hardMultiple Select
CISA Practice Question: Which THREE of the following are common…
Which THREE of the following are common challenges when integrating a software package with existing legacy systems? (Select exactly three.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse a solution (custom development or middleware) with the underlying challenge, leading candidates to select 'Need for custom development' as a challenge when it is actually a response to the real challenges of missing APIs, data mismatches, and performance constraints.
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
✓
Lack of documented application programming interfaces (APIs)
Option B is correct because legacy systems frequently lack documented APIs, forcing integrators to reverse-engineer interfaces or rely on undocumented entry points, which makes integration fragile and time-consuming. Option C is correct because legacy environments often run on constrained hardware, outdated runtimes, or monolithic architectures whose throughput and latency cannot meet the demands of a new software package. Option D is correct because legacy systems typically use proprietary, flat-file, EBCDIC, or otherwise non-standard data formats and schemas that must be mapped and transformed to interoperate with modern packages. Option A is not a challenge but rather a potential enabler, since modern integration middleware (ESBs, API gateways, iPaaS) is generally available to help bridge systems. Option E is not one of the three selected challenges; while custom development is often a consequence of gaps such as missing APIs or format mismatches, it is a remediation approach rather than a distinct integration challenge in this scenario.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Availability of modern integration middleware
Why it's wrong here
Modern integration middleware is generally available, and its absence is not an inherent challenge of legacy integration; the difficulty lies in protocol and data-format mismatches. It is tempting because middleware eases connectivity, but legacy systems often cannot support it, making this a symptom rather than the challenge itself.
- ✓
Lack of documented application programming interfaces (APIs)
Why this is correct
Legacy systems frequently expose no documented APIs, so integration must rely on undocumented interfaces, direct database access or screen scraping. That absence of stable, supported programmatic interfaces is a core integration challenge for the package.
- ✓
Performance constraints of the legacy environment
Why this is correct
Legacy systems often run on constrained hardware, outdated databases or batch-oriented architectures that cannot match a modern package's throughput or latency demands. This satisfies the stem's integration challenge: the package's performance requirements may exceed what the legacy environment can sustain, forcing costly remediation, throttling or architectural compromise.
- ✓
Data format and schema mismatches
Why this is correct
The package and legacy system frequently represent the same data differently, in field lengths, encodings, date formats or schemas. Reconciling those mismatches requires transformation and mapping logic, making data format and schema mismatches a common integration challenge.
- ✗
Need for custom development to bridge the gap
Why it's wrong here
This is an action taken in response to challenges.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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