CBDA Practice Exam Questions with Answers Certification in Business Data Analytics (IIBA - CBDA) Certification

The data scientist is encouraging using the Gestalt Principle of Similarity with regards to data visualization. This principle states that the brain groups objects together that are similar in appearance, such as color, shape, size, or orientation. By using color to group objects needing to be associated, the data scientist is suggesting a way to reduce the complexity in the model and make it easier for the viewers to perceive the patterns and relationships among the data12 References: 1: Gestalt Principles For Data Visualization - Topcoder 2: Introduction to Data Visualization: Gestalt Principles

The attributes ItemName and ItemPrice need to be normalized to avoid redundancies because they depend on the attribute ItemId, which is not part of the primary key of the Order entity. This is a case of partial dependency, which violates the second normal form (2NF) of database normalization. To achieve 2NF, the Order entity should be split into two entities: Order and Item, where Item contains the attributes ItemId, ItemName, and ItemPrice, and Order contains the attributes OrderId, OrderDate, ItemId, and Quantity. This way, the ItemName and ItemPrice are stored only once for each ItemId, and the Order entity references them through a foreign key12 References: 1: Balancing Data Integrity and Performance: Normalization vs … 2: Normalization Process in DBMS - GeeksforGeeks

The quality of the data is the most important dimension to consider when identifying research questions, as it affects the validity, reliability, and accuracy of the analysis and the results. Data quality refers to the degree to which the data meets the requirements and expectations of the stakeholders and the purpose of the analysis12. Poor data quality can lead to erroneous conclusions, ineffective decisions, and wasted resources3. References: 1: Guide to Business Data Analytics, IIBA, 2020, p. 282: Data Quality Assessment, Arkady Maydanchik, 2007, p. 33: Data Quality: The Field Guide, Thomas C. Redman, 2001, p. 1.

The question “Given that you’re a customer, would you work at our company?” is unclear, because it is a hypothetical and subjective question that does not specify the purpose, scope, or context of the analysis. The question also does not define what constitutes a customer, or how the customer’s experience or satisfaction relates to the employee’s motivation or performance. The question needs to be refined and clarified to make it more focused, relevant, and feasible for the analytics team to answer. For example, the question could be rephrased as “How does the customer satisfaction score affect the employee retention rate in our company?” References:

•Business Analysis Certification in Data Analytics, CBDA | IIBA®, CBDA Competencies, Domain 1: Identify the Research Questions

•Understanding the Guide to Business Data Analytics, page 10-11

•CERTIFICATION IN BUSINESS DATA ANALYTICS HANDBOOK - IIBA®, page 8, CBDA Exam Sample Questions and Self-Assessment, Question 16

An affinity map is a collaborative game that helps participants to group similar ideas or features together. It is useful for identifying research questions that are related to each other and finding common themes or patterns. In this game, participants write down their research questions on sticky notes and place them on the wall. Then, they move the notes around to form clusters of related questions. The clusters can be labeled with a descriptive name or a question that summarizes the theme. An affinity map can help participants to prioritize the most important or relevant research questions and generate insights from the data. https://businessanalystmentor.com/collaborative-games-business-analysis/

The question “How effective is our marketing spend?” is too broadly scoped to be effectively answered, because it is a vague and ambiguous question that does not specify the criteria, scope, or timeframe for measuring the effectiveness of the marketing spend. The question also does not define what constitutes marketing spend, or how it relates to the sales data or the budget allocations. The question needs to be refined and clarified to make it more focused, relevant, and feasible for the analytics team to answer. For example, the question could be rephrased as “How does the marketing spend per channel affect the sales revenue and customer retention rate in the last quarter?” References:

•Business Analysis Certification in Data Analytics, CBDA | IIBA®, CBDA Competencies, Domain 1: Identify the Research Questions

•Understanding the Guide to Business Data Analytics, page 10-11

•CERTIFICATION IN BUSINESS DATA ANALYTICS HANDBOOK - IIBA®, page 8, CBDA Exam Sample Questions and Self-Assessment, Question 16

The strategic business decision that may be logically derived from the results is to encourage customers to complete online reviews, because the results show that there is a direct relationship between positive customer reviews and increased internet sales. By increasing the number and quality of online reviews, the consumer goods manufacturer can boost its online sales performance, which outperformed other channels in sales growth. Online reviews can also help the manufacturer gain customer feedback, improve customer loyalty, and enhance its brand reputation. References:

•Business Analysis Certification in Data Analytics, CBDA | IIBA®, CBDA Competencies, Domain 5: Use Results to Influence Business Decision Making

•Understanding the Guide to Business Data Analytics, page 9

•CERTIFICATION IN BUSINESS DATA ANALYTICS HANDBOOK - IIBA®, page 8, CBDA Exam Sample Questions and Self-Assessment, Question 6

Descriptive analytics is a type of analytics that summarizes and visualizes the data to provide an overview of what has happened or is happening, such as the attrition rates and the personality test scores of the employees12. The team has been asked to perform descriptive analytics to explore possible relationships between the data variables, without making any predictions or prescriptions for the future. References: 1: Guide to Business Data Analytics, IIBA, 2020, p. 182: Business Analytics: Data Analysis & Decision Making, S. Christian Albright and Wayne L. Winston, 2015, p. 5.

Meta data management is the practice that, if implemented, would address the situation and mature the organization’s business analytics practice, because it is a technique that involves defining, documenting, and maintaining the information about the data elements, such as their names, definitions, formats, sources, and relationships. Meta data management can help the analyst resolve the inconsistencies and ambiguities in the data element names, and ensure that the data is standardized, consistent, and understandable across different business units. Meta data management can also help the analyst improve the data quality, accessibility, and usability for the analysis. References:

•Business Analysis Certification in Data Analytics, CBDA | IIBA®, CBDA Competencies, Domain 2: Source Data

•Guide to Business Data Analytics - Iiba - Google Books, page 14

•Business Data Analytics (IIBA®-CBDA Exam preparation) | Udemy, Section 2: Source Data, Lecture 8: Meta Data Management

The change proposed is not aligned to company strategy, because it may not address the root cause of the attrition problem, or it may conflict with other organizational goals or values. For example, the change may reduce the pool of qualified candidates, increase the hiring costs, or lower the diversity or customer satisfaction of the sales team. The change may also ignore other factors that influence the attrition rates, such as compensation, training, feedback, or recognition. Therefore, the change may not achieve the desired outcome of reducing attrition, and may even worsen it. References:

•Business Analysis Certification in Data Analytics, CBDA | IIBA®, CBDA Competencies, Domain 5: Use Results to Influence Business Decision Making

•Understanding the Guide to Business Data Analytics, page 9

•CERTIFICATION IN BUSINESS DATA ANALYTICS HANDBOOK - IIBA®, page 8, CBDA Exam Sample Questions and Self-Assessment, Question 13

Providing ‘one source of the truth’ means ensuring that there is a single, consistent, and authoritative source of data that can be used for analytics and decision making across the organization. This objective can be achieved by enforcing master data management principles and practices, which involve defining, governing, and maintaining the quality and integrity of the core data entities that are shared by multiple systems and processes. Master data management helps to eliminate data silos, reduce data duplication and inconsistency, and improve data accuracy and reliability12 References: 1: What is Master Data Management (MDM)? - Informatica 2: Master Data Management - IIBA BABOK Guide v3

When preparing an executive dashboard, the analyst should keep in mind that the purpose of the dashboard is to provide a quick and clear overview of the past year’s performance and to support strategic decision making for the new year. Therefore, the analyst should keep the dashboard high-level, summarizing the key insights and metrics that are relevant and meaningful for the senior executives. The analyst should avoid cluttering the dashboard with too much detail or information that is not essential for the executives. The analyst should also use visual features, such as charts, graphs, and colors, to display the data in an organized and appealing way12 References: 1: Executive Dashboards: 10 Reporting Tips and Examples [2023] • Asana 2: How to Create Executive Dashboard & Reports - Ubiq BI

A normal probability plot is a graphical technique that can be used to check if a variable follows a Gaussian distribution. It plots the observed values of the variable against the expected values under the normal distribution. If the variable is normally distributed, the points should form a straight line. A scatterplot, a boxplot, and a lowess curve are not suitable for testing normality, as they do not compare the observed values with the theoretical values of the normal distribution.

https://www.graphpad.com/support/faq/testing-data-for-normal-distrbution/

The risk that could impact the value of this analysis is that the objective of the original research may not be met, because the team modified the research question to fit the data, rather than finding the data that fits the research question. This could lead to a loss of alignment between the research question and the business problem, stakeholder needs, or analytical methods. The team may end up answering a different or less relevant question than the one they intended to answer, and thus provide less valuable insights or recommendations. References:

•Business Analysis Certification in Data Analytics, CBDA | IIBA®, CBDA Competencies, Domain 1: Identify the Research Questions

•Understanding the Guide to Business Data Analytics, page 10-11

•CERTIFICATION IN BUSINESS DATA ANALYTICS HANDBOOK - IIBA®, page 8, CBDA Exam Sample Questions and Self-Assessment, Question 10

Predictive analytics is a type of analytics that uses historical and current data, as well as statistical and machine learning techniques, to forecast future events or outcomes, such as product purchases, customer behavior, or market trends12. To answer the question ‘How many product purchases are expected this coming year given the current marketing campaign?’, predictive analytics would be performed to estimate the demand and sales based on the existing data and the marketing campaign variables. References: 1: Guide to Business Data Analytics, IIBA, 2020, p. 182: Predictive Analytics: The Power to Predict Who Will Click, Buy, Lie, or Die, Eric Siegel, 2016, p. 3.

A box plot is the technique that would allow for the display of the statistical five number summary, because it is a technique that shows the distribution of a data set using a rectangular box and whiskers. A box plot can help the data scientist visualize the minimum, maximum, median, first quartile, and third quartile of the data set, as well as any outliers or skewness. A box plot can also help the data scientist compare the variation and symmetry of different groups or categories of data. Options A, B, and C are not suitable for displaying the statistical five number summary, because they are techniques that show the frequency, relationship, or density of the data, but not the quartiles or outliers. References:

•Business Analysis Certification in Data Analytics, CBDA | IIBA®, CBDA Competencies, Domain 3: Analyze Data

•Understanding the Guide to Business Data Analytics, page 18

•16 Best Types of Charts and Graphs for Data Visualization [+ Guide]

Exploratory analysis is the approach that the analytics team should use as the next step, because it is a technique that allows them to examine the quality, structure, and characteristics of the data, without making any assumptions or hypotheses. Exploratory analysis can help the team identify any issues or anomalies in the data, such as missing values, outliers, or errors, and decide how to handle them. Exploratory analysis can also help the team discover any patterns, trends, or relationships in the data, and generate new research questions or hypotheses for further analysis. References:

•Business Analysis Certification in Data Analytics, CBDA | IIBA®, CBDA Competencies, Domain 3: Analyze Data

•Understanding the Guide to Business Data Analytics, page 16

•CERTIFICATION IN BUSINESS DATA ANALYTICS HANDBOOK - IIBA®, page 8, CBDA Exam Sample Questions and Self-Assessment, Question 8