CAPM Business Analysis Frameworks Practice Question
You are a business analyst on a project to upgrade the network infrastructure in a large organization. The project plan was created using a predictive approach, and requirements were gathered months ago. During implementation, the team discovers that some requirements conflict with a new company-wide security policy issued after the project started. The project manager says the scope is frozen and changes cannot be accommodated. The sponsor is not involved daily. As the business analyst, what is the most effective action to take?
⚠ Common exam trap
CAPM often tests the distinction between the BA's analytical/facilitation role and the PM's authority over scope — candidates wrongly pick the option where the BA either enforces the freeze or bypasses governance instead of analyzing impact and escalating to the sponsor.
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
✓
Analyze the impact of the security policy on the project and present options to the sponsor for a decision.
The business analyst's role is to analyze the impact of change and facilitate informed decision-making, not to unilaterally enforce or bypass scope control. When a new security policy conflicts with frozen requirements, the BA must assess how the policy affects scope, schedule, cost, and risk, then present options to the sponsor — the person with authority to approve scope changes. This preserves the change control process while ensuring the decision is made at the right level.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Ask the project manager to reconvene the change control board to evaluate the conflicts.
Why it's wrong here
Reconvening the change control board addresses governance process but leaves the security-policy conflict unresolved, and the frozen scope plus absent sponsor means the board cannot readily authorise deviation. It is tempting because change control boards do evaluate scope changes, and that would be correct if the conflict were a routine, low-impact scope request.
- ✗
Proceed with the original requirements and note the security conflicts in a lessons learned document.
Why it's wrong here
Recording the conflict in lessons learned leaves the network non-compliant with a mandatory security policy, so the delivered infrastructure fails audit. It appeals because lessons learned capture process improvements for future projects, which would suit retrospective review after a project closes, not an active compliance breach needing escalation through change control.
- ✗
Update the requirements to align with the new policy without formal approval to save time.
Why it's wrong here
Altering baselined requirements without formal approval bypasses the change control process, so the sponsor never authorises scope or budget impact. It tempts because predictive projects do permit updates when policy shifts, but only via an approved change request; unapproved edits would be the right instinct executed through the wrong governance route.
- ✓
Analyze the impact of the security policy on the project and present options to the sponsor for a decision.
Why this is correct
Assessing the security policy's impact and escalating options to the sponsor respects the frozen baseline while recognising that only the sponsor can authorise scope change. The business analyst cannot unilaterally alter scope, so presenting impact analysis enables an informed decision on compliance versus schedule.
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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.