Agile Business Analysis Initiative Horizon Planning 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A business analyst is mapping initiatives across three time horizons. Which horizon typically focuses on scaling proven business models?
- Horizon 1
- Horizon 2 (Correct answer)
- Horizon 3
- Horizon 0
Correct answer: Horizon 2
Horizon 2 focuses on emerging opportunities and scaling proven but not yet dominant business models.
Question 2: During initiative horizon planning, a team identifies a feature that generates 80% of current revenue. Into which horizon does this initiative primarily fall?
- Horizon 3
- Horizon 2
- Horizon 1 (Correct answer)
- No horizon — it is operational
Correct answer: Horizon 1
Horizon 1 contains the core, currently profitable business activities that sustain the organization today.
Question 3: A product owner wants to add an exploratory R&D effort with a 5–7 year payoff. Which planning tool best supports tracking this alongside shorter-term initiatives?
- Sprint backlog
- Three-horizon model (Correct answer)
- Kanban board
- Release plan
Correct answer: Three-horizon model
The three-horizon model explicitly accommodates simultaneous tracking of near-term, mid-term, and long-term initiatives.
Question 4: When using horizon planning, which factor most influences whether an initiative moves from Horizon 3 to Horizon 2?
- Increased headcount
- Market validation and early traction (Correct answer)
- Budget approval
- Executive sponsorship
Correct answer: Market validation and early traction
Market validation and early traction signal that a speculative idea has proven enough viability to warrant scaling investment.
Question 5: A business analyst notices that Horizon 1 initiatives are consuming all sprint capacity, leaving none for Horizon 2 or 3 work. What is the primary risk?
- Reduced technical debt
- Strategic stagnation and loss of future competitiveness (Correct answer)
- Improved team velocity
- Lower stakeholder conflict
Correct answer: Strategic stagnation and loss of future competitiveness
Over-investing in Horizon 1 prevents the organization from developing future growth engines, leading to strategic stagnation.
Question 6: In an Agile BA context, how should initiative horizon planning inform the product roadmap?
- Horizons replace roadmaps entirely
- Horizons provide a strategic lens to prioritize and sequence roadmap themes (Correct answer)
- Roadmaps should only reflect Horizon 1 items
- Horizon planning is only used by executives, not BAs
Correct answer: Horizons provide a strategic lens to prioritize and sequence roadmap themes
Horizon planning gives BAs a strategic framework to ensure the roadmap balances current delivery with future growth bets.
Question 7: Which statement best describes Horizon 3 initiatives in the context of business analysis?
- They have well-defined requirements and low uncertainty
- They require detailed sprint planning and story maps
- They are highly speculative, requiring lightweight exploration techniques (Correct answer)
- They are retired products awaiting decommission
Correct answer: They are highly speculative, requiring lightweight exploration techniques
Horizon 3 initiatives involve high uncertainty and are best explored through lightweight techniques like experiments, prototypes, and assumption mapping.
Agile Business Analysis Initiative Horizon Planning 2
A business analyst is mapping initiatives across three time horizons.
Which horizon typically focuses on scaling proven business models?