Acceptance criteria are the conditions that a software product must meet to be accepted by a user, customer, or other stakeholder. These criteria are derived directly from the business and user requirements. Therefore, the most logical and effective time to define them is during the requirements analysis phase, once the deliverables (i.e., the requirements themselves) have been agreed upon. Defining them at this stage ensures that the development team has a clear, unambiguous target and that the final product will be evaluated against the same expectations that were established at the outset. This practice prevents scope creep and aligns development and testing with the user's definition of success.

A. Defining criteria after the system design is too late; acceptance is based on meeting business requirements, not on conforming to a technical design.

C. The criteria must be defined before testing begins to serve as the basis for the tests; defining them after system testing is illogical.

D. This describes a pilot or beta testing feedback process, not the initial definition of formal acceptance criteria which must precede development.

1. Wiegers

K. E.

& Beatty

J. (2013). Software Requirements (3rd ed.). Microsoft Press. In Chapter 20

"Acceptance Criteria

" the authors state

"Acceptance criteria are best written when the requirements are being elicited and specified... Defining acceptance criteria during elicitation helps you gain a clearer understanding of what the user has in mind for a particular requirement." This directly links the definition of acceptance criteria to the requirements analysis phase.

2. Pohl

K. (2010). Requirements Engineering: Fundamentals

Principles

and Techniques. Springer. In Section 3.3.3

"Documenting Requirements

" the text emphasizes that for a requirement to be of high quality

it must be verifiable. It states

"For each requirement

its fit criteria (also called acceptance criteria) should be defined... This should be done when the requirement is specified." This confirms that criteria are defined concurrently with requirements specification.

3. University of Toronto. (n.d.). CSC301: Introduction to Software Engineering - Lecture on Validation and Verification. Department of Computer Science. Course materials explain that acceptance testing is a validation activity where tests are designed to check if the system meets the customer's requirements. The test cases for acceptance testing are derived from the requirements specification document

implying the criteria for acceptance are established during or after requirements analysis.

Force-field analysis, a model developed by social psychologist Kurt Lewin, is a fundamental technique for diagnosing and managing organizational change. The core principle of this analysis is to identify the various forces operating within a situation. These forces are categorized into two opposing groups: 'driving forces' that promote and push for the change, and 'restraining forces' that hinder or work against the change. The model posits that change occurs when the sum of the driving forces is greater than the sum of the restraining forces. The analysis is used to understand the equilibrium and plan interventions to enable change.

B. Forces in the competitive environment are typically analyzed using frameworks like Porter's Five Forces, which is distinct from the change-centric focus of force-field analysis.

C. The financial strength of the company is a specific factor that might be considered in a SWOT analysis or financial audit, not the central concept of force-field analysis.

D. The power of external suppliers is one specific component of a competitive analysis (Porter's Five Forces), not the holistic view of pro- and anti-change forces.

1. Cummings

T. G.

& Worley

C. G. (2015). Organization development and change (10th ed.). Cengage Learning. In Chapter 2

"The Nature of Planned Change

" the text explains Lewin's model: "Force-field analysis portrays change as a dynamic balance of forces working in opposite directions. Driving forces...push organizations toward a new state of affairs...Restraining forces...push the organization to maintain the status quo." (pp. 30-31).

2. MIT OpenCourseWare. (2006). 15.311 Organizational Processes

Lecture Notes: Lecture 16 - Managing Change. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The lecture notes describe Lewin's Force Field Model of Change as a balance between "Driving Forces (Pressures for change)" and "Restraining Forces (Pressures against change)." This directly supports the concept of analyzing forces for and against change.

3. Burnes

B. (2004). Kurt Lewin and the Planned Approach to Change: A Re-appraisal. Journal of Management Studies

41(6)

977-1002. This paper reviews Lewin's work

stating

"Force field analysis provides a framework for looking at the factors (forces) that influence a situation. It looks at forces that are either driving movement toward a goal (helping forces) or blocking movement toward a goal (hindering forces)." (p. 985). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2004.00463.x

In UML class diagrams, multiplicities are notations that specify the cardinality of an association between classes. They define the minimum and maximum number of instances (objects) of one class that can be associated with a single instance of another class. This specification is a direct translation of a business rule that governs the relationship. For example, the rule "A customer can have one or more orders" is modeled using a multiplicity of 1.. at the 'Order' end of the association with the 'Customer' class, thereby enforcing this constraint within the system's design.

A. The number of attributes is listed within the attributes compartment of the class rectangle, not defined by multiplicity on an association.

B. The number of operations is listed within the operations compartment of the class rectangle, not defined by multiplicity on an association.

C. This is imprecise. Multiplicity defines the number of objects participating in a specific association, not the total number of objects "in each class."

1. Object Management Group (OMG). (2017). Unified Modeling Language (UML)

Version 2.5.1.

Section 11.5.3.1

Associations (Semantics): "The multiplicity of an association end is a constraint on the number of instances of the Class that can be associated with a single instance of the other Class across the Association." This confirms that multiplicity is a constraint

which is a form of a business rule.

Section 7.5.4.3

Multiplicity: This section formally defines MultiplicityElement

specifying its role in defining lower and upper bounds (cardinality) for relationships.

2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) OpenCourseWare. (2016). 6.005 Software Construction

Fall 2016.

Reading 11: UML Class Diagrams: The course material states

"An association may also have multiplicity constraints on the number of objects in a role. The multiplicity is a range [min..max] of the number of objects." This illustrates that multiplicity acts as a rule or constraint on the relationship.

3. Bock

C. (2003). UML 2.0: A Triple-Crown Standard. In Proceedings of the 2003 conference of the Centre for Advanced Studies on Collaborative research (CASCON '03). IBM Corp.

Riverton

NJ

USA

15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5555/963343.963361

This paper

discussing the UML standard

implicitly supports that multiplicities on associations represent structural rules. It describes how associations and their properties (like multiplicity) define the static structure and constraints between classifiers

which are derived from business requirements.

An internal consultant's primary advantage is their pre-existing, in-depth knowledge of the host organization. This familiarity encompasses the company's culture, political landscape, formal and informal communication channels, processes, and systems. This understanding allows them to navigate the organization effectively, build rapport with stakeholders more quickly, and reduce the initial learning curve that an external consultant would face. This "insider" knowledge can lead to a more efficient analysis process and more contextually appropriate recommendations, as they are already aware of the organization's specific constraints and opportunities.

A. A broad business perspective, gained from working with multiple organizations and industries, is a characteristic advantage of an external consultant, not an internal one.

C. This payment model (pay-for-service) is typical for external contractors or consultants, not for internal employees who are generally salaried and represent a fixed cost.

D. A dispassionate, objective view is a key benefit of hiring an external consultant, who is not influenced by internal politics or long-standing biases.

1. Paul

D.

Yeates

D.

& Cadle

J. (2014). Business Analysis (3rd ed.). BCS

The Chartered Institute for IT. In Chapter 2

"The Role of the Business Analyst

" the text contrasts internal and external analysts. It explicitly states that advantages of an internal analyst include "knowledge of the business organisation

its culture and its political sensitivities" (p. 25)

directly supporting the correct answer. Conversely

it lists "a fresh

objective pair of eyes" and "a breadth of experience" as advantages of external analysts (p. 26)

refuting options A and D.

2. Purdue University. (n.d.). Internal vs. External Consultants. Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL). In the section "Internal Consultants

" the resource notes

"Internal consultants are already familiar with the company culture

history

and norms

" which aligns directly with the reasoning for the correct answer. Retrieved from Purdue OWL website.

3. Kubr

M. (Ed.). (2002). Management Consulting: A Guide to the Profession (4th ed.). International Labour Office. Chapter 3

Section 3.3

"Internal Consultants

" discusses their strengths

noting

"The internal consultant knows the organization... He or she knows the people

the jargon

the communication channels

the formal and informal power structure..." (p. 58). This reinforces that familiarity is the key advantage.

The investigation technique described is known as creating 'Special purpose records'. This method is used when the information required for an analysis does not exist in any current documentation or system. The business analyst designs a specific form, log, or diary sheet and asks business users to record details about their tasks, events, or issues over a defined period. This creates a new, targeted dataset specifically for the investigation, capturing the actual activities performed by the user.

A. Shadowing: This is incorrect because shadowing involves the analyst directly observing a user performing their tasks in real-time, rather than the user self-reporting their activities.

B. Prototyping: This is a technique for developing a model or mock-up of a proposed solution to elicit and validate requirements, not for investigating current tasks.

D. Activity sampling: This technique involves an analyst making observations at random intervals to determine statistically how time is distributed across different activities, not continuous self-logging by the user.

1. Paul

D.

& Cadle

J. (2020). Business Analysis (4th ed.). BCS

The Chartered Institute for IT. In Chapter 5

"Investigating the Business Situation

" the technique is described: "it may be appropriate to ask the business staff to keep a record of specific information for a period of time. This is often done using a specially designed form or diary sheet." (p. 101).

2. Kendall

K. E.

& Kendall

J. E. (2019). Systems Analysis and Design (10th ed.). Pearson. Chapter 4

"Information Gathering: Interactive Methods

" discusses the creation of tailored forms for data collection

which aligns with the principle of special purpose records for understanding business processes.

3. Hoffer

J. A.

Ramesh

V.

& Topi

H. (2016). Modern Systems Analysis and Design (8th ed.). Pearson. Chapter 4

"Identifying and Selecting Systems Development Projects

" discusses various information-gathering techniques. The direct observation techniques (like shadowing and activity sampling) are contrasted with methods that involve analyzing business documents

which would include user-created logs or special purpose records. (pp. 158-161).

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix, also known as the Boston Box, is a strategic tool used for portfolio analysis. It classifies a company's business units into four categories based on their market growth rate and relative market share. The term "Dog" is used to describe a business unit that has a low relative market share in a market with a low growth rate. These units typically generate low profits or may incur losses, and they have limited potential for future growth. The standard strategic advice for "Dogs" is often to divest or liquidate them.

A. Cow: This refers to "Cash Cows," which have a high market share in a low-growth market, not a low share.

B. Cat: This term is not a standard category within the Boston Box (BCG Matrix) framework.

D. Goat: This term is not a standard category within the Boston Box (BCG Matrix) framework.

1. Kiechel

W. (2010). The Lords of Strategy: The Secret Intellectual History of the New Corporate World. Harvard Business Press. In Chapter 7

the book details the development of the BCG Matrix

explicitly defining "Dogs" as the quadrant for low-share

low-growth businesses.

2. University of Cambridge

Institute for Manufacturing (IfM). (n.d.). BCG growth-share matrix. In IfM Engage. Retrieved from https://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/research/dstools/bcg-growth-share-matrix/. The "Dogs" section explicitly states: "Dogs have a low market share in a mature

slow-growing industry."

3. Hedley

B. (1977). Strategy and the "Business Portfolio". Long Range Planning

10(1)

9-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/0024-6301(77)90003-6. On page 12

Figure 3 illustrates the matrix

labeling the low growth

low share quadrant as "Dogs."

In a UML use case diagram, an 'actor' represents a user or any external system that interacts with the system being modeled. In this scenario, the 'employee' is the user interacting with the system, making them the actor. A 'use case' describes a specific functionality or goal that an actor can accomplish using the system. The action 'enter time details' is the specific goal the employee wants to achieve. The 'computerised project reporting system' itself is represented by the system boundary, which is a box drawn around the use cases. Therefore, the employee is the actor and entering time details is the use case.

A. An employee is an actor, not the system boundary. Time details are data being entered, not an external entity (actor) interacting with the system.

B. The project reporting system is the system under analysis, not an actor. The employee is the actor performing an action, not the action (use case) itself.

C. The project reporting system defines the system boundary, it is not a use case. A use case is a function within the system.

1. Object Management Group (OMG). (2017). OMG Unified Modeling Language (OMG UML)

Version 2.5.1. OMG Document Number formal/2017-12-05.

Section 18.1.3

"Notation" (p. 639): Defines an Actor as "a user or any other system that interacts with the subject." It defines a UseCase as "a specification of behavior." This directly supports identifying the 'employee' as the actor and 'enter time details' as the use case.

Section 18.1.3 (p. 641): Shows the system boundary as a rectangle enclosing the use cases

separating the system from the external actors.

2. Dennis

A.

Wixom

B. H.

& Tegarden

D. (2015). Systems Analysis and Design: An Object-Oriented Approach with UML (5th ed.). Wiley.

Chapter 5

"Use-Case Modeling

" p. 136: "An actor is not a specific user but a role that a user can play... An actor is external to the system." This confirms the 'employee' is an actor.

Chapter 5

"Use-Case Modeling

" p. 138: "A use case is a formal way of representing how a business system interacts with its environment... It depicts a set of activities that the system performs to produce some output result." This confirms 'enter time details' is a use case.

3. Fowler

M. (2004). UML Distilled: A Brief Guide to the Standard Object Modeling Language (3rd ed.). Addison-Wesley.

Chapter 9

"Use Case Diagrams

" p. 101: "Actors are roles that people (or things) play... A use case is a summary of scenarios for a single task or goal." This clearly distinguishes the 'employee' (actor) from their goal

'enter time details' (use case).

The standard tool for stakeholder analysis is the Power/Interest Grid, also known as Mendelow's Matrix. This grid is a two-dimensional matrix used to classify stakeholders and determine the appropriate management strategy for them. The vertical axis typically represents the stakeholder's level of 'Power' or influence over the project, while the horizontal axis represents their level of 'Interest' in the project's success or outcome. By plotting stakeholders on this grid, a business analyst or project manager can prioritize engagement efforts, deciding whether to manage them closely, keep them satisfied, keep them informed, or simply monitor them.

A. Objectives and interests: Objectives are project goals, not a stakeholder attribute used for an axis on this specific grid, although interests are.

B. Power and influence: These terms are often used interchangeably; placing both on different axes would be redundant and not form the standard grid.

C. Perspectives and impacts: While important data points in stakeholder analysis, 'perspectives' and 'impacts' are not the standard axes for this classification tool.

1. International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA). (2015). A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK® Guide)

Version 3. Section 3.2.4.2

"Stakeholder List

Map

or Personas

" describes various models for stakeholder mapping

with the Power/Interest grid being a primary example. It explicitly states the dimensions are power and interest.

2. Project Management Institute (PMI). (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)

Sixth Edition. Section 13.1.2.3

"Data Analysis

" details stakeholder analysis techniques

including the power/interest grid

power/influence grid

or impact/influence grid

all of which use a combination of these core concepts. The most common is Power and Interest.

3. Johnson

G.

Whittington

R.

Scholes

K.

Angwin

D.

& Regnér

P. (2017). Exploring Strategy: Text and Cases (11th ed.). Pearson. Chapter 2

"Stakeholders and Governance

" pp. 45-48

provides a detailed explanation and illustration of the Power/Interest Matrix as a fundamental tool for stakeholder mapping.

The Business Activity Model (BAM), also known as a conceptual model in Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), is constructed directly from a system's root definition. The root definition is a concise statement of purpose structured using the CATWOE elements. The BAM specifically elaborates on the 'Transformation' (T) element of CATWOE. It defines the minimum set of necessary "doing activities" (represented by verbs) that must be undertaken to convert the system's inputs into its outputs, thereby achieving the transformation described in the root definition.

B. Actors: Actors are the individuals or groups who carry out the activities, whereas the BAM models the activities themselves, not who performs them.

C. Environment: The environment represents the external constraints and context within which the system operates, not the internal operational activities of the system.

D. Owner: The owner is the entity with the authority to start or stop the system, but they are not an activity within the system's transformation process.

1. Checkland

P. (2000). Soft Systems Methodology: A Thirty Year Retrospective. Systems Research and Behavioral Science

17(S1)

S11-S58. In Section 4

"The Established Form of SSM

" Checkland explains that the conceptual model (BAM) is a structured set of verbs representing the activities needed to bring about the transformation (T) described in the root definition. (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/1099-1743(200011)17:1+3.0.CO;2-O17:1+3.0.CO;2-O))

2. Williams

B. (2005). Soft Systems Methodology. The Kellogg Foundation

Battle Creek

Michigan. On page 11

under the section "Conceptual Model

" it is stated: "The conceptual model is a model of the activities that must be carried out to achieve the transformation described in the root definition." This document is widely used in university-level systems thinking courses.

3. Valero-Silva

N. (n.d.). An Introduction to Soft Systems Methodology. University of Twente

Faculty of Technology and Management. In Section 3.2

"Conceptual Modelling

" this courseware document states

"The conceptual model is built on the basis of the verb or verbs of the root definition

" directly linking the model's activities to the Transformation element.

A Business Activity Model (BAM), also known as a conceptual model, is a fundamental component of methodologies like the Soft Systems Methodology (SSM). It is not a generic model of all organizational processes. Instead, a BAM is constructed to represent the minimum, necessary set of activities required to fulfill the purpose of one specific business perspective or worldview. Each relevant perspective, often defined using a CATWOE analysis and a root definition, will have its own corresponding BAM. This allows analysts to explore and compare different viewpoints on what the system of interest should do before defining requirements or changes.

A. This describes a process model or flowchart. A BAM shows logical dependencies between activities, not necessarily their strict chronological sequence.

B. A BAM illustrates what activities are needed, not who performs them. Role assignment is typically handled by other models like RACI charts.

C. This statement is too broad. A BAM is a specific type of conceptual model, distinct from a detailed business process model which shows the workflow.

1. Checkland

P.

& Poulter

J. (2006). Learning for Action: A Short Definitive Account of Soft Systems Methodology and its use for Practitioners

Teachers and Students. John Wiley & Sons. In Chapter 3

"The Established Form of SSM

" it is explained that a conceptual model (BAM) is built from a root definition

which itself expresses a particular perspective (worldview) on the purposeful activity system.

2. Checkland

P. (1999). Systems Thinking

Systems Practice. John Wiley & Sons. In Part 2

Chapter 6

"The Soft Systems Methodology

" the process of building conceptual models from root definitions is detailed

emphasizing that each model is tied to a specific Weltanschauung (worldview or perspective).

3. The Open University. (2019). T847: Systems thinking in practice. Course materials. Block 3

Section 5.2

"Conceptual modelling

" states: "The purpose of the conceptual model is to represent the system named in the root definition... It is a model of the activities that must go on in order for the system to be the one described in the root definition." This directly links the model to a single

defined perspective.