hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
CISA Is implementing a COTS application Practice Question
An organization is implementing a COTS application. The project team plans to heavily customize the application to meet unique business processes. Which of the following is the most significant risk?
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
✓
Difficulties in applying future vendor upgrades
Heavy customization of a COTS application often leads to significant difficulties when applying future vendor upgrades, because custom code may not be compatible with new versions. This is the most direct and significant risk among the options. Vendor lock-in (A) is a concern but typically less immediate than upgrade issues. Incompatibility with future releases (B) is a symptom or consequence of upgrade difficulties, not the primary risk itself. High implementation cost (D) is a separate concern and not as critical as the long-term maintainability issue posed by upgrade difficulties.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Vendor lock-in
Why it's wrong here
Vendor lock-in is a risk but not the most significant for customization.
- ✗
Incompatibility with future releases
Why it's wrong here
This is a consequence of upgrade difficulties.
- ✓
Difficulties in applying future vendor upgrades
Why this is correct
Customizations break compatibility with standard upgrades, jeopardizing future support.
- ✗
High implementation cost
Why it's wrong here
Cost is a concern but not the primary risk.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 995 original CISA practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CISA practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISACA 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 CISA exam.