IIBA-AAC practice questions: Delivery Horizon

5 free questions from 79 on this area · answer and explanation for each · no sign-up

These 5 questions come from the Delivery Horizon section of our IIBA-AAC bank (79 questions on this area, which carries 35% of the real exam). Every question is original, with the correct answer explained and linked to the source it is drawn from.

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1/5 · Delivery Horizon

A backlog item is too large to complete within a single iteration. The team wants to split it so each resulting piece can be delivered and demonstrated independently. Which approach to splitting best fits the intent of the Delivery Horizon?

ASplit the item into thin vertical slices, each delivering a small but complete and demonstrable piece of end-to-end functionality.

BSplit the item by phase of the development lifecycle: analysis tasks, then build tasks, then test tasks.

CKeep the item whole but assign more developers so it fits in one iteration.

DSplit the item into a 'database layer' piece, a 'service layer' piece, and a 'UI layer' piece to be built in sequence.

Show answer & explanation

A is correct. At the Delivery Horizon, decomposition aims to produce backlog items that are small enough to deliver quickly yet each carry observable value. Vertical (end-to-end) slicing achieves this: every slice cuts through all the technical layers to deliver a working sliver of functionality that can be demonstrated and validated, enabling fast feedback. Horizontal/component or phase-based splits delay value and feedback until everything is integrated.
↗ Agile Extension to the BABOK Guide v2 — Delivery Horizon

2/5 · Delivery Horizon

A delivery team has shipped three small stories this iteration but stakeholders complain they cannot yet judge whether the new capability is paying off. The analyst explains that this is normal for the Delivery Horizon. Which statement best reflects the Agile Extension's view of feedback at this horizon?

AFeedback at the Delivery Horizon should be batched and reviewed only once per release to avoid noise

BFeedback at this horizon is purely informal and cannot come from structured events

CFeedback is rapid and in small chunks, and significant feedback often emerges only after a collection of stories is delivered across multiple increments

DMeaningful feedback is available from the very first story, so any uncertainty signals a process failure

Show answer & explanation

C is correct. At the Delivery Horizon feedback is rapid and ideally in small chunks, with each story delivering a small increment of value. The Agile Extension notes that significant feedback usually emerges only after a collection of stories delivered across multiple increments, and feedback may be both structured and informal.
↗ Agile Extension to the BABOK Guide v2 — Delivery Horizon

3/5 · Delivery Horizon

At the Delivery Horizon a team needs to gauge how much upcoming work it can take on, but stakeholders keep pressing for precise hour-by-hour estimates of each story. The analyst recommends sizing stories by comparing them against one another rather than estimating absolute durations. Which technique is the analyst recommending, and why does it suit the Delivery Horizon?

ABacklog Management — it assigns each story an exact duration so the backlog can be scheduled to the hour

BStory Mapping — it estimates effort by measuring the width of each column on the map

CRelative Estimation — comparing items against each other gives fast, good-enough sizing that supports near-term planning without false precision

DFunctional Decomposition — it converts each story into a precise time estimate by listing every sub-task

Show answer & explanation

C is correct. Relative Estimation sizes backlog items by comparing them to one another rather than producing absolute time estimates, yielding fast and good-enough sizing that supports short-term delivery planning while avoiding the false precision of hour-by-hour estimates. This fits the Delivery Horizon's emphasis on rapid, just-enough analysis. Decomposition, backlog management, and story mapping address different needs.
↗ Agile Extension to the BABOK Guide v2 — Delivery Horizon

4/5 · Delivery Horizon

A delivery team currently sizes whole epics with coarse t-shirt sizes to plan further-out work, but for the stories it is about to pull into the next two iterations it needs sharper, comparable point sizes to forecast how many it can take on. An analyst recommends a collaborative, discussion-driven method where team members independently reveal a relative number for each story and converge through conversation. Which estimation approach is the analyst recommending for the near-term stories?

AValue stream mapping to estimate the duration of each story by tracing process steps

BBehaviour-driven development to express each story's acceptance criteria

CT-shirt sizing, assigning broad small/medium/large categories to each near-term story

DPlanning poker, where members independently reveal relative point estimates and discuss differences to converge

Show answer & explanation

D is correct. Planning poker is a collaborative relative-estimation method where members independently reveal point values and converge through discussion, fitting the team's need for sharper near-term sizing. T-shirt sizing is the coarser method being supplemented; BDD and value stream mapping are not estimation techniques.
↗ Agile Extension to the BABOK Guide v2 — Delivery Horizon

5/5 · Delivery Horizon

Before a team can confidently size a story that depends on an unfamiliar third-party API, the business analyst and a developer agree to run a short, timeboxed investigation into the API's behavior before estimating the story. What is this investigative technique commonly called, and at which horizon does it typically occur?

AA business case review, performed at the Initiative Horizon.

BA capability gap analysis, performed at the Strategy Horizon.

CA minimum marketable feature analysis, performed at the Initiative Horizon.

DA spike, performed at the Delivery Horizon.

Show answer & explanation

D is correct. A spike is a timeboxed research or investigation activity used at the Delivery Horizon to resolve technical or requirement uncertainty so a story can be reliably split, estimated, and planned into an iteration.
↗ Agile Extension to the BABOK Guide v2 — Delivery Horizon

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Other IIBA-AAC areas

The same kind of free sample for every other section of the IIBA-AAC bank:

Strategy Horizon65 q Initiative Horizon78 q Principles of Agile Analysis79 q

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