Agile Business Analysis General 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which agile artifact serves as the single authoritative source of requirements for the development team?
- Sprint backlog
- Product backlog (Correct answer)
- Release plan
- Definition of Done
Correct answer: Product backlog
The product backlog is the single authoritative, ordered list of everything that might be needed in the product.
Question 2: In agile business analysis, what does 'INVEST' stand for in relation to user stories?
- Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, Testable (Correct answer)
- Iterative, Novel, Validated, Efficient, Scalable, Timely
- Integrated, Necessary, Versatile, Executable, Simplified, Tracked
- Incremental, Normalized, Vetted, Estimated, Structured, Tested
Correct answer: Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, Testable
INVEST is a checklist ensuring user stories are Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, and Testable.
Question 3: A business analyst notices that a newly proposed feature conflicts with an existing capability already in production. What should she do first?
- Remove the existing capability immediately
- Escalate to the project sponsor for a decision
- Facilitate a conversation between stakeholders to resolve the conflict (Correct answer)
- Document the conflict and proceed with the new feature
Correct answer: Facilitate a conversation between stakeholders to resolve the conflict
Facilitating stakeholder conversations to resolve conflicts is a core BA responsibility before escalating or making unilateral decisions.
Question 4: What is the primary purpose of a sprint review in relation to business analysis?
- To assign tasks for the next sprint
- To inspect the product increment and adapt the product backlog (Correct answer)
- To evaluate team performance and velocity
- To finalize the acceptance criteria for completed stories
Correct answer: To inspect the product increment and adapt the product backlog
The sprint review's primary purpose is to inspect the delivered increment and gather feedback to adapt the product backlog.
Question 5: Which technique is most useful for discovering hidden assumptions in requirements?
- Benchmarking
- Five Whys (Correct answer)
- SWOT analysis
- Gantt charting
Correct answer: Five Whys
The Five Whys technique repeatedly asks 'why' to uncover root causes and hidden assumptions behind requirements.
Question 6: A Product Owner is unable to attend sprint ceremonies regularly. What is the most significant risk this creates?
- Team velocity will decrease
- Backlog items will lack proper prioritization and clarification (Correct answer)
- The Scrum Master will have to take over all BA duties
- Sprint length will need to be extended
Correct answer: Backlog items will lack proper prioritization and clarification
An absent Product Owner creates risk that backlog items won't be properly prioritized, clarified, or aligned with business value.
Question 7: In agile, what distinguishes an epic from a feature?
- Epics are technical tasks; features are business goals
- Epics are large bodies of work that break into multiple features or stories (Correct answer)
- Features span multiple releases; epics fit within one sprint
- Epics require sign-off from executives; features do not
Correct answer: Epics are large bodies of work that break into multiple features or stories
Epics are large, high-level bodies of work that are decomposed into smaller features and user stories for delivery.
Agile Business Analysis General 2
Which agile artifact serves as the single authoritative source of requirements for the development team?