DA0-002 Visualization and Reporting Practice Question
A data analyst is preparing a presentation for the executive team to explain why quarterly revenue fell short of targets. They want to use storytelling with data. Which THREE elements should be included in the narrative arc? (Choose three.)
⚠ Common exam trap
DA0-002 often tests whether candidates can distinguish narrative elements from analytical methodology — the trap is selecting 'data cleaning steps' or 'raw data tables' because they seem thorough, when storytelling explicitly excludes them from the arc.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Resolution: the recommended action or outcome
The narrative arc for storytelling with data follows a three-part structure: Situation, Complication, and Resolution. Option C (Situation: background and context) is correct because it establishes the setting and baseline — here, the quarterly revenue targets and prior performance — so the executive audience understands the starting point. Option E (Complication: the problem or challenge) is correct because it introduces the tension, namely that revenue fell short of targets, which is the core issue the presentation must explain. Option B (Resolution: the recommended action or outcome) is correct because it closes the arc by proposing what should be done next, giving executives a clear takeaway rather than leaving them with an unresolved problem. Option A (raw data tables with every transaction) is not part of the narrative arc; exhaustive transaction-level detail overwhelms an executive audience and belongs in an appendix, not the story. Option D (detailed explanation of data cleaning steps) is also excluded because data preparation methodology is a technical process detail, not a narrative element that advances the executive storyline.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Raw data tables with every transaction
Why it's wrong here
Transaction-level tables bury the trend the executives need, since narrative arcs require context, conflict and resolution rather than exhaustive records. Raw tables suit audit, reconciliation or drill-down requests, where completeness and traceability matter more than the explanatory sequence a presentation demands.
- ✓
Resolution: the recommended action or outcome
Why this is correct
Resolution closes the narrative arc by prescribing the action executives should take after seeing why revenue fell short, satisfying the storytelling-with-data requirement for a clear outcome. Without it, the presentation identifies the problem but offers no decision or next step, leaving the executive audience without direction.
- ✓
Situation: background and context
Why this is correct
Situation establishes the baseline context—quarterly targets, prior performance, market conditions—before tension is introduced. Storytelling with data requires this opening to orient the executive audience, so the subsequent complication and resolution land with meaning. Without it, the narrative lacks the reference point needed to explain the revenue shortfall.
- ✗
Detailed explanation of data cleaning steps
Why it's wrong here
Cleaning steps describe preparation work, not the narrative arc's context, conflict or resolution that explains the shortfall. Such detail belongs in a data quality appendix or methodology review, where peers validate transformations, rather than in an executive story requiring causal explanation.
- ✓
Complication: the problem or challenge
Why this is correct
The complication supplies the tension that makes the narrative worth telling, framing the shortfall against target as the obstacle to resolve. Within a storytelling arc it sits between context and resolution, so the executive team understands precisely what went wrong before any remedy is proposed.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CompTIA exam blueprint
This DA0-002 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the DA0-002 exam.