CBAP · Question #410
A business analyst (BA) elicits requirements for the sales order processing of multiple product lines. Elicitation reveals that the business processes for the sales orders of most products follow…
The correct answer is C. Use a high level of abstraction for the seasonal products to make them less subject to revision. Because seasonal products change every year, writing their requirements at a high level of abstraction prevents the need for major rewrites each cycle while preserving the stability of established product processes.
Question
A business analyst (BA) elicits requirements for the sales order processing of multiple product lines. Elicitation reveals that the business processes for the sales orders of most products follow similar activity patterns that have been established over a number of years. Some of the new proposed seasonal products, however, will necessitate major variations in the process flow of some departments. The seasonal products are likely to be different every year. The business needs to carefully adapt its business practices so that the significant but seasonal variations in some of the business processes for the new products are handled adequately without disrupting the processes for the other established products. Which of the following approaches must the BA take to manage the requirements for sales order processing in the long term?
Options
- AReference specific departments in the requirements for the seasonal products
- BReference specific departments in the requirements for the established products
- CUse a high level of abstraction for the seasonal products to make them less subject to revision
- DUse a high level of abstraction for the established products to make them less subject to revision
How the community answered
(17 responses)- A12% (2)
- B6% (1)
- C76% (13)
- D6% (1)
Why each option
Because seasonal products change every year, writing their requirements at a high level of abstraction prevents the need for major rewrites each cycle while preserving the stability of established product processes.
Referencing specific departments in requirements for seasonal products would make those requirements too granular and tightly coupled, requiring frequent revision as seasonal products and their process owners change each year.
Referencing specific departments in requirements for established products is unnecessary and risks disrupting stable, proven processes that have been operating consistently for years.
A high level of abstraction means requirements are expressed in general terms that capture intent and outcomes rather than specific procedural details, making them resilient to variation. Since the seasonal products will differ each year, abstracting their requirements avoids locking in details that will immediately become outdated, reducing revision effort. This approach lets the organization accommodate significant annual variation in process flow without invalidating the underlying requirements structure.
Established products already follow mature, well-defined activity patterns, so abstracting their requirements would reduce traceability and precision without providing any benefit in terms of change management.
Concept tested: Requirements abstraction level for variable business processes
Source: https://www.iiba.org/standards-and-resources/babok/
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