Agile Business Analysis Strategy and Initiative Horizons 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A business analyst is mapping initiatives across McKinsey's Three Horizons model. Which horizon focuses on emerging opportunities that may not yet be profitable?
- Horizon 1
- Horizon 2
- Horizon 3 (Correct answer)
- Horizon 0
Correct answer: Horizon 3
Horizon 3 covers emerging, experimental opportunities that are years away from profitability but represent future growth options.
Question 2: An organization uses OKRs to align strategy with execution. What does the 'Key Result' component primarily measure?
- The high-level strategic goal
- A quantifiable outcome indicating progress toward an objective (Correct answer)
- The backlog items assigned to a team
- The initiatives listed in the roadmap
Correct answer: A quantifiable outcome indicating progress toward an objective
Key Results are specific, measurable outcomes that signal whether the overarching Objective is being achieved.
Question 3: During portfolio refinement, the business analyst notices two initiatives with overlapping scope. What is the BEST immediate action?
- Cancel the lower-priority initiative immediately
- Escalate to the portfolio steering committee for deconfliction (Correct answer)
- Merge both initiatives into one without stakeholder input
- Reassign teams arbitrarily to reduce duplication
Correct answer: Escalate to the portfolio steering committee for deconfliction
Overlapping scope should be brought to the portfolio governance body so stakeholders can make an informed deconfliction decision.
Question 4: Which technique helps an agile business analyst validate that a proposed initiative aligns with strategic intent before committing resources?
- Sprint retrospective
- Strategic fit assessment (Correct answer)
- Velocity calculation
- Release burndown chart
Correct answer: Strategic fit assessment
A strategic fit assessment evaluates whether an initiative's objectives, benefits, and risks align with organizational strategy.
Question 5: A company's Horizon 1 initiatives are underperforming. In agile portfolio management, what is the FIRST recommended step?
- Immediately shift all funding to Horizon 2 initiatives
- Conduct a value stream analysis to identify waste and bottlenecks (Correct answer)
- Replace the product owners responsible for those initiatives
- Freeze all Horizon 1 work and wait for the annual planning cycle
Correct answer: Conduct a value stream analysis to identify waste and bottlenecks
Value stream analysis identifies where delays and waste are reducing throughput before making funding or personnel decisions.
Question 6: In a Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) context, what does 'participatory budgeting' allow?
- Executives to unilaterally allocate all funds
- Agile teams to vote on how portfolio budget is distributed across value streams (Correct answer)
- Customers to fund features they want
- Finance to bypass strategic planning
Correct answer: Agile teams to vote on how portfolio budget is distributed across value streams
Participatory budgeting engages representatives from value streams in collaborative budget allocation, improving transparency and buy-in.
Question 7: A business analyst must present initiative priority to leadership. Which artifact BEST communicates relative strategic value vs. estimated effort?
- Gantt chart
- Portfolio Kanban board
- Value vs. effort prioritization matrix (Correct answer)
- Sprint backlog
Correct answer: Value vs. effort prioritization matrix
A value vs. effort matrix plots initiatives on two axes, making it easy for leadership to compare strategic return against investment.
Agile Business Analysis Strategy and Initiative Horizons 2
A business analyst is mapping initiatives across McKinsey's Three Horizons model.
Which horizon focuses on emerging opportunities that may not yet be profitable?