CAPM - Business Analysis Frameworks (27% of the exam) - Section 4.2

Apply requirements elicitation and analysis techniques to gather, categorise, and prioritise business, stakeholder, and solution requirements.

Apply elicitation techniques such as interviews, workshops, document analysis, and observation to gather requirements, then categorise them as business, stakeholder, solution, or transition requirements. Recognise that requirements must be prioritised against value and constraints, and that unambiguous, testable requirements reduce rework later in delivery.

Requirements elicitationRequirement typesRequirements prioritisationElicitation techniques

Practice question for this objective

Free sampleBusiness Analysis Frameworksmedium

During analysis on the Meridian payroll upgrade, a business analyst records the statement: 'The organisation needs to cut month-end payroll processing time by 40 percent to reduce overtime costs.' Using the requirement types in The PMI Guide to Business Analysis, how should this statement be classified?

AA stakeholder requirement, because it describes what a specific group of users needs from the solution
BA functional solution requirement, because it specifies a behaviour the new system must perform
CA transition requirement, because it addresses moving from the current payroll process to the new one
DA business requirement, because it states a high-level goal and the value the organisation expects to gain Correct

Classify an organisation-level goal that states expected value as a business requirement, distinct from stakeholder, solution, and transition requirements. Business requirements sit at the top of the requirements hierarchy: they capture why the organisation is undertaking the work by stating the goal and the value expected, without describing user needs or system behaviour.

Why A is wrong: Tempting because payroll staff are stakeholders, but stakeholder requirements describe a particular group's needs of the solution, whereas this statement is an organisation-level goal with no named user group.

Why B is wrong: Tempting because it mentions processing, but a functional requirement states a specific behaviour or capability the solution must provide, not an organisational objective expressed as a percentage improvement.

Why C is wrong: Tempting because an upgrade implies change, but transition requirements cover temporary capabilities such as data migration or training needed only during cutover, not an ongoing business goal.

Why D is correct: Correct. A business requirement expresses the higher-level need, goal, or objective of the organisation and the value it seeks, which is exactly what a 40 percent time reduction to cut costs describes.

See more CAPM practice questions, answers explained.

Exam traps in Business Analysis Frameworks

Answers that look right on this material and are not. Each one is a distractor from a different question in the CAPM bank for this domain.

A non-functional solution requirement, because it sets a quality condition on how the solution behaves
Why it is wrong: Tempting because it involves the solution, but non-functional requirements describe qualities such as performance or security, whereas this describes a behaviour the system must carry out.
A stakeholder requirement, because the human resources team relies on accurate employee records
Why it is wrong: Tempting because HR benefits from the data, but stakeholder requirements describe an ongoing need of a group from the solution, whereas this is a one-time need tied to switching systems.
A functional solution requirement, because loading a page is something the solution does
Why it is wrong: Tempting because loading is a system action, but functional requirements describe what capabilities the solution offers; this statement instead sets a quality condition on how well an action is performed.

Examworthy is not affiliated with or endorsed by PMI. Original, blueprint-aligned practice material only.