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

The guidance on prior research for business analysis work states that analysts should first study relevant background material to gain an “entry point” into the domain before undertaking deeper investigation. For projects focused on specific processes (such as re-engineering a customer-facing process with excessive handoffs), the documentation explicitly recommends studying procedure manuals and current system documentation to understand what the process is supposed to be and how it is documented. It also recommends studying the organisation chart to understand reporting lines, functional groupings, and where responsibilities and handoffs may occur—particularly important here because the goal is to reduce handoffs and support remote working practices.

Financial statements and annual reports can be useful for strategic or corporate-level analysis, but the scenario is operational and process-focused (re-engineering a process linked to declining customer satisfaction). The most direct “initial analysis” sources, aligned with the prescribed prior-research approach for process-oriented work, are therefore procedure manuals/documentation and organisation charts.

Crucially, the guidance cautions that documentation may become out of date and can reflect “what we thought it ought to have been,” so these sources support orientation and preparation, but they must be followed by proper investigation techniques (e.g., interviews, observation, workshops, and quantitative methods) to confirm what actually happens in practice.

The documentation defines Critical Success Factors (CSFs) as the few key areas where “things must go right” for the business to flourish and for managerial goals to be attained. The key points are that CSFs are few, they are key, and they are musts—not just “nice-to-have” activities.

Given the objectives, CSFs should be chosen that directly drive market share growth, customer loyalty, and expansion into new markets. Option A aligns strongly to “increase market share in key demographics” because pricing competitiveness is often a critical lever in apparel retail: if pricing drifts out of line with competitor positioning or customer value expectations, share and loyalty can rapidly erode. A CSF framed around continuously monitoring competitor pricing and responding in a controlled way supports both market share and profitability—key for sustained growth.

Option D aligns strongly to “expand product lines and reach new markets.” Establishing new distribution channels (marketplaces, stores, partnerships) is frequently a make-or-break capability for expansion: without the right channels, new product lines won’t reach target segments effectively. That makes it a credible “must go right” area.

Option E (follower count) is not necessarily critical—engagement can matter, but “follower count must remain high” is too narrow and can be a vanity metric. Options B and C may be important hygiene or internal factors, but they are not as directly tied to the stated objectives as A and D.

The event ‘amend KPI’ would affect the activity ‘define performance targets’, as the company would need to change its current performance target of gross profit margin to ROCE. The other activities would not be directly affected by this event, as they are either related to monitoring or defining other aspects of the business. Therefore, option A is the correct answer.