Salesforce Business Analyst Certification

Reduced or eliminated rework

Eliminate the rework in the build and test phases due to miscommunication around architecture and requirements

Increased user engagement

Engage users in the analysis to kick-start the change management required for adoption

Personas

Fictionalized characters in which primarily demographic characteristics are represented

Improved Process

Identify quick process improvement wins, some of which can be implemented without system changes

Stakeholders

Individuals who make decisions and who have an important role in determining the requirements for a project

Detailed Process Map

Is a flowchart that shows a drill-down version of a process that contains all the details of each step

SIPOC Map

Shows the elements of a process including: Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, and Customers

Visual characteristics of a Universal Process Notation (UPN) Diagram

-Activity box -Resource -Line with text -Attachment -Decision -Drill Down

Content Audit Criteria: Objective (List 9)

-Audience -Journey Stage -Calls to action -Content type -Keywords and tags -Content owner (if known) -Attached files, downloads, or media -Connected content (For example, links to recommended or related information) -Engagement and performance metrics

Content Audit Criteria: Subjective (List 6)

-Customer need (what the content helps customers achieve or understand) -Business impact -Accuracy -Findability -Usability (whether the content is clear, useful, readable, relevant, and consistent) -Recommendation (keep, improve, or merge)

UPN diagram benefits

-Encapsulates every level of a process, from a top-level overview down to detailed, actionable diagrams. -Can be viewed online and embedded within apps. -Can be created collaboratively. -Can have a broad or narrow scope. -Supports regulatory and compliance considerations. -Provides context for metrics and management decisions.

Traits of Kanban

-Visualize workflow -Limit work in progress -Incremental and evolutionary change -Metrics

5 Key processes of a lightweight and agile governance framework.

1. Vision and Strategy 2. Business backlog 3. Software development lifecycle 4. Data strategy, architecture, and management 5. Communication strategy

North Star

A foundational mission statement to guide all participants on a common path.

Process Mapping

A framework used to create visual representations of work processes

In-App prompt

A notification that alerts Salesforce users about what's new, in context of the tool, at the right time.

Storyboarding

A process for mapping out the connection between a customer's current challenges and goals for the future with realistic next steps

Acceptance Criteria

A set of statements, each with a clear pass/fail result, added to a user story.

Sprint

A short, time-boxed period when a scrum team works to complete a set amount of work

Salesforce Optimizer

A tool that takes a snapshot of a Salesforce Org and looks for potential problems in the implementation

Setup Audit Trail

A tool to track changes

CK wants to assess the efficiency of its Sales Cloud solution to eliminate unnecessary steps and cut costs. A BA will give a presentation to executives to help them understand the current state and define the future state. Which document should the BA use for the presentation? A. A business process model B. A persona journey map C. A collection of use cases

A. A business process model

When using the Agile framework for project management, how should Kanban Teams respond to unplanned work and changes? A. Access the priority of the new request and start the work when it's at the top of the backlog. B. Give the customer/stakeholders daily updates C. Place the new request at the bottom of the backlog.

A. Access the priority of the new request and start the work when it's at the top of the backlog.

The BA at UC has been capturing requirements for a major Sales Cloud release. An admin has been deploying the resulting system changes. The quality assurance team has run into challenges when testing the changes. The BA is unaware of deployment and testing challenges. What should the BA do to resolve these challenges with the release team? A. Associate each set of metadata changes to the corresponding user story. B. Provide detailed test cases to validate the functional requirements C. Involve stakeholders in the business requirements gathering sessions.

A. Associate each set of metadata changes to the corresponding user story.

CK recently decided to transition its business from spreadsheets to a Salesforce solution. CK leaders are excited about the capabilities of Salesforce. Each leader has different ideas about how the platform should be implemented. CK has hired a BA to help define and manage the implementation. What should the BA do in the first discovery meeting with stakeholders? A. Collaborate with stakeholders to examine and define CK's purpose, customers, metrics, and overall business to inform project direction and vision. B. Discuss and document specific pain points in existing processes to inform future project requirements C. Preview potential Salesforce solutions and collect feedback from stakeholders on each option to inform the direction of the project.

A. Collaborate with stakeholders to examine and define CK's purpose, customers, metrics, and overall business to inform project direction and vision.

The BA is preparing for user acceptance testing for NTO's new Service Cloud implementation. The BA secured the sandbox for the testing environment, wrote test cases, and created a process to track and manage reported bugs. Which additional step is required during the UAT planning process? A. Identify power users B. Schedule deployment C. Gather business requirements

A. Identify power users

When creating a process map, what is the first high-level step? A. Identify the process to map B. Gather all necessary information C. Develop the process map

A. Identify the process to map

Which one of these options is a principle of Universal Process Notation (UPN)? A. Limit of 8-10 activity boxes on a screen B. Limit of 5 levels C. No version control

A. Limit of 8-10 activity boxes on a screen

Stakeholders want to enhance the organization's security by requiring users to identify themselves with additional information besides username and password. Which capability should a business analyst add to the project backlog? A. Multi-factor authentication B. Real-Time event monitoring C. Shield platform encryption

A. Multi-factor authentication

UC is setting up a Salesforce email integration for the sales team. Through discovery conversations, the BA learns the operations team also needs email integration in the near future. What should the BA do next? A. Process with the sales team's project as planned B. Start project work for the operations team C. Include the operations team during discovery

A. Process with the sales team's project as planned

During a sprint grooming session for the Sales Cloud implementation at CK, the development team mentions the step "Code Review by technical architect" listed within the acceptance criteria that needs to be adjusted. Which location should the business analyst move this to? A. Project plan B. Definition of Done C. Pull request template

A. Project Plan

The North America team wants to add a set of new fields and delete several fields from the Account object. During the requirements gathering the BA discovers the fields are actively used by the EMEA team. Which step should the BA take next? A. Refine the requirements to accommodate both teams. B. Focus on the NA team's requirements C. Start another project to address the EMEA team's requirements

A. Refine the requirements to accommodate both teams.

CK has an existing implementation of Salesforce. A BA wants to understand details about the Salesforce environment: Custom apps, Active Salesforce Sites, Active Flows, Custom tabs, VF pages. Which path should the BA take to find this information? A. Review configuration settings B. Read business process documentation C. Conduct Stakeholder interviews

A. Review configuration settings

While working on a new Sales Cloud feature request for the sales team at NTO, the BA uncovers a workflow which could have an impact on the service team. The sales direct assures the BA that the impact to service would be minimal. Which step should the BA take next? A. Review the effort and impacts with the service team, and work to align requirements across the teams. B. Continue with the effort as defined by sales and add a backlog item to review the service impacts in the future. C. Prioritize the effort as defined by sales and ask the director to review any service impacts.

A. Review the effort and impacts with the service team, and work to align requirements across the teams.

The BA at UC is helping the team transition from workflow rules to flow. The work has been built and it is time to kickoff UAT. What is the goal of UAT? A. To ensure what was originally requested is being delivered B. Summarize the overall ask and determine what is in scope C. To identify acceptance criteria with pass/fail indicators

A. To ensure what was originally requested is being delivered

NTO has acquired a competitor. The agreement is to migrate the acquired company into NTO's technological platforms. One of its challenges is to offer a unified customer experience while strengthening the relationship with its customers. The BA has been asked to translate the business objectives and assemble an improved and standard customer experience. Which strategy should the BA use to accomplish the goal? A. Understand business objectives, define the intention and audience, conduct user experience research, analyze the research results, and design an improved new user experience. B. Understand business objectives, define intention and audience, lead a journey mapping workshop, find opportunities for improvement, and update the journey map C. Understand business objectives, determine company culture, evaluate processes and user experiences, interview stakeholders, and add improvements to the integration road map.

A. Understand business objectives, define the intention and audience, conduct user experience research, analyze the research results, and design an improved new user experience.

UC has low adoption rate of its Salesforce solution. US hired a new vendor to overhaul its documentation and training process and needs a business analyst to facilitate this transition. Which set of actions are the most effective business needs from stakeholders? A. Use multiple forms of communication, build trust, show empathy, and get commitment for next B. Mock up a design, build a prototype, demonstrate functionality to users, and collect feedback for changes. C. Send surveys to collect feedback, observe end users, whiteboard incoming requests

A. Use multiple forms of communication, build trust, show empathy, and get commitment for next

When a business analyst maps processes, which option is a best practice? A. Validate maps B. Purchase mapping software C. Focus on future state maps

A. Validate maps

A BA is compiling. list of subject matter experts to consult throughout the discovery for a new Service Cloud implementation. What is the primary value of the BA speaking with customer service reps? A. Validating current processes B. Estimating the project cost C. Building solution design consensus

A. Validating current processes

When a business analyst is creating a journey map, what assumptions are needed to get started? A. Why you're doing it and who you're focusing on B. What the project specifications are and who will use it C. What you want and what the business needs

A. Why you're doing it and who you're focusing on (These assumptions help a BA focus and ensure that the journey map is relevant)

Salesforce Customer 360

An integrated CRM platform that unites marketing, sales, commerce, service, and IT teams with a single shared customer view

Which of the following business processes should you map out first and why? A. A core business process: Go big or go home. B. A low-risk process: Start Small and get momentum C. Start anywhere: The most important thing is to get some practice D. AA complex contentious process: This allows you to easily settle disputes among stakeholders.

B. A low-risk process: Start Small and get momentum

To ensure effective collaboration with stakeholders, which technique would help a business analyst maintain their trust? A. Facilitate workshops to gauge priorities B. Be transparent and truthful C. Point out lessons learned and mistakes that should be avoided

B. Be transparent and truthful

How does version control ease the burden of collaboration among team members? A. By enforcing strict rules and processes on team members. B. By providing a way to organize work from many teams members C. By limiting communication between team members

B. By providing a way to organize work from many teams members

When using the package development model, which metadata changes need to be tracked manually? A. Changes made via the Setup UI B. Changes to components that are unsupported by source tracking C. All metadata changes for the release.

B. Changes to components that are unsupported by source tracking

Northern trail outfitters is updating its customer portal built on Experience Cloud. The team has drafted a user story: "As a customer, I want to be able to chat with a support agent and view my account, see my orders, and ask questions via the customer port." What should a business analyst do to improve this user story? A. Estimate how long it will take the technical team to complete the story B. Include specific information about potential Salesforce Solutions C. Adjust the goal of the user story to be independent

B. Include specific information about potential Salesforce Solutions

When a business analyst conducts a user story workshop, why is it detrimental to use an undefined user as the who in a user story? A. User stories aren't meant to be written for users outside of the company. B. Intention of the user can't be clearly defined. C. Acceptance criteria for an undefined user requires extra work.

B. Intention of the user can't be clearly defined.

How is a change set used during implementation of a new project? A. It builds all of the metadata, changed and unchanged, that defines a specific app. B. It builds all changed metadata, possibly unrelated, to be deployed at the same time. C. It is a milestone when changes can no longer be made to the build.

B. It builds all changed metadata, possibly unrelated, to be deployed at the same time.

What is an effective way for a business analyst to learn about a customer's challenges? A. Review the customer's tax statement from the last 10 years B. Read recent industry reports in trade publications C. Survey brand fans on social media

B. Read recent industry reports in trade publications (The customer's industry challenges may give insight into current and future trends)

UC is about to kick off a new Salesforce implementation, bringing both sales and service teams onto the platform. Each team has been managing Accounts and Contacts in their own way even though the Accounts and Contacts are shared between teams. This has resulted in disagreements about what should be built in Salesforce. Which groups should the business analyst work with to gain full alignment on a common program vision and strategy? A. Business leaders, middle management, and end users B. Senior leadership, IT leadership, and middle management C. Executive sponsors, IT leadership, and end users

B. Senior leadership, IT leadership, and middle management

Northern Trail Outfitters launched a new feature on its Experience Cloud site to allow customers to compare features of similar products ahead of the major promotional event of the year. UAT passed successfully; however, many customers complained of issues when accessing the site. What did the BA overlook before recommending that the release for live? A. The UAT should have been performed with enough time to resolve bugs in the new feature B. The UAT should have been performed with both peak load and average load simulation C. The UAT should have been performed by customers who are familiar with the products

B. The UAT should have been performed with both peak load and average load simulation

The Salesforce project team at CK is about to start a project that crosses sales and service teams. The BA has been tasked with writing user stories with the teams in a workshop. What should the BA keep in mind during the process? A. User stories encourage iterative development B. User stories specify which technical components are impacted. C. User stories are fixed upon stakeholder approval

B. User stories specify which technical components are impacted.

What does a business analyst hope to learn from documenting the current state processes? A. How the sales process may differ from other organizations B. Where the process needs improvement C. Which personnel are involved in the sales process

B. Where the process needs improvement

UC is developing a new case management solution in Salesforce. The BA has started writing user stories to capture feature needs. One user story is: "The customer care rep wants to take ownership of new cases and communicate with customers so they can provide high-touch customer experiences." Which component of the user story is "provide high-touch customer experiences. A. Assumption B. Why C. Where

B. Why

Better Adoption

Build the apps users need and spend less time developing training materials

Business Process Mapping

Business process mapping creates visual representations of business processes. A business process map includes the steps in the process, who does what, additional context, and how success is measured

When a business analyst conducts a user story-writing workshop, which project team members should be involved? A. Product Managers and developers B. UX designers and users C. All of the project team

C. All of the project team: The most productive user story-writing workshops include as much of the project team as possible.

During a project discovery, the business analyst uncovers a requirement for service managers to have visibility into their team's queues to monitor open tickets their team is assigned. What is the best user story for this requirement? A. As a user, I need to see case queues to monitor my team's work. B. As a service team member, I need my manager to access my queue to monitor my work. C. As a service manager, I need to see my team's work queues so I can monitor their open tickets.

C. As a service manager, I need to see my team's work queues so I can monitor their open tickets.

When using the Agile framework, when is a retrospective executed? A. After the project is complete B. Daily C. At the end of every sprint.

C. At the end of every sprint.

CK needs to revamp its support process to improve the customer experience and has asked the Service Cloud team to collaborate with the BA. The BA has scheduled an initial live process mapping session with all stakeholders and received the following calendar responses. Expert Agent - Yes; Team Leader - Yes, Service Admin - No, Case Solver - Yes. What should the BA do? A. Hold a one-on-one diagram session with each stakeholder before the workshop B. Proceed with the workshop as scheduled with the stakeholders who are available. C. Cancel the workshop and reschedule it to a date when all stakeholders are available.

C. Cancel the workshop and reschedule it to a date when all stakeholders are available.

A group of business analyst at UC have been working with different teams of stakeholders on eliciting requirements for a new Salesforce app. The BAs have gathered and documented all of the information in a central location. Upon review of the requirements, the BAs discovered that changes made to the documentation were overwritten by each other, and they will lose time recapturing them. What should the BAs do differently to prevent this error from happening? A. Each BA should use their own separate documentation B. Each BA should enter their business needs in a shared spreadsheet C. Each BA should use a shared system that has version control.

C. Each BA should use a shared system that has version control.

NTO has. moved its inventory systems to Salesforce to track the clothing it manufactures and sells. As part of this project, NTO wants to implement several features which will also improve how its inventory is restocked. In order to manage the discovery phase of the project, the project team plans to hire a BA. What should a BA do to be successful during the first phase of the project? A. Elicit requirements, built automation, and deploy a solution. B. Architect a solution, configure a sandbox, and build a proof of concept. C. Elicit requirements, create flows and process diagrams, and understand business analytics

C. Elicit requirements, create flows and process diagrams, and understand business analytics

What are the business analyst's responsibilities during the analyze phase of the Salesforce implementation lifecycle? A. Complete testing, build training materials, and elicit requirements for next iteration B. Create data dictionary, write end user documentation, and review test scripts C. Gather business requirements, create process maps, and write user stories

C. Gather business requirements, create process maps, and write user stories

UC wants to integrate its Salesforce org with the largest online professional network so its sales reps can view information directly on Salesforce records. The business analyst will write acceptance criteria for this scenario. What is an example of good acceptance criteria? A. A sales rep can view current information directly in the Lead and Contact records B. A sales rep needs to have the CRM widget installed in the Lead and Contact Page Layouts C. Install a CRM widget to allow sales reps to view information in the Lead and Contact records

C. Install a CRM widget to allow sales reps to view information in the Lead and Contact records

Why is the scope statement specification the most fundamental deliverable on any project? A. It clearly defines the roles and responsibilities of every member of the project team B. It is the document with the most details C. It clearly defines what needs to be achieved and the work that must be done to deliver the project

C. It clearly defines what needs to be achieved and the work that must be done to deliver the project

The BA working with the contract renewal team at CK has mapped out its current renewal process, the BA noted where representatives are inputting contract information from PDF document which is introducing errors and inaccurate dates into Salesforce. Which type of inefficiency is happening during this step in the process? A. Duplication B. Avoidance C. Manual Effort

C. Manual Effort

Which users will be able to reset a Single Sign-On user password? A. The SSO Manager B. Users above the SSO user in the role hierarchy C. Only the admin D. Admin and Users with the right permission sets

C. Only the Admin

The Sen/Ive Center at UC uses Service Cloud and Experience Cloud to manage its customer case lifecycle. UC wants to limit the number of interactions a customer has during the lifecycle. The project leader has asked the BA to visually illustrate the lifecycle. Which document should the BA create? A. Journey Map B. Heat Map C. Process Map

C. Process Map

A BA at UC has a meeting with sales and service reps to gather requirements around contact management for a new Salesforce implementation. A sales rep wants a place to capture the names of the contact's spouse and children to help build the relationship. The BA writes the following user story: "As a user, I need to be able to record a contact's title and role as separate data points so I know who to address for various needs of the account." Who should be listed as the persona? A. Contact B. Service rep C. Sales Rep

C. Sales Rep

When is user acceptance testing implemented in the project lifestyle? A. Right before the elicitation of requirements B. Immediately after user stories are written C. The last step before production release

C. The last step before production release

What is the end goal of the user acceptance testing phase? A. To learn how to implement a Salesforce solution B. To help business users to adopt new processes C. To determine a Go/No-go decision for deployment

C. To determine a Go/No-go decision for deployment

When assessing a new process, which type of diagram should be used to identify waste within and between processes? A. Detailed Process Map B. SIPOC Map C. Value Stream Map

C. Value Stream Map

What are the three components that make up a user story? A. Who, how, why B. Who, what, and where C. Who, what, and why

C. Who, what, and why

Of the following Locale settings, select which cannot be selected when creating a new user. A. Language B. Time Zone C. Working Hours D. Locale

C. Working Hours

You're tasked with creating a business process map of a customer ordering a coffee from a cafe. Which of the following would you identify as the input and the outcome of that process? A. The input is the coffee shop employee clocking in for their shift; the output is them receiving a paycheck at the end of the week. B. The input is someone walking into the coffee shop; the outcome is them leaving C. The input is the coffee beans being roasted; the outcome is the coffee being brewed. D. The input is someone deciding to get a cup of coffee; the outcome is them receiving their drink.

D. The input is someone deciding to get a cup of coffee; the outcome is them receiving their drink.

You're mapping the process to document compliance with local privacy regulations, which can differ based on the state or country of a data transaction. How detailed should you make this process map and why? A. Simple. A high-level map is enough to cover all of the key parts of this process. B. Simple Because regulations are different in different parts of the world, it's impossible to map this process fully. C. Somewhat detailed. Because this process is followed often, people will naturally remember it better and needs less explanation. D. Very detailed. A process that deals with compliance should be detailed, unambiguous, and version controlled.

D. Very detailed. A process that deals with compliance should be detailed, unambiguous, and version controlled.

Elicitation

The drawing forth or receiving of information from stakeholders or other sources

Gap analysis document

This document describes the gaps between the current processes and the intended processes

System requirements specifications (SRS)

This document details how the complete system should function and enumurates hardware, software, and functional and behavioral requirements of the system

Functional requirements specifications (FRS)

This is the business requirements that are defined from an end user or business perspective. It will specify specific outcomes.

Performance Testing

This type of testing evaluates how the system responds when large volumes of records or operations are being handled.

Technical Debt

Unnecessary complexity in an org that increases the time to deploy new innovation in the future.

Whiteboarding

Using a blank physical canvas (or online equivalent) to help track thoughts and ideas during a meeting.

Waterfall vs. Agile

Waterfall: Creates critical paths; a project can't move forward until a blocking issue is resolved Agile: An iterative approach to development with regular feedback intervals

What's a proven way to help executives understand how new processes or products can enable change? A. Thoroughly describe the system configuration details. B. Keep the conversation strictly focused on what the existing system can do. C. Describe how the system can enable business innovation and help customers.

c. Describe how the system can enable business innovation and help customers. (Framing the discussion around innovation and helping customers is the most likely way to motivate executives to enable change.

Value Stream Map

flowchart that documents processes and flows to help determine which processes add value

Jobs-to-be-done

is a framework based on the idea that whenever users "hire" (i.e. use) a product, they do it for a specific "job" (i.e. to achieve a particular outcome). The set of "jobs" for the product amounts to a comprehensive list of user needs.