CAPM Business Analysis Frameworks Practice Question
A business analyst is creating a business case for a new project. Which of the following is a key component that must be included in the business case?
⚠ Common exam trap
CAPM often tests the distinction between pre-project documents (business case, benefits management plan) and planning documents (risk register, milestones, user stories), and candidates confuse artifacts from later phases with business case components.
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
✓
Cost-benefit analysis and financial metrics
A business case is the document that justifies the investment in a project, and its core component is the cost-benefit analysis with financial metrics such as ROI, NPV, IRR, and payback period. These quantify whether the project is worth funding and are the primary decision-making input for stakeholders.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
User stories and acceptance criteria
Why it's wrong here
User stories and acceptance criteria belong to requirements elicitation and backlog definition, produced after the business case is approved. A business case instead needs the problem statement, options analysis, costs, benefits and risks that justify funding. Confusing the two is tempting because both documents describe the project's intended value.
- ✗
Project milestones and deliverables
Why it's wrong here
Milestones and deliverables belong to the project schedule and scope baseline, not the business case, which justifies why the investment should proceed. It is tempting because deliverables describe the intended outcome, yet the business case must instead capture benefits, costs, risks and strategic alignment.
- ✓
Cost-benefit analysis and financial metrics
Why this is correct
A business case justifies investment by weighing expected benefits against costs, so cost-benefit analysis with financial metrics such as ROI, payback period and NPV provides the quantitative evidence decision-makers need to approve, reject or prioritise the project.
- ✗
Risk register and risk responses
Why it's wrong here
The risk register is a project management artefact produced during planning and maintained throughout execution, not a required component of the business case, which justifies the investment. It is tempting because risk identification does inform the business case, but the register itself belongs to the project management plan.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This CAPM question is part of Courseiva's 451-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official PMI exam blueprint
This CAPM practice question is part of Courseiva's free PMI 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 CAPM exam.