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CBAP · Question #384

During a prioritization meeting, a business analyst (BA) mentioned that the access management system requirements are not stable. The project manager and a team lead proposed removing the…

The correct answer is A. Make the requirement a lower priority to minimize unanticipated rework and wasted effort. Unstable requirements should be assigned lower priority to protect the team from costly rework that results when a requirement changes after work has already begun.

Requirements Life Cycle Management

Question

During a prioritization meeting, a business analyst (BA) mentioned that the access management system requirements are not stable. The project manager and a team lead proposed removing the requirements from discussion. A domain subject matter expert (SME) insisted on making that requirement a high priority, because it is really important from their point of view. What should the BA do?

Options

  • AMake the requirement a lower priority to minimize unanticipated rework and wasted effort
  • BSet the requirements at a high priority to adhere to the SME's point of view
  • CRemove the requirement from the project
  • DLeave priority unfilled for these requirements

How the community answered

(49 responses)
  • A
    84% (41)
  • B
    8% (4)
  • C
    6% (3)
  • D
    2% (1)

Why each option

Unstable requirements should be assigned lower priority to protect the team from costly rework that results when a requirement changes after work has already begun.

AMake the requirement a lower priority to minimize unanticipated rework and wasted effortCorrect

Requirement stability is a recognized prioritization criterion in business analysis; a requirement that is not stable is likely to change, meaning effort spent implementing it now carries a high risk of being wasted. Assigning a lower priority keeps the requirement visible and in scope while deferring implementation until the requirement is better understood and less likely to shift, balancing the SME's concern against practical project risk management.

BSet the requirements at a high priority to adhere to the SME's point of view

Elevating priority solely on one stakeholder's opinion ignores the instability factor, which is a concrete, measurable risk driver that can force expensive rework if the requirement changes mid-implementation.

CRemove the requirement from the project

Removing the requirement entirely is premature - instability means the requirement needs further elicitation and refinement, not elimination, since it may still represent valid business need.

DLeave priority unfilled for these requirements

Leaving priority unfilled provides no actionable guidance to the team and fails to resolve the conflict between the project manager and the SME, leaving the requirement in an ambiguous and unmanaged state.

Concept tested: Requirements prioritization using stability as a criterion

Source: https://www.iiba.org/standards-and-resources/babok/

Topics

#requirements prioritization#unstable requirements#stakeholder conflict#requirements management

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