IIBA Updated ECBA Exam Questions and Answers by tiana

The task that uses the "Elicitation Activity Plan" to draw out, explore, and identify information relevant to the change is "Conduct Elicitation." This task involves direct interaction with stakeholders or independent research to understand stakeholder needs and identify potential solutions that may meet those needs. The Elicitation Activity Plan guides the business analyst through the planned elicitation activities, ensuring that the elicitation is focused, efficient, and aligned with the project objectives. This structured approach to elicitation helps in gathering relevant and accurate information, which is essential for the success of the change initiative .

Good collaboration with stakeholders is characterized by regular, frequent, and bi-directional communication with all stakeholders involved in the initiative. This ensures that all voices are heard, and that information, ideas, and innovations are freely exchanged, contributing to a more inclusive and comprehensive understanding of the project requirements and objectives.

References: The BABOK Guide v3 highlights the importance of stakeholder collaboration, stating that effective business analysis requires engaging with stakeholders to ensure their needs are understood and met. It emphasizes the need for interactive, constructive, and engaging conversations and meetings, leveraging collaboration tools and continuous brainstorming workshops to enable stakeholder participation1234.

Identify Improvement OpportunitiesWhen proposing design options, a number of opportunities to improve the operation of the business may occur and are compared.Some common examples of opportunities include:

Increase Efficiencies: automate or simplify the work people perform by re-engineering or sharing processes, changing responsibilities, or outsourcing. Automation may also increase consistency of behaviour, reducing the likelihood of different stakeholders performing the same function in distinctly different fashions.

Improve Access to Information: provide greater amounts of information to staff who interface directly or indirectly with customers, thereby reducing the need for specialists.

Identify Additional Capabilities: highlight capabilities that have the potential to provide future value and can be supported by the solution. These capabilities may not necessarily be of immediate value to the organization (for example, a software application with features the organization anticipates using in the future).

The input to the ‘prepare for elicitation’ task is ‘Needs’. This involves understanding the business needs which define the scope and purpose of the elicitation activities. It is crucial for the business analyst to comprehend these needs to ensure that the elicitation efforts are aligned with the business objectives and that the right stakeholders are engaged in the process.

References: The ‘prepare for elicitation’ task and its inputs are discussed within the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK) guide, which serves as a standard for the practice of business analysis. The guide outlines the necessary inputs and techniques for effective elicitation123.

"Needs" is an input to the "Prepare for Elicitation" task. This guides the preparation in terms of the scope and purpose of elicitation activities. Even if the specific needs have not been fully elicited or understood, there must be some initial recognition of needs to commence the elicitation process. Understanding these needs helps in planning the elicitation approach, selecting appropriate techniques, and ensuring that the elicitation activities are aligned with addressing these needs effectively .