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.
An organization is implementing a new financial system and has completed user acceptance testing (UAT). The project manager reports that all critical defects have been fixed and retested, but several low-severity issues remain unresolved. What is the BEST course of action?
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
✓
Document the unresolved defects as known issues in a risk acceptance form with a remediation plan, then proceed with go-live
Option A is correct because in a financial system implementation, low-severity issues that do not impair core financial processing or controls can be accepted as known risks. Documenting them with a remediation plan and proceeding with go-live aligns with ISACA’s guidance that UAT sign-off does not require zero defects, only that critical and high-severity defects are resolved. This approach balances business needs with risk management, avoiding unnecessary delays while ensuring accountability through formal risk acceptance.
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.
✓
Document the unresolved defects as known issues in a risk acceptance form with a remediation plan, then proceed with go-live
Why this is correct
Best practice: formally track and accept residual risk.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Re-run all UAT test cases to ensure no regression occurs
Why it's wrong here
Too broad; not necessary for low-severity issues.
✗
Delay go-live until all defects are resolved
Why it's wrong here
Unnecessary delay for low-severity issues.
✗
Obtain sign-off from business stakeholders acknowledging the risks and proceed with go-live
Why it's wrong here
Lacks formal documentation of the known issues.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse 'all defects must be fixed before go-live' with proper risk management, failing to recognize that ISACA allows go-live with documented, accepted low-severity issues as long as critical defects are resolved and a remediation plan exists.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In practice, a risk acceptance form typically includes a description of each unresolved defect, its impact on financial transactions (e.g., rounding errors in reports that do not affect general ledger balances), a planned remediation date, and the approving authority. This formalizes the residual risk and ensures that audit trails exist for regulatory compliance, such as SOX or PCI DSS, where unresolved control weaknesses must be explicitly acknowledged. The decision to proceed relies on a cost-benefit analysis: the cost of delaying go-live (e.g., lost operational efficiency, contractual penalties) outweighs the negligible risk of the low-severity issues.
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 practitioner preparing for the CISA exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
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: Document the unresolved defects as known issues in a risk acceptance form with a remediation plan, then proceed with go-live — Option A is correct because in a financial system implementation, low-severity issues that do not impair core financial processing or controls can be accepted as known risks. Documenting them with a remediation plan and proceeding with go-live aligns with ISACA’s guidance that UAT sign-off does not require zero defects, only that critical and high-severity defects are resolved. This approach balances business needs with risk management, avoiding unnecessary delays while ensuring accountability through formal risk acceptance.
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.
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Question Discussion
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