CAPM Business Analysis Frameworks Practice Question
During requirements elicitation, a business analyst (BA) observes that key stakeholders are reluctant to share information due to a previous project's failure. The BA needs to build trust. Which technique should the BA use to encourage open communication?
⚠ Common exam trap
PMI often tests the distinction between techniques that gather information (like surveys or interviews) versus those that build trust and collaboration (like facilitated workshops with ground rules) in sensitive stakeholder situations.
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
✓
Facilitate a workshop with ground rules to ensure respectful dialogue.
Facilitating a workshop with ground rules establishes a structured, respectful environment that directly addresses trust issues. Ground rules create psychological safety by setting clear expectations for behavior, which encourages reluctant stakeholders to share information openly. This technique is specifically designed to rebuild trust in a group setting after a project failure.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Facilitate a workshop with ground rules to ensure respectful dialogue.
Why this is correct
A facilitated workshop with agreed ground rules creates a psychologically safe, structured setting where stakeholders can speak without fear of blame, directly addressing the distrust left by the earlier failed project. This satisfies the need to encourage open communication during requirements elicitation.
- ✗
Conduct one-on-one interviews to gather individual perspectives.
Why it's wrong here
One-on-one interviews gather individual perspectives but do not by themselves rebuild trust across the stakeholder group; the reluctance stems from a shared prior failure, and private conversations leave the collective concern unaddressed. Interviews suit confidential or sensitive topics requiring individual depth. Restoring open communication after a failed project needs a facilitated group technique that surfaces and resolves shared concerns.
- ✗
Distribute a survey to collect anonymous feedback.
Why it's wrong here
Anonymous surveys collect data without dialogue, so they cannot rebuild the interpersonal trust damaged by the earlier failure; respondents remain guarded and the BA gains no opportunity to address concerns directly. Surveys suit large, geographically dispersed groups where candid written input is needed. Building trust after a failed project calls for facilitated face-to-face discussion that demonstrates genuine listening.
- ✗
Organize a brainstorming session to generate ideas freely.
Why it's wrong here
Brainstorming generates ideas but does not address the underlying distrust; reluctant stakeholders may still withhold information or self-censor in a group setting, particularly if the prior failure involved blame. Brainstorming suits creative ideation once psychological safety exists. Rebuilding trust requires a technique that directly acknowledges past concerns and demonstrates the BA's reliability through structured dialogue.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.