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Strategic Planning & Analysis Flashcards

7 cards from real CSM practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Strategic Planning & Analysis flashcards as text

  1. In strategic analysis, 'environmental scanning' involves:

    Answer: Continuously monitoring external trends and events that may affect the organization

    Environmental scanning is the ongoing process of monitoring external factors—economic, technological, competitive—to inform strategic decisions.

  2. Which scenario best illustrates a 'first-mover advantage' in software strategy?

    Answer: A company enters a new market segment before rivals and establishes brand dominance

    First-mover advantage occurs when a company gains a significant market position by being the first to enter a new space.

  3. A software manager using the Ansoff Matrix decides to sell existing products in new geographic markets. This strategy is known as:

    Answer: Market development

    Market development involves selling existing products to new markets or customer segments, including new geographies.

  4. Which of the following BEST describes a 'strategic inflection point' in the software industry?

    Answer: A fundamental shift in the industry that dramatically changes competitive dynamics

    A strategic inflection point (coined by Andy Grove) is a moment when a fundamental change in the business environment forces a significant strategic response.

  5. When assessing strategic risk, which technique involves assigning probabilities and impacts to potential risks and calculating an expected value?

    Answer: Quantitative Risk Analysis

    Quantitative Risk Analysis numerically evaluates the probability and impact of risks to produce an expected monetary or schedule value.

  6. A software organization aligns its IT strategy directly to business strategy by ensuring IT investments support organizational goals. This alignment is known as:

    Answer: IT-business strategic alignment

    IT-business strategic alignment ensures technology investments directly support and enable the organization's strategic objectives.

  7. Which of the following represents a 'core competency' as defined by Prahalad and Hamel?

    Answer: A collective learning and skill set that provides access to a wide variety of markets and is difficult to imitate

    Prahalad and Hamel defined core competencies as deep collective expertise that opens multiple markets and is hard for competitors to replicate.