The correct answer is to conduct a formal change impact assessment and prioritize the changes, implementing only critical ones for the go-live. This is the best course of action because change management in waterfall project methodology requires a structured, gate-controlled process where any deviation from the approved baseline must be evaluated for its effect on scope, schedule, and cost before approval. In this scenario, with a fixed deadline driven by the legacy system’s end-of-support, a formal impact assessment allows the project manager to objectively weigh the requested data field changes against the integration delays, ensuring that only essential modifications are made to meet the go-live date. On the CISA exam, this question tests your understanding of the change control process within the IS acquisition and development domain, specifically how to balance business needs with project constraints in a waterfall lifecycle. A common trap is to immediately accept all changes to satisfy users or to reject them outright; instead, the exam emphasizes prioritization and deferral of non-critical enhancements. Memory tip: think “Assess, Prioritize, Defer” — like triage for project scope.
CISA Practice Question: Information Systems Acquisition, Development and Implementation
This CISA practice question tests your understanding of information systems acquisition, development and implementation. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A multinational corporation is replacing its legacy on-premises customer relationship management (CRM) system with a new cloud-based CRM solution. The project involves migrating data from the old system, customizing the new system to match business processes, and integrating with an existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. The project has a tight deadline of six months. During the planning phase, the project team decides to use a waterfall methodology because the requirements are well-defined. However, three months into the project, the business users request significant changes to the customer data fields, which were not originally specified. The project manager is concerned that accommodating these changes will delay the project. The integration with the ERP system is also proving more complex than anticipated, with data mapping errors causing delays. The go-live date is fixed due to the end-of-support for the legacy system. What is the BEST course of action for the project manager?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Conduct a formal change impact assessment and prioritize the changes; implement only critical ones for go-live
Option A is correct because it follows the structured change management process required in a waterfall project with a fixed deadline. By conducting a formal change impact assessment, the project manager can objectively evaluate the cost, schedule, and resource implications of the requested changes. Prioritizing only critical changes for go-live ensures that the core CRM functionality is delivered on time, while non-critical enhancements can be deferred to a post-implementation phase. This approach balances the need to meet the legacy system's end-of-support deadline with accommodating essential business requirements.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
Conduct a formal change impact assessment and prioritize the changes; implement only critical ones for go-live
Why this is correct
Balances changes with schedule.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Inform the business users that no changes can be made due to the fixed deadline
Why it's wrong here
Ignores valid business needs.
✗
Delay the go-live date to accommodate all changes and integration issues
Why it's wrong here
Not feasible due to end-of-support.
✗
Switch to an agile methodology for the remaining three months
Why it's wrong here
Too late to change methodology.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may assume that switching to agile (Option D) is a flexible solution, but they overlook the fact that mid-project methodology changes are disruptive and rarely feasible within a fixed deadline, especially when the project has already invested heavily in waterfall artifacts and integration work.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In a waterfall project, requirements are baselined at the start, and any changes must go through a formal change control board (CCB) process. The change impact assessment evaluates not only the development effort but also the effect on data mapping, integration interfaces (e.g., APIs, ETL jobs), and testing cycles. For CRM-ERP integration, changes to customer data fields can ripple through the ERP's customer master data, requiring updates to middleware transformation rules and potentially breaking existing data synchronization jobs. Prioritizing changes ensures that only those with high business value and low implementation risk are included in the current release, while others are logged for a future phase.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Information Systems Acquisition, Development and Implementation — This question tests Information Systems Acquisition, Development and Implementation — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Conduct a formal change impact assessment and prioritize the changes; implement only critical ones for go-live — Option A is correct because it follows the structured change management process required in a waterfall project with a fixed deadline. By conducting a formal change impact assessment, the project manager can objectively evaluate the cost, schedule, and resource implications of the requested changes. Prioritizing only critical changes for go-live ensures that the core CRM functionality is delivered on time, while non-critical enhancements can be deferred to a post-implementation phase. This approach balances the need to meet the legacy system's end-of-support deadline with accommodating essential business requirements.
What should I do if I get this CISA question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. During system implementation, a critical defect is found in the production environment. The project manager wants to apply an emergency patch without full testing. Which of the following is the BEST course of action?
hard
A.Apply the patch immediately without testing
B.Delay deployment until full testing can be completed
C.Revert to the previous version of the system
✓ D.Conduct a risk assessment and obtain approval from the change control board
Why D: Option A is correct because a risk assessment should be performed to evaluate the potential impact of the patch versus the risk of not applying it, and then obtain proper change approval. Applying the patch without testing (D) bypasses controls; reverting (B) may not address the defect; delaying (C) may not be feasible for critical defects.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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