Very Important Notes for PMI-PBA Exam _Wagdy Azzam Ver.

COLOR CODE: VERY VERY IMPORTANT -- VERY IMPORTANT -- IMPORTANT ---L. IMPORTANT

➢ Keywords - Needs Assessment

1. Operational feasibility (Represents how well the proposed solution fits the business need)
2. Technology feasibility (whether the proposed change is compatible with other parts of the
technical infrastructure.)
3. Benchmark (Comparison — best in class- how successful organizations perform)
4. Validation. (Provides the assurance that the solution will meet the needs of the customer
and other identified stakeholders.)
5. Competitive Analysis (Competitor strength / area of weakness - if an organization is to
remain competitive.)
6. Document Analysis (Analyze existing documentation - identify information relevant to the
requirements)
7. Passive observation (The business analyst observes the worker without interrupting-
records the observations)
8. Cost-effectiveness feasibility (An initial, high-level estimate of costs and value of the
benefits that the option is expected to deliver).
9. Questionnaires and surveys (Written sets of questions -quickly accumulate information
from a large number of respondents)
10. Surveys (Gather data on user satisfaction- A closed-ended survey to pose several multiple-
choice questions)
11. Root cause analysis (Used to investigate the problem)
12.5 Whys techniques (Asking "why" more than once usually leads to deeper answers)
13. Affinity Diagram (Display categories and subcategories of ideas - organize related causes of
a problem or opportunity)
14. Brainstorming (Elicitation technique- identify a list of ideas within a short period of time)

Issued by: Eng. WAGDY AZZAM, PMP, RMP, ACP, PBA.SFC, P3O, PMO-CP. Mob. 00966556239052
15. Feature model (A visual representation of all the features of a solution arranged in a tree
or hierarchical structure)
16.Cost-benefit analysis (compare the benefits against its costs- identify the most viable option
- conducted prior to project initiation)
17. Feature injection (Focus discussions and analysis on the features where there can be an
immediate return of value)
18. Real Options (Reduce the number of decisions - Delayed decision ma king until discover
more information)
19.Prototyping (obtaining early feedback - Model - Learn and discover- simplified version)
20.Enterprise Architecture (Organizational structures — Software applications — locations)
21.Business architecture techniques (Checklists, frameworks- assessing the current state)
22.Interview (Elicit information - low number of stakeholders)
23.Market Analysis (analyze market characteristics and conditions - what is the market size? –
uncover threats)
24.Capability Framework (Descriptions about the key skills, knowledge, abilities -Analyze
people or products)
25.Capability Table (Examine problems, their root causes, and needed capabilities)
26.Glossary (list of definitions for terms to decrease the different understandings of people
about a product)
27. Active observation (Asks questions about what the worker is doing, seeks clarification, and
asks for opinions)
28. Group decision-making technique (Bring participants to a final decision on an issue or topic
under discussion)
29. Valuation Techniques (Quantify the return or Value, IRR, NPV, PBP, ROI - Utilized when
conducting a cost-benefit analysis)
30. Weighted Ranking (Support objective decision making- used to weight, rate, and score each
criterion against a set of options)
31. Product visioning (Set the high-level direction for a product)
32. Story mapping (Used to sequence user stories, based upon their business value)

Issued by: Eng. WAGDY AZZAM, PMP, RMP, ACP, PBA.SFC, P3O, PMO-CP. Mob. 00966556239052
33. Product roadmap (A high-level view of product features - include information about the
product vision)
34. Business case (Economic feasibility study - Final process steps in Needs Assessment)
35.Gap Analysis (comparing two entities, as-is and to-be - comparing required capabilities Vs
existing capabilities - missing capabilities)
36. Kano Analysis (analyze product features from viewpoint of the customer- understand the
level of importance of features)
37. Purpose alignment model (Categorize options by aligning them with the business purpose
-Differentiating-Parity- Partner -Who cares)
38.Constraints (Any limitations that restrict the option under consideration)
39. Product risks (Uncertain events that may have a positive or negative effect on the
successful delivery of the solution.
40.Time feasibility (The assessment of whether the solution option can be delivered within the
time constraints specified). (Time constraints may be imposed by the organization,
business, or external factors).
41.Value. (The business value that the solution option will provide to the organization.)

➢ Keywords - Stakeholder Engagement

1. Persona analysis (NOT a real person - fictional character -a user class - who the system's
users are - users they really want)
2. RACI model (Responsible. Accountable, Consulted, Informed)
3. Retrospectives and lessons learned (Use past experience to plan for future work when
determine approach)
4. Organizational charts (how the team, company or organization is structured in terms of its
reporting relationships)
5. Process flows (Visually document the steps or tasks that people perform in their jobs how
work will be performed in the future)

Issued by: Eng. WAGDY AZZAM, PMP, RMP, ACP, PBA.SFC, P3O, PMO-CP. Mob. 00966556239052
6. Onion diagram (Visual tools - model the relationships between the stakeholders and the
solutions —4 Layers)
7. Job analysis (identify the job requirements and competencies required. determine training
needs- Used when a new job is created )
8. Burndown charts (visualize progress- count the remaining quantity - track the remaining
product backlog items)
9. Decomposition model (Used to break down information from a high-level into its smaller
components - WBS)
10.Affinity estimating (Grouping/Sort/Arrange/Classify items into similar categories or
collections-Group items based on story points)
11.Bottom-up estimating aggregating the estimates of the lower-level tasks -Preferred
technique in predictive methodologies)
12.Relative estimation (Analogous Estimating (Top down))
➢ Keywords - Analysis
1. Data dictionary (lists the data fields and attributes — ID, First name, Last name, Date of
birth, email)
2. Ecosystem map (shows all the relevant systems, the relationships between systems - help
identify potential dependencies between projects)
3. Entity relationship diagram (Used to create the design of a database - most valuable to a
database administrator)
4. Data flow diagram (Movement of data between external entities, data stores, and
processes- Use in designing software systems)
5. Context diagram (shows all the direct system and human interfaces to systems within a
solution - define scope systems - identify interface requirements and data requirements)
6. Event list (describes any external events that trigger solution behavior - system's response
to any event triggers.)
7. Feature model (A visual representation of all of the features of a solution arranged in a tree
or hierarchical structure)

Issued by: Eng. WAGDY AZZAM, PMP, RMP, ACP, PBA.SFC, P3O, PMO-CP. Mob. 00966556239052
8. Goal model and business objectives model (reflecting goals, business problems, business
objectives, and high-level features.)
9. Organizational chart (shows the reporting structure within an organization- identify who
might use or be impacted by a solution)
10.Process Flow (process flow charts - Visually depict the tasks that people perform in their
jobs- to identify missing features or requirements)
11.Wireframes (Form of prototyping -A representation of the expected solution before it is
built. - Simple with no colors, graphics)
12.Story mapping (used to sequence user stories, based upon their business value - help break
capabilities down into user stories)
13.Use case diagram (summarize the scope of a solution, highlighting the main features to be
added-which ones are in or out of scope)
14.User interface Flow (Displays specific user interfaces and commonly used screens)
15.Business rules catalog (Show business rules and their related attributes - Describe how to
constrain or support business behaviors
16.Definition of ready (conditions that the entire team agrees to complete so that work can
begin to construct it.)
17.Definition of done (DoD) (A team's checklist of all the criteria required to be met so that a
deliverable be ready for customer use.)
18.Product backlog (list of all product backlog items, typically user stories, or features -The
items in a backlog are written as user stories)
19.Story elaboration (refinement or grooming - used to add additional details to each story
before construction of the solution)
20.Story slicing (used to split epics or stories from a higher level to a lower level).
21.Verify requirements (Are the requirements of the highest quality?" - adherence to quality
standards)
22. Validate requirements (Assurance that a product meets the needs of the customer-
Assurance that requirements will bring business value)

23.Delphi (Consensus-building method that consolidates anonymous input from SMEs)

Issued by: Eng. WAGDY AZZAM, PMP, RMP, ACP, PBA.SFC, P3O, PMO-CP. Mob. 00966556239052
24.Traceability matrix (Any requirements that cannot be traced back to business objectives are
likely not valid, and can be cut from scope.)
25.Walkthroughs (review the requirements with the stakeholders and to receive confirmation
that the requirements as stated are valid.)
26.Timeboxing (setting a strict time limit and prioritizing only the work that the team can
complete in that duration of time.)
27.INVEST (Describes the characteristics that user stories - Independent- negotiable-Valuable
-Estimate -Small - testable)
28.Kanban board (visual representation of what work is in progress -track work that is in
progress)
29.Real options (Delay decision making until the latest possible time - Eliminates design
options that are not feasible)
30.Risk burndown charts (show the status of risks across iterations. )
31.Competitive analysis (Comparing design options to competitors - understand if a proposed
design is far from a competitor offers)
32.Vendor assessment (Evaluate and understand the viability, strengths, weaknesses, and risks
of each vendor solution)
33.MoSCoW (Must have, should have, could have, Won't have)
34.Multivoting (Dot voting)
➢ Keywords - Traceability and Monitoring
1. Traceability matrix (links product requirements from their origin to the deliverables that
satisfy them)
2. Traceability matrix (Used to determine the scope of the change on the product)
3. Traceability matrix (Ensure that requirements were delivered as stated)
4. Traceability matrix (Used to identify ambiguous or unverifiable requirements)
5. Version control system (VCS) (tracks the history of revisions of any type of work product)
6. Configuration management system (standardized, effective, and efficient way to manage
changes to project documentation)

Issued by: Eng. WAGDY AZZAM, PMP, RMP, ACP, PBA.SFC, P3O, PMO-CP. Mob. 00966556239052
7. Story mapping (Used to sequence user stories, based upon their business value- Shows
what will be delivered within an iteration)
8. Story slicing (Used to split user stories from a higher level to a lower level- Establishing
relationships between requirements)
9. Requirements relationships (Subset, Implementation dependency, benefits or value
dependency)
10.Requirements baseline (The boundary that contains all the approved requirements)
11.Backlog management (Maintain the requirements list - Prioritization of the backlog can be
interpreted as approval).
12.Relationships and dependencies (ensure that product information adds business value,
meets customer expectation, manages scope, decrees probability of missing
requirements)
➢ Keywords - Solution Evaluation
1. Metrics and KPIs (Set of quantifiable measures- how solution performance can be
quantified)
2. Solution evaluation approach (when and how a solution will be evaluated- types of
metrics - Who responsible)
3. Cost-benefit analysis (Determine the benefits provided by a project or solution against its
costs)
4. Product portfolio matrix (is a market analysis - Market growth rate - market share)
5. Assessment of business value (the result from comparing expected business value from a
solution against the actual value that has been realized.)
6. Evaluated acceptance results (summarized comparison between the acceptance criteria
and the actual acceptance results -the root cause for variances or defects)
7. Release decision (Permit the release or partial release of the solution, delay it, or
disapprove and prevent it)
8. Post-implementation assessment (Only after a new product or solution has been used by
end users in their production environment can we really assess its value)

Issued by: Eng. WAGDY AZZAM, PMP, RMP, ACP, PBA.SFC, P3O, PMO-CP. Mob. 00966556239052
9. Verify Solution (solution works properly, according to the requirements and applicable
standards)
10.Validate solution (Solution will bring value to organization)
11.Test Readiness Review (TRR) (Confirms that you have completed the prior phase, resolved
the critical problems, and are ready to move to the next phase)
12.Audit (Quality assurance - A review for standards compliance, regulatory compliance)
13.Inspection (looking at a product or part of a product for compliance with standards and
requirements.)
14.Test case (Test scenario - Predefined inputs and expected outputs - Steps required to
execute the test)
15.System Testing (Putting together the solution or system and testing it as a whole)
16.Day-in-the-Life Testing (Performed by an end user testing the solution - be a full day of
business, a couple of hours)
17. Unit Testing (Testing a small piece of the solution)
18. Integration Testing (After unit testing, connecting the modules that have been tested
alone to see if they work together)
19. Regression Testing (retesting a unit, subsystem, or system that has already been tested
and then changed.)
20.User Acceptance Testing (The last phase of software testing- Ensure the product complies
with business requirements.)
21.System requirements review (a formal review conducted to ensure system requirements
have been completely identified)
22.Survey or Questionnaire (Assessing performance after implementation- large number of
stakeholders)

❖ What is the difference between validation of the solution and evaluation of the deployed
solution?.

Issued by: Eng. WAGDY AZZAM, PMP, RMP, ACP, PBA.SFC, P3O, PMO-CP. Mob. 00966556239052
❖ Validation happens before implementation, and is focused on making sure the solution
is going to work as expected. We estimate the expected value of the solution, but we
can't be sure it will deliver as expected. (And during validation we still have the
opportunity to cancel the implementation if our solution is found to be flawed.)

❖ Evaluating a deployed solution requires a different mindset. It is performed after

implementation and is focused on measuring the effectiveness of the solution in the
business environment. How well does the solution satisfy the original needs? Only after
the solution has been incorporated into the business, and users have been trained to use
the new system and adjusted to the changes, can we really determine the value brought
to the business.

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Issued by: Eng. WAGDY AZZAM, PMP, RMP, ACP, PBA.SFC, P3O, PMO-CP. Mob. 00966556239052