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BCS BAPv5 Exam - Topic 6 Question 55 Discussion

A company has just completed a two-year project to implement a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) system in its customer service department. The results have been significantly worse than expected, with staff being forced to create manual workarounds to accommodate the expectations of large customers. Which investigative technique would have been most likely to uncover these problems earlier in the analysis process?
D) Shadowing customer service personnel.
A) Document analysis of existing policies.
B) Workshops with the vendor's development team.
C) Surveys of customer service staff.

BCS BAPv5 Exam - Topic 6 Question 55 Discussion

Actual exam question for BCS's BAPv5 exam
Question #: 55
Topic #: 6
[All BAPv5 Questions]

A company has just completed a two-year project to implement a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) system in its customer service department. The results have been significantly worse than expected, with staff being forced to create manual workarounds to accommodate the expectations of large customers. Which investigative technique would have been most likely to uncover these problems earlier in the analysis process?

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Suggested Answer: D

The key issue described---staff creating manual workarounds to satisfy important customers---often reflects tacit knowledge and ''what really happens'' in day-to-day work, not what is written in policies or what people might summarise in a survey. The guidance is clear that while interviews and workshops can reveal stakeholder views, the ''back-story'' of real working practices can differ; techniques such as work shadowing and observation help clarify what actually happens.

Shadowing is specifically defined as following a user as they carry out their job for a period (e.g., a day or two) in order to find out what the job entails. This is exactly the kind of technique that exposes hidden steps, exceptions, customer-specific handling, and unofficial procedures---precisely the conditions that drive workarounds when a COTS package does not fit real operational needs.

The observation section also highlights that seeing the workplace provides a much better understanding of problems and difficulties faced by business users and helps uncover tacit information that would otherwise remain unstated. Additionally, the guidance even uses customer services as an example area where an analyst might shadow staff to record real call types, durations, and retrieval delays---evidence that supports discovering process pain and mismatch early.

Therefore, shadowing customer service personnel (D) would have been most likely to uncover the workaround drivers earlier.


Contribute your Thoughts:

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Tenesha
4 days ago
True, but staff might not speak up in surveys. Shadowing reveals more.
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Carlton
9 days ago
But what about D) Shadowing customer service personnel? That could show real issues in action.
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Agustin
14 days ago
Agreed! They could have shared their concerns early on.
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Michal
19 days ago
I think C) Surveys of customer service staff would have helped a lot.
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Ammie
24 days ago
Surveys could've given insights, but shadowing is more direct.
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Aja
29 days ago
Wait, how did they not see this coming? Seems like a big oversight.
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Margurite
1 month ago
Document analysis might have caught some issues too.
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Dong
1 month ago
Totally agree, seeing the real workflow is crucial!
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Domonique
1 month ago
I think shadowing customer service personnel would have helped a lot.
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Dannette
2 months ago
Wow, I can't believe they missed that!
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Janine
2 months ago
Document analysis could have highlighted gaps too.
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Charlene
2 months ago
Really? I thought surveys would have been enough.
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Lavina
4 months ago
Totally agree, real-time observation is key!
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Anabel
4 months ago
Shadowing customer service personnel would have caught those issues early.
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Janey
4 months ago
I practiced a similar question where surveys were mentioned, but I think shadowing would provide deeper insights into the workflow challenges.
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Jodi
4 months ago
Document analysis sounds useful, but I wonder if it would really highlight the practical problems the staff faced. I feel like they might need more direct feedback.
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Lottie
5 months ago
I'm not entirely sure, but I think workshops with the vendor could help clarify expectations. However, I feel like they might not capture the day-to-day struggles of the staff.
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Dahlia
5 months ago
I remember we discussed how shadowing personnel can reveal real-time issues that might not show up in surveys. It seems like a strong choice here.
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