BAPv5 Exam Dumps : BCS Practitioner Certificate in Business Analysis Practice v5.2

The business analysis guidance makes it clear that a business case is not a “one-and-done” document that stops being useful at implementation. Instead, it is revisited at multiple decision gates through the lifecycle, including points after development estimates are known, before deployment, and later during operation when benefits realisation is checked. This directly contradicts statement A, because the business case remains relevant beyond implementation to confirm assumptions and verify whether expected benefits were actually achieved.

Statement B is also incorrect. The guidance explicitly states that the “do nothing / maintain the status quo” option should always be considered and will usually appear in the business case. It may sometimes be rejected due to unacceptable consequences, but it should still be included so decision-makers understand the risks of inaction.

Statement C is correct because the business case should consider both tangible and intangible benefits. The documentation explains that many benefits (for example improved customer satisfaction or staff morale) can be intangible, meaning they cannot be credibly valued in advance. While organisations vary in how they treat intangibles, the framework recognises them as legitimate benefits (with the caution not to overstate them or assign “spurious” values).

The Business Change Lifecycle in the documentation comprises five stages (shown in the lifecycle figure and described as the “key areas of activity” needed for successful business change). Business case work is not confined to a single moment; instead, it is revisited through the change effort at multiple decision points. The guidance illustrates this with “decision gates” where the business case is: produced initially, then confirmed after detailed requirements, confirmed once development costs are estimated, revisited before deployment, and later used to check benefits realisation once the new processes/systems are operating.

That pattern means business-case-related activity normally touches every stage of the lifecycle. Early on (Alignment and Definition), the business case is shaped and refined as understanding of problems, scope, and requirements improves. During Design and Implementation, the business case is validated and updated as costs, feasibility, and delivery plans become clearer and as the organisation prepares for change. In Realisation, the business case is used as the baseline for benefits review and to identify follow-up actions where benefits are not yet achieved. Therefore, “5” is the best answer.

The documentation defines gap analysis as exploring the differences between a current state (“as is”) and a desired future state (“to be”). The emphasis is on understanding where the organisation wants to be and, by comparing with the current situation, identifying what needs to change to reach that target state. It also states that the outcome of gap analysis is a list of business requirements to be delivered—typically phrased at the “what” level rather than prescribing detailed solutions.

In this scenario, the retailer’s desired future state includes a more capable online experience and integration with inventory and other applications—this is fundamentally a change in capability. Therefore, identifying new and improved business capabilities (and capturing them in a target view such as a Target Operating Model) is exactly the kind of work performed in gap analysis: it clarifies what the future business system must be able to do, so gaps against the current capabilities can be identified and addressed.

By contrast, a Gantt chart (A/B) is delivery planning, not gap analysis; a RACI matrix (C) is a responsibilities definition; and brainstorming (D) is an idea-generation technique that may help option creation but is not the core “compare as-is to to-be and identify gaps” activity.