IIBA ECBA: Entry Certificate in Business Analysis (ECBA)

Last checked November 10, 2026 against the official IIBA exam page.

1. Question 1Understanding Business Analysis

   A regional bank's operations director tells a business analyst that the team has already picked a loan-approval software product and asks her to write up the specifications so development can start. What should the analyst do first, in line with business analysis as a way of enabling change?

   1. ADraft detailed functional specifications for the chosen product so development can start on schedule
   2. BArrange a vendor demonstration and record the product's features as the baseline requirements
   3. CExplore the business problem behind the choice and whether the product would address it
   4. DEstimate licence and implementation costs and send the figures to finance for early approval
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   Correct answer: C

   Business analysis enables change by first understanding the underlying need and the value sought, not by documenting a solution that is already chosen. Writing specifications and listing vendor features skip the need, and early costing is premature.

2. Question 2Mindset for Effective Business Analysis

   A business analyst notices that developers in another team see her group's reviews as bureaucratic gatekeeping. She starts working with each team to help them solve their own problems and build the skills to check their own work. Which mindset does this change most reflect?

   1. AA competitive mindset that measures the team's individual output
   2. BA gatekeeping mindset that keeps control of approvals
   3. CA compliance mindset that enforces the process document
   4. DAn empowering mindset that builds the capability of others
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   Correct answer: D

   An empowering mindset focuses on helping others make good decisions and build capability, which is what the analyst does here. Gatekeeping, compliance and competitive mindsets centre on control, rule enforcement or individual output rather than shared capability.

3. Question 3Change

   A proposed change would replace a manual approval step with an automated workflow. Which TWO activities are part of the impact analysis for this change? (Choose two.)

   1. AIdentifying which processes, systems and user groups the workflow change would affect
   2. BEstimating how the change would alter workload and responsibilities for affected staff
   3. CSelecting the software vendor that will supply the automated workflow tool
   4. DWriting the training materials that end users will use after go-live
   5. EApproving the project budget through the finance governance board
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   Correct answer: A, B

   Impact analysis identifies the processes, systems and people affected by a change and assesses how their workload and responsibilities shift. Vendor selection, training material creation and budget approval are project activities that follow or support the analysis rather than forming part of it.

4. Question 4Need

   During elicitation, three stakeholders describe three different problems with the order-tracking process, and each group is frustrated with the others. What is the best way for the business analyst to proceed?

   1. ADocument the most senior stakeholder's description as the need and move on to design
   2. BMeet each group separately first to build trust, then bring the perspectives together
   3. CSend a survey listing all three problems and let stakeholders vote on the winner
   4. DRecord all three problems as separate requirements without checking whether they are valid
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   Correct answer: B

   Building rapport with each group first helps the analyst understand each need accurately, and the perspectives can then be reconciled together. Adopting the most senior view, voting or recording unchecked problems skips validation of the real need.

5. Question 5Solution

   A team has built a new claims-intake form that matches the approved design exactly. Before release, the business analyst asks claims staff to process real claims with it to confirm that it actually speeds up their work. Which activity is the analyst performing?

   1. ASolution validation, to confirm the form meets the stakeholders' need
   2. BSolution verification, to check the form was built to the approved specification
   3. CRequirements elicitation, to uncover new features for the next release
   4. DStakeholder analysis, to rank the claims staff by their influence on the project
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   Correct answer: A

   Validation confirms that the solution meets the need it was built for, while verification checks conformance to the specification. Elicitation and stakeholder analysis are different activities that do not test whether the form meets the need.