CISA Practice Question: Information Systems Acquisition, Development, and Implementation
An IS auditor is reviewing a waterfall SDLC project that has completed the requirements phase. Which of the following is the greatest risk to the project?
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
✓
A key business stakeholder did not sign off on the requirements.
In waterfall, requirements are defined upfront and changes are difficult. If a key stakeholder did not sign off, there is a risk that later phases will be based on incomplete or incorrect requirements.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The project manager left the company.
Why it's wrong here
Losing the project manager disrupts coordination and governance, but the role can be replaced and the documented requirements baseline remains intact. In waterfall, an error in the completed requirements phase propagates through every subsequent phase, so requirements quality is the greater risk.
- ✓
A key business stakeholder did not sign off on the requirements.
Why this is correct
Unsigned requirements leave scope unbaselined, so later changes cascade through design, build and test with no approved reference point. In waterfall, defects introduced at requirements cost most to correct, and the missing sign-off removes the control that would otherwise catch stakeholder misalignment before construction begins.
- ✗
The development team is unfamiliar with the technology.
Why it's wrong here
Unfamiliarity with the technology is a competence risk affecting any phase, but in waterfall the completed requirements baseline is the artefact everything downstream derives from. An error there propagates through design, build and test, making requirements quality the greater exposure.
- ✗
The design phase is behind schedule.
Why it's wrong here
A design phase running behind schedule is a schedule variance, recoverable through resourcing or re-sequencing. In waterfall the completed requirements phase is the foundation for all later work, so a defect in that baseline causes far greater rework than a delay.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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