current State' and 'Target State' for invoice processing, making gap analysis the correct technique.

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Feasibility study

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SWOT analysis

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Root cause analysis

Question 14

A business analyst is using the MoSCoW technique to prioritize requirements. A feature is determined to be important but not critical for the first release. How should it be categorized?

Accepted Answer

Should have. In MoSCoW prioritization, 'Should have' represents requirements that are important but not critical for the first release; they can be worked around if omitted, but are high priority. 'Must have' is reserved for critical, non-negotiable features. Therefore, a feature that is important but not critical is categorized as 'Should have'.

Answer

Could have

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Must have

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Won't have

Question 15

Which TWO techniques are commonly used for requirements elicitation? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Prototyping. Prototyping is a requirements elicitation technique that involves creating a working model of the system to gather feedback and refine requirements. It is especially useful when stakeholders have difficulty articulating their needs, as the prototype provides a tangible representation for discussion and validation.

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Decision tree analysis

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Work breakdown structure

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Monte Carlo simulation