Certified-Business-Analyst Practice Test Questions

307 Questions


Which of the following User Management terms is best described by this definition: " Record created to identify a new employee that starts accessing Salesforce".


A. Profiles


B. Salesforce characters


C. Users


D. Roles





C.
  Users

Explanation:

The definition describes the core concept of a User in Salesforce.
A "User" is a specific record in Salesforce that represents an individual person who logs in and accesses the platform. Each user has a unique username and password (or uses Single Sign-On). When a new employee joins and needs access, an administrator creates a User record for them.

Why A is incorrect: A Profile is a template that determines what a user can do in the system (object and field-level permissions, app access, etc.). You assign a user to a profile; the profile itself is not the record identifying the employee.

Why B is incorrect: "Salesforce characters" is not a standard User Management term in this context.

Why D is incorrect: A Role controls a user's level of access to records based on their position in the role hierarchy. Like a profile, it is an attribute assigned to a User record, but it is not the record that identifies the employee.

Reference/Key Concept:
This is a fundamental question about User Management in Salesforce. Understanding the distinction between a User (the person's identity), a Profile (what they can see and do), and a Role (what records they can see) is critical for any Business Analyst working on the platform.

Cloud Kicks Is conducting sprint planning for an Experience Cloud user portal project. The focus for this sprint Is on the minimum viable product.

Which requirement should the business analyst prioritize?


A. Items chat are user-friendly features


B. Items requested by the majority of users


C. Items that are crucial to the business





C.
  Items that are crucial to the business

Explanation:

When focusing on a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), the goal is to deliver the smallest set of features that provide core business value and allow the organization to achieve its primary objectives.
MVP features are those that are essential for the product to function and deliver meaningful value to users and the business.

These features enable early feedback, quick release, and measurable outcomes that guide future iterations.

Why not the other options?
A. Items that are user-friendly features: While usability is important, user-friendly features are often enhancements rather than core MVP requirements.

B. Items requested by the majority of users: Popularity doesn’t always align with business value. MVP focuses on what’s critical to achieving the main business goal, not just what most users want.

Reference:
Salesforce Trailhead: “The MVP includes only the functionality that is essential to deliver business value.”

Agile/Scrum Principle: “Prioritize features that deliver the highest business value and align with the project’s core objectives.”

Summary:
👉 During sprint planning for an MVP, always prioritize items that are crucial to the business — the features that make the solution viable and deliver immediate, measurable impact.

The business analyst (BA) at Cloud Kicks has been asked to map the current sales process in Sales Cloud to document legal compliance with local privacy regulations, which can differ based on the state or country of a data transaction.

Which activity would be most effective in helping the BA understand the sales process?


A. Using live workshops to map out the sales process


B. Asking stakeholders to complete a questionnaire


C. Conducting individual interviews with stakeholders





A.
  Using live workshops to map out the sales process

Explanation:

To accurately document a process for a high-stakes reason like legal compliance with varying regulations (state/country privacy laws), the Business Analyst (BA) needs a complete, consistent, and agreed-upon view of the current process.

A. Using live workshops to map out the sales process:
Facilitated workshops are the most effective activity for process mapping, especially when multiple stakeholders across different teams (Sales, Legal, Operations) are involved. Workshops encourage real-time collaboration, discussion, and consensus-building. The BA can use visual mapping tools (like Lucidchart or Miro boards) to document the As-Is process live, allowing participants to immediately identify dependencies, pain points, deviations in the process (e.g., how different regions handle data), and ensure everyone is aligned on the single, documented truth of the process. This interactive approach minimizes misunderstandings that can arise from individual documentation efforts.

B. Asking stakeholders to complete a questionnaire:
Questionnaires can gather information from a large number of people quickly, but they often lack depth, fail to capture the nuance of how a process actually works versus how people think it works, and do not facilitate real-time clarification of legal compliance details. A questionnaire is not ideal for comprehensive process mapping.

C. Conducting individual interviews with stakeholders:
Interviews are excellent for building rapport and getting detailed individual perspectives. However, relying only on interviews often results in conflicting descriptions of the same process. Without a workshop to reconcile these views and achieve consensus, the BA would struggle to get a single, legally compliant, documented sales process. Interviews are a good preliminary step, but workshops are better for the final mapping and agreement.

The business analyst (0A) at Universal Containers has met with stakeholders and is using the waterfall methodology to capture requirements for Sales Cloud enhancements for a future product release.
What is the next step for the BA to take before build can begin?


A. Define the minimal viable product.


B. Get approval and signoff on the requirements.


C. Schedule sprint planning meetings.





B.
  Get approval and signoff on the requirements.

Explanation:

The Waterfall methodology is defined by a strictly sequential and linear flow, where each phase must be fully completed and formally approved before the next phase can begin.

Phase 1: Requirements Capture (Completed): The BA has already met with stakeholders and captured the requirements for the Sales Cloud enhancements.

Gate/Next Step (Required): Before moving to the Design phase and then the Implementation (Build) phase, the BA must obtain formal approval and signoff from the stakeholders (often on a document like the Business Requirements Document or Functional Specification Document).

Why Signoff is Crucial: In Waterfall, requirements are assumed to be fixed and complete once signoff is given. This formal signoff is the gate that locks the scope, providing the developers and designers with a stable, documented, and approved blueprint to work from. Moving forward without signoff is a major violation of the Waterfall model and introduces unacceptable risk.

❌ Incorrect Answers and Explanations

A. Define the minimal viable product.
Explanation: Defining the Minimal Viable Product (MVP) is a core activity in Agile/Scrum methodologies to define the scope of the first iteration. The Waterfall methodology, by contrast, typically aims to deliver the full solution based on the upfront, comprehensive requirements, rather than focusing on small, incremental releases like an MVP.

C. Schedule sprint planning meetings.
Explanation: Sprint planning meetings are a specific ceremony used in the Scrum framework (an Agile methodology). Since the question explicitly states the project is using the Waterfall methodology, this step is irrelevant and incorrect. Waterfall projects follow phases (Requirements → Design → Implementation → Testing), not sprints.

📌 References

Waterfall Methodology Principles: A foundational principle of the Waterfall model is that it proceeds sequentially, and each phase must be formally verified and signed off before the next phase (Design or Build/Implementation) can commence.

IIBA BABOK Guide: Chapter 6: Requirements Analysis and Design Definition—The task Verify Requirements and the need for stakeholder approval on the definition of requirements are mandatory before moving into solution implementation. This concept is most strictly enforced in the traditional Waterfall lifecycle.

Salesforce BA Role: The BA acts as the custodian of the requirements, and in a Waterfall context, securing the formal signoff is the critical action that transitions the project from defining what to defining how (Design) and then building (Implementation).

A new employee at Universal Containers just sent the business analyst (BA) a Slack message with an named User3tories_v37_final_final_final.docx. Which best practice should the 6A train the employee on first?


A. Use standard naming conventions


B. Use acceptance criteria to define success


C. Use a version control repository





C.
  Use a version control repository

Explanation:

The file name UserStories_v37_final_final_final.docx is a classic sign of manual version tracking, which leads to confusion, duplication, and loss of traceability.

The best practice the Business Analyst (BA) should train the employee on is to use a version control repository (such as Git, SharePoint, Confluence, or a dedicated requirements management tool). This ensures:

Single source of truth — everyone works from the same document.
Automatic version tracking — no need for manual filenames.
Collaboration and auditability — changes are logged, reviewed, and reversible.

Why not the other options?

A. Use standard naming conventions
While standard file naming conventions (like including version numbers or dates) can help keep files organized, they are still a manual and error-prone approach to version control.

Here’s why it’s not ideal in this situation:

  • It depends on user discipline — everyone must remember to name files correctly and upload them in the right order.
  • It doesn’t prevent duplication — multiple team members can still create “final” versions at the same time.
  • It lacks automatic version history — you can’t easily see who changed what or revert to an older version.
  • It doesn’t support collaboration — real-time co-editing, change tracking, and merging updates are missing.

✅ When it helps: Naming conventions are useful when storing static files (like signed contracts or exported reports).
❌ When it fails: For living documents such as user stories, which evolve frequently and are updated by multiple contributors.

B. Use acceptance criteria to define success
This concept is completely unrelated to the version control issue described in the question.

Acceptance criteria define how to verify that a user story or requirement has been successfully implemented — e.g., “Given, When, Then” conditions.
They are part of requirements definition and validation, not documentation management or version control.

Teaching the new employee about acceptance criteria would improve requirement quality, but it wouldn’t solve the problem of file version chaos (e.g., final_final_v37.docx).

✅ When it helps: During requirement gathering, refinement, or testing.
❌ When it fails: For managing or organizing project documentation files.

C. Use a version control repository — Why it’s the best answer
A version control system (like Git, Confluence, SharePoint, or Jira attachments) automatically tracks changes, stores historical versions, and allows collaborative editing.

It eliminates the need for manually naming files with version numbers.
Everyone accesses the same “single source of truth” for user stories and documentation.
You can easily see change history, restore previous versions, and avoid duplication or overwrites.

✅ When it helps: Always — for managing evolving project documentation, code, or user stories.
❌ When it fails: Only if the team doesn’t maintain proper permissions or branching practices (rare in documentation workflows).

Reference:
Salesforce Business Analyst Best Practices: “Maintain documentation in a central, version-controlled repository to ensure consistency and traceability.”

Agile / BA Standards (BABOK): “Version control ensures that requirements and documentation remain consistent, traceable, and auditable across changes.”

Summary:
👉 The BA should train the employee to use a version control system — this eliminates the need for messy file naming like “final_final_final” and promotes professional collaboration and traceability.

A few users have reported an issue with the recent Cloud Kicks?
Salesforce implementation.
What should the business analyst do first?


A. Gather requirements from end users


B. Provide additional end user training


C. Create a high priority bug for a quick fix.





A.
  Gather requirements from end users

Explanation:

When users report an issue after a new Salesforce implementation, the first step for a Business Analyst (BA) is to understand the problem clearly — not to assume the cause or jump to a solution.
By gathering requirements or feedback from end users, the BA can:
Identify what exactly isn’t working or meeting expectations.
Distinguish between a true defect (bug) and a gap in requirements or user misunderstanding.
Collect evidence (screenshots, steps to reproduce, expected vs. actual results) that helps the development and support teams address the issue accurately.
This diagnostic step ensures that any follow-up action (like training or bug fixing) is based on facts, not assumptions.

Why not the other options?
B. Provide additional end user training:
This may be needed later, but it’s premature before knowing the root cause. The issue might be technical, not user error. Providing training first could waste time and resources.

C. Create a high priority bug for a quick fix:
Creating a bug immediately assumes the problem is a system defect, which might not be true. It could be a configuration gap, missing requirement, or even user confusion. Always validate the issue first before escalating.

Reference:
Salesforce Trailhead — Business Analyst Best Practices: “When an issue arises, first analyze and validate user feedback to identify the root cause before recommending a solution.”
BABOK (Business Analysis Body of Knowledge): The first step in issue resolution is elicitation and investigation to ensure the problem is correctly understood.

Northern Trail Outfitters (NTO) is undergoing a Salesforce implementation for Service Cloud. The busjpess analyst is currency working with the development team as they build features in the sandbox. NTO wants to test these features before the changes are deployed to the production environment. As part of the Application lifecycle Management (ALM) process, which three development models does Salesforce support?


A. Change Set Development, Org Development, Package Development


B. Rapid Application Development, Org Development Package Development


C. Salesforce DX, Flow Builder, Rapid Application Development





A.
  Change Set Development, Org Development, Package Development

Explanation:

Salesforce officially supports three primary development models as part of its Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) framework. These models dictate how changes are developed, tracked, and deployed between environments (like from a sandbox to production).

Change Set Development: This is a declarative, out-of-the-box model where administrators and developers assemble sets of components (like custom objects, fields, Apex classes) into a "change set" and send them from one sandbox to another or to production. It is simple but can be error-prone for complex projects.

Org Development (also known as Org-Based Development): This model involves making changes directly in a sandbox or developer org and using change sets or other tools for deployment. It's often used for small, quick fixes or in organizations with simple processes. It's characterized by a lack of robust source control integration.

Package Development: This is the modern, recommended model for any significant development. It involves grouping metadata into a "package" (either unmanaged or managed). This model is closely integrated with source control systems and DevOps tools like Salesforce DX (SFDX), providing the highest level of control, repeatability, and team collaboration.

Why B is incorrect: "Rapid Application Development" is a general software development methodology, not a specific Salesforce-supported development model for ALM.

Why C is incorrect: While "Salesforce DX" is the core toolkit that supports the modern Package Development model, and "Flow Builder" is a tool for declarative development, they are not themselves the top-level development models. This option mixes tools with methodologies.

Reference/Key Concept:
This question tests your knowledge of Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) and Development Models on the Salesforce platform. Understanding the differences between Change Set, Org-Based, and Package Development is crucial for a Business Analyst to effectively collaborate with development teams and understand the project's governance and deployment strategy.

Northern Trail Outfitters (NTO) has completed a project with a third-party event organization platform to enhance its MVP Experience Site. Many features were left in the project backlog. NTO's IT team is beginning a new phase of work on the Experience Site to build additional features requested by business stakeholders and wants to include the items that were left in the backlog in the first phase. How should the business analyst coordinate the user stories to most efficiently manage the new project timeline?


A. Include existing and new user stories to be completed within the duration of the project. Hire additional developers to accommodate both work streams to prevent delays within the schedule sprints.


B. Reprioritize existing and new user storks to place the stories into each sprint of the project. Return an equivalent: amount of lower priority work to the project backlog.


C. Prioritize user stories for the new enhancements for the initial sprints of the project to accommodate business stakeholder requests. Complete existing user stories in the final sprint of the project.





C.
  Prioritize user stories for the new enhancements for the initial sprints of the project to accommodate business stakeholder requests. Complete existing user stories in the final sprint of the project.

Explanation:

NTO is starting a new phase of work on the Experience Site, with:
Existing backlog items from the previous project, and
New feature requests from business stakeholders.

The BA’s job is to manage scope and priorities so the team can deliver the highest value within the fixed timeline and capacity.

The best approach is to:
Combine the existing backlog items and the new user stories into one product backlog.
Reprioritize everything together based on:
Business value
Dependencies
Risk / effort
MVP/roadmap alignment

For each sprint:
Pull in only what fits team capacity.
If new, higher-priority work is added, push out an equivalent amount of lower-priority work back into the backlog to keep the scope realistic.

That’s exactly what Option B describes, and it reflects solid agile/backlog management.

Why not A or C?
A. Include everything and hire more developers to avoid delays
This assumes you can simply add people to solve a prioritization problem.
It ignores the classic reality that adding people late often increases complexity and coordination overhead (Brooks’ Law).
It’s not an efficient or realistic first move for a BA; the BA should focus on prioritization and scope, not staffing up to avoid making trade-offs.

C. Do new enhancements first, then old backlog items in the final sprint
This assumes all new items are more important than existing backlog items, which may not be true.
Some older backlog items might be critical or tightly related to compliance, stability, or core flows.
Also risky to pack all leftover work into the final sprint, which can create:
Bottlenecks
Increased risk of rollover
Lower quality due to time pressure

This approach doesn’t properly respect value-based prioritization.

Reference
Agile and Scrum best practices recommend:
Maintaining a single, ordered product backlog for all work.
Regular backlog refinement and reprioritization based on business value and team capacity.
When new high-priority work enters the plan, an equivalent amount of lower-priority work is removed or deferred to keep scope manageable.

These principles align directly with Option B, making it the most efficient and realistic way for the BA to manage the new project timeline.

Sales managers at Northern Trail Outfitters (NTO) have received feedback from sales reps that record pages are slow and often take longer to load when using the app on the phone. The business analyst (BA) has been asked to evaluate NTO’s org to find out which pages are the slowest to load when using the app on the phone. What is the first step the BA should take to help resolve the issue?


A. Create a new page layout for the phone


B. Use performance analyzer to view the assessment


C. Confirm steps to reproduce the issue





B.
  Use performance analyzer to view the assessment

Explanation:

Before jumping into analysis or solutions, the Business Analyst (BA) must first validate and clearly understand the problem.
By confirming the steps to reproduce the issue, the BA ensures:
The issue is consistent and reproducible (not device- or user-specific).
They understand which specific record pages and actions cause slow performance.
The BA can gather enough context (e.g., object type, device, mobile network, Salesforce app version) to provide accurate information for troubleshooting.

This foundational diagnostic step is critical before using tools like the Performance Analyzer or recommending layout changes.

Why not the other options?
A. Create a new page layout for the phone:
❌ This assumes the issue is caused by layout complexity without verifying the cause. Creating new layouts prematurely can waste effort and doesn’t confirm the true source of slowness.

B. Use performance analyzer to view the assessment:
❌ This is a valuable step, but only after confirming and reproducing the issue. The analyzer should be used on a page where the issue is confirmed, ensuring accurate measurement and valid results.

Reference:
Salesforce Help: “Before using performance analysis tools, confirm that the issue can be consistently reproduced, and gather detailed reproduction steps.”

Salesforce Trailhead – Troubleshoot and Improve Performance:
“Reproduce and document the issue before performing detailed performance analysis.”

Summary:
👉 The first step for the BA is to confirm the steps to reproduce the issue — this ensures the problem is real, consistent, and well-documented before applying diagnostic tools or proposing fixes.

The Cloud Kicks admin is getting ready to release a record-triggered flow that autogenerates Renewal Opportunity Order Line Items once an Opportunity is Closed/Won for a sales team user story. During user acceptance testing, what should the business analyst do to ensure the solution fulfills the needs of the sales team?


A. Draft a list of test cases and scripts and choose "Run flow as another user'' to debug the flow as a sales team user to identify and fix bugs.


B. Choose subject matter experts as testers and prepare a sandbox with quality test data, test cases, and scripts that match real-world scenarios.


C. Collaborate with the admin and a power user to test the flow for scalability, robustness, and maintainability in a sandbox.





B.
  Choose subject matter experts as testers and prepare a sandbox with quality test data, test cases, and scripts that match real-world scenarios.

Explanation:

During User Acceptance Testing (UAT), the Business Analyst’s goal is to validate that the solution:
Meets business requirements
Works as expected in real-world scenarios
Is usable and valuable to end users

Option B is the most effective approach because it ensures:
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) — typically sales reps or managers — test the flow from a user perspective
The sandbox is populated with representative test data, mimicking actual Opportunity and Order Line Item records
Test cases and scripts are aligned with the original user story and acceptance criteria

This approach provides authentic feedback, uncovers edge cases, and builds stakeholder confidence before deployment.

❌ Why not the others?
A. Draft a list of test cases and use “Run flow as another user”:
This is a developer/admin-level debugging tool, not a UAT strategy.
It’s useful for troubleshooting, but doesn’t validate business value or usability.

C. Collaborate with admin and power user to test scalability and maintainability:
Important for technical validation, but not sufficient for user acceptance.
UAT should focus on business functionality, not just system performance.

🔗 Reference
Explore this in the Trailhead module:
📘 User Acceptance Testing

The business analyst is working with a stakeholder on a Salesforce project. The stakeholder needs an approval process on contract submissions. Sales managers want to see all contracts when the discount is greater than 20%. They will decline any contracts with a discount that is greater than 25%, but they want visibility into other highly discounted contracts. Which acceptance criteria is the most effective for this scenario?


A. A sales manager wants to be notified when a contract has been submitted with a discount greater than 20% so the manager can approve or decline a discounted price.


B. Users in a sales manager role should have access to a button on contracts to click to approve or decline a contract with a discounted price of 2G% or more.


C. A sales manager wants to be able to approve contracts with a large discount and they need a validation rule related to contract discounts greater than 25%





A.
  A sales manager wants to be notified when a contract has been submitted with a discount greater than 20% so the manager can approve or decline a discounted price.

Explanation:

Why A is the best acceptance criteria
From the scenario:
Stakeholder needs an approval process on contract submissions.
Sales managers want to see all contracts when the discount is > 20%.
They will decline any contracts with a discount > 25%, but still want visibility into those.
So the key behavioral requirement is:
“When a contract is submitted and its discount is greater than 20%, sales managers must be able to review and decide (approve/decline).”

Option A captures exactly that:
It’s written from the user’s perspective (“A sales manager wants…”).
It describes the trigger condition: discount > 20%.
It describes the expected outcome: they can approve or decline the discounted price.
The fact that managers will always decline >25% can be dealt with by policy or an additional rule, but the core acceptance criteria for the approval process is that all contracts over 20% reach them for review.

Why not B?
B. Users in a sales manager role should have access to a button on contracts to click to approve or decline a contract with a discounted price of 20% or more.
Problems:
It focuses on a UI detail (button) instead of business behavior.
It doesn’t ensure managers are prompted/notified when the discount is >20%; it just says they have a button.
Acceptance criteria should focus on conditions and outcomes, not specific UI mechanics.

Why not C?
C. A sales manager wants to be able to approve contracts with a large discount and they need a validation rule related to contract discounts greater than 25%.
Issues:
Talks about a validation rule for >25%, but
Doesn’t ensure visibility/approval for discounts >20%.
Conflates approval process (workflow) with validation rules (blocking saves).
It doesn’t clearly describe what should happen when discount is between 20% and 25%, which is explicitly important in the scenario.

So C only partially covers the business logic and skips the main approval behavior for the 20–25% range.

📚 Reference
Salesforce and business analysis best practices recommend writing acceptance criteria that clearly define:
The trigger/condition (e.g., “discount > 20%”)
The user role (e.g., “sales manager”)
The expected outcome (e.g., “can review and approve/decline”)

This aligns with standard user story & acceptance criteria patterns frequently used with Salesforce approval processes and documented in Agile/BA guidance (e.g., “As a , when , I need to so that ”).

Universal Containers (UC) uses a Salesforce org. UC is merging with a sister company that uses a different CRM. The incoming sales team is reluctant to change to a different process. The business analyst (BA) has been asked to help reach consensus and drive adoption. Which group is well positioned to help the BA secure alignment for the initiative?


A. System admin and project manager


B. Power users and top sales earners


C. Executive sponsors and sales leadership





B.
  Power users and top sales earners

Explanation:

When facing organizational resistance (the incoming sales team's reluctance to change), securing alignment and driving adoption requires authority and influence.

Executive Sponsors: These individuals provide the mandate and strategic direction for the merger and the associated technology change. Their support signals that the initiative is a company priority and is non-negotiable, overcoming organizational inertia and resistance. They provide the necessary funding and resources.

Sales Leadership (Managers/Directors): Sales leadership provides the direct influence and accountability over the reluctant sales team. They translate the strategic mandate into operational expectations, reinforce the new processes, and ensure that the team's performance goals are tied to the new system's adoption. Without leadership buy-in, adoption will fail.

❌ Incorrect Answers and Explanations
A. System admin and project manager
Explanation: The System Admin and Project Manager are crucial for execution and delivery (how the work gets done and managed), but they lack the organizational authority to force reluctant end-users to change their entire process or overcome cultural resistance stemming from a merger.

B. Power users and top sales earners
Explanation: Power users and top sales earners are valuable for grassroots adoption (demonstrating the value of the new system and helping with training). However, their influence is typically peer-to-peer. They can show how to use the new system, but they lack the official authority to counter the overarching reluctance or resistance that comes from a major merger and process shift.

📌 References
Salesforce Trailhead: The BA role involves understanding the need for strong sponsorship for change management initiatives.

Module: Salesforce Business Analyst Quick Look (Emphasizes that Executive Sponsors are critical for overcoming resistance and driving adoption).

IIBA BABOK Guide (Business Analysis Body of Knowledge): Chapter 4: Elicitation and Collaboration and Chapter 5: Strategy Analysis. Identifying and securing support from high-authority, high-influence stakeholders (Executive Sponsors and Key Managers) is a mandatory step for any initiative involving significant organizational change and conflict resolution.


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