This CBDA analytics strategy quiz gives you 12 original, scenario-based questions on Domain 6, Guide Organization-level Strategy for Business Analytics. It covers centralized, decentralized and hybrid operating models, executive sponsorship, talent and team design, data strategy, and the techniques the Guide lists for this domain. Every answer is explained and traced to a section of the Guide to Business Data Analytics.
How this CBDA analytics strategy set is built
Domain 6 carries the smallest blueprint weight (9%), so many candidates skim it. These questions follow the real exam style: a short business situation, then a judgement call about what the analyst should recommend. The set targets Guide section 2.6 plus Concept Modelling (3.3). All questions are original, not taken from exam dumps, and calibrated to mid-to-hard difficulty. Two include numbers you need to work through.
The ideas behind the set:
- Organizational Strategy (2.6.1). Analytics can sit in one central unit, be embedded in business units, or mix both; a hub-and-spoke split by geography is the Guide's hybrid example. Data ownership, governance, outsourcing, competition and leadership involvement shape the choice, and executive support is essential.
- Talent Strategy (2.6.2). Pay matters, but people also stay for access to decision-makers, business learning and good tools. Overlapping roles can be merged on smaller initiatives, and learning plans should include translating results for stakeholders.
- Data Strategy (2.6.3). Ad hoc consolidation gives limited value. A planned strategy covers governance, architecture, security and metadata, and may use self-service access before a single source of truth exists.
- Techniques and case (2.6.4, 2.6.6). The Guide lists Business Capability Analysis, Five Forces, SWOT and others; its case study ends in a staged hybrid model.
For the wider strategy toolkit, see our guide to strategy analysis in business analysis.
| Sub-topic | Questions |
|---|---|
| Operating models and leadership (2.6.1) | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| Case-style model choice (2.6.6) | 5 |
| Talent strategy (2.6.2) | 6, 7, 8 |
| Techniques (2.6.4) | 9 |
| Data strategy (2.6.3) | 10, 11 |
| Concept Modelling (3.3) | 12 |
CBDA exam at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | 75 multiple-choice, scenario-based questions |
| Time | 2 hours |
| Domain 6 weight | 9% |
| Exam fee | US$405; IIBA members US$250 |
| Membership | First year of IIBA membership included with exam purchase |
| Passing score | Not published by IIBA |
Last verified: October 2026
Practice Questions
Question 1
Harlow Foods has three divisions: fresh produce, frozen goods and food service. Each division head says the shared reporting team does not understand their supply rhythms and pricing rules.
Which organizational model BEST fits the goal of analysts who know each division's processes?
- A. A centralized analytics unit serving all divisions
- B. Analytics teams embedded in each division
- C. An outsourced vendor managed by procurement
- D. Regional hubs serving nearby divisions
Question 2
Corvane Logistics operates in North America, Europe and Southeast Asia. Leadership wants shared standards, but each region has its own regulations. The proposal keeps a core analytics group in each region, coordinated by a small global team.
Which model does this proposal describe?
- A. A decentralized model organized by function
- B. A centralized model with one Centre of Excellence
- C. A functional model inside the CIO's office
- D. A hybrid hub-and-spoke model split by geography
Question 3
Brightwell Insurance's analytics team delivers accurate models, but executives rarely hear about outcomes. Two initiatives lost funding because leaders did not understand what they had achieved.
What should the analyst recommend FIRST?
- A. A regular, direct channel for leadership to review analytics outcomes
- B. Moving analytics under the IT operations manager
- C. Replacing the models with simpler ones executives can audit
- D. Business units funding analytics without executive involvement
Question 4
Tessaro Pharma is deciding how to organize its new analytics function. The steering committee asks for the factors that should drive the organizational model.
Which TWO considerations should the analyst include? (Choose two.)
- A. The number of dashboards each department maintains
- B. The programming language data scientists prefer
- C. Whether analytics work must or may be outsourced
- D. The colour scheme of executive reports
- E. Relationships with suppliers and vendors
Question 5
Quillon Health, a three-year-old company, has one product team that holds all its data expertise. Other departments now want that team's data. The analyst scored three options (1 to 5, higher is better).
| Option | Data maturity (0.40) | Budget fit (0.35) | Speed (0.25) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central team now | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| Expertise in every department | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Staged hybrid | 4 | 4 | 3 |
What should the analyst recommend?
- A. The central team now, as it leads on data maturity
- B. The staged hybrid, scoring 3.75 against 3.05 and 2.85
- C. Expertise in every department, as it is fastest
- D. No decision until one pure option clearly wins
Question 6
Delmont Bank pays data scientists above market, yet turnover hit 30% last year. Exit interviews say analysts never meet the people who use their work, wait weeks for tools and rarely learn how the business makes money.
Which action BEST addresses retention?
- A. Direct access to decision-makers, faster tools and business exposure
- B. Another salary rise into the top market quartile
- C. Replacing permanent staff with short-term contractors
- D. Moving analysts to a separate building to focus
Question 7
Larkfield Trust, a charity, approves a six-month donor churn initiative with budget for two people. Its analyst has strong domain knowledge, solid analysis skills and experience presenting to trustees.
Which team structure is MOST consistent with the Guide?
- A. A data scientist plus an architect who writes all pipeline code
- B. A data journalist plus an experience designer, no technical roles
- C. Postponing until the budget covers a full team
- D. The analyst as SME, data analyst and data journalist, plus a data engineer
Question 8
Ostrava Telecom's analytics learning plan covers machine learning platforms and cloud tools. Its models are accurate, but managers ignore the outputs because they cannot follow the reasoning.
What should the learning plan add?
- A. Advanced deep learning courses
- B. Certification in a second cloud platform
- C. Data communication and translation skills, plus business knowledge
- D. Coding training for managers
Halfway there. To keep practising past this set, create a free account and open the CBDA exam simulator. It has a full 75-question set you can take in exam mode or in practice mode with explanations.
Question 9
Verdane Retail asks for a structured view of everything the company can do, from merchandising to returns, and where analytics could improve or limit each area.
Which technique should the analyst use?
- A. Five Forces analysis
- B. Business Capability Analysis
- C. Collaborative games
- D. Risk analysis
Question 10
Fieldmark Agritech streams sensor data from farms. Its analytics initiatives grew from 5 to 20 in 18 months. The central data team receives 260 data requests a month and fulfils 90. A platform with a single source of truth is two years away.
What should the analyst recommend for the interim?
- A. Triple the central team to fulfil every request manually
- B. Freeze new initiatives until the platform goes live
- C. Let each initiative copy data into its own stores
- D. A self-service or just-in-time access approach with clear rules
Question 11
Rennick Manufacturing analysts spend days learning which datasets exist, who owns them, when they were refreshed and what fields mean. Quality rules and security controls are already in place.
Which data strategy consideration should the analyst prioritize?
- A. Metadata management
- B. Data security
- C. Data architecture redesign
- D. A balanced performance view
Question 12
Halvorsen Energy is launching an analytics Centre of Excellence. Business units use "use case", "data product" and "insight" with different meanings, and leaders cannot agree what the function will deliver.
Which technique BEST describes the function in shared business terms?
- A. A data flow diagram
- B. A data dictionary
- C. A concept model
- D. An ETL design
Done with all 12? Create a free account to get more CBDA questions across all six domains. The CBDA exam simulator includes a full 75-question set with exam and practice modes. certificate.tips is our product.
Answer Key and Explanations
1. Correct answer: B. The Guide's decentralized model embeds analytics teams in business units, aligning them with that unit's processes and favouring specialised solutions there. Source: Guide to Business Data Analytics, 2.6.1 Organizational Strategy Why the others are wrong: A, the divisions already find a shared team too distant; C, outsourcing builds no in-house process knowledge; D, hubs address geography, not divisions.
2. Correct answer: D. Regional cores plus a global team form a hybrid. The Guide's example of a hybrid is hub-and-spoke with geographically separated hubs. Source: Guide to Business Data Analytics, 2.6.1 Organizational Strategy Why the others are wrong: A, teams split by region, not function; B, there is more than one centre; C, nothing ties it to the CIO.
3. Correct answer: A. The Guide calls executive support a necessity and says a clear, direct channel for leadership to review engagements and outcomes builds shared understanding. It adds that some organizations place analytics under a Chief Analytics Officer. Source: Guide to Business Data Analytics, 2.6.1 Organizational Strategy Why the others are wrong: B, it moves analytics further from executives; C, model quality is not the issue; D, it widens the gap.
4. Correct answers: C and E. The Guide lists drivers of the organizational model: data ownership, governance, outsourcing requirements, competition, industry outlook, supplier and vendor relationships, and senior leadership involvement. Source: Guide to Business Data Analytics, 2.6.1 Organizational Strategy Why the others are wrong: A, dashboard counts describe output; B, language is a tooling choice; D, styling is irrelevant.
5. Correct answer: B. The staged hybrid scores 0.40×4 + 0.35×4 + 0.25×3 = 3.75. In the Guide's case study, pure options were finely balanced, so maturity, budget and speed led to light governance in the product team first and a central function later. Source: Guide to Business Data Analytics, 2.6.6 Case Study for Guide Organization-Level Strategy for Business Data Analytics Why the others are wrong: A, lowest total and poor budget fit; C, scores lower and risks silos; D, the decision need not be either-or.
6. Correct answer: A. Pay is a main driver, but the Guide also lists working directly with decision-makers, learning the business and access to tools. The exit themes match these, so more pay alone will not help. Source: Guide to Business Data Analytics, 2.6.2 Talent Strategy Why the others are wrong: B, pay is already above market; C, it loses knowledge; D, isolation worsens access.
7. Correct answer: D. The Guide says roles can be merged by size and budget, and a business analysis professional with enough analytics and business knowledge can act as SME, data analyst and data journalist. Source: Guide to Business Data Analytics, 2.6.2 Talent Strategy Why the others are wrong: A, architects generally do not program, engineers do; B, no one builds the data; C, merging roles answers small budgets.
8. Correct answer: C. The Guide's three learning focus areas are business knowledge, technology and platforms, and data communication and translation. Results stakeholders cannot understand put the engagement at risk. Source: Guide to Business Data Analytics, 2.6.2 Talent Strategy Why the others are wrong: A, accuracy is fine; B, more tools add no understanding; D, managers need to read outputs, not code.
9. Correct answer: B. The Guide describes Business Capability Analysis as a hierarchical catalogue of capabilities that shows where analytics can enhance or restrict them, citing sales and marketing. Source: Guide to Business Data Analytics, 2.6.4 Select Techniques for Guide Organizational-Level Strategy for Business Data Analytics Why the others are wrong: A, Five Forces looks at market forces; C, games build agreement; D, risk analysis plans fallbacks.
10. Correct answer: D. 170 requests a month, about 65%, go unmet. The Guide notes that tracking data and requests grows complex as initiatives multiply, and that without a single source of truth a just-in-time or self-service strategy can serve data needs. Source: Guide to Business Data Analytics, 2.6.3 Data Strategy Why the others are wrong: A, costly and not structural; B, forfeits two years of value; C, creates silos.
11. Correct answer: A. The Guide defines metadata management as administering information kept about the organization's data assets, which matches every symptom. Source: Guide to Business Data Analytics, 2.6.3 Data Strategy Why the others are wrong: B, controls exist; C, storage is not the issue; D, it is an alignment technique, not a data consideration.
12. Correct answer: C. Concept models organize business vocabulary for consistent communication. The Guide gives them a limited role in Domain 6, but notes they can describe important information about the analytics function. Source: Guide to Business Data Analytics, 3.3 Concept Modelling Why the others are wrong: A, it shows data movement; B, it describes fields; D, it is a technical process.
How to score this set
One point per question; Question 4 needs both letters.
- 11–12: Domain 6 is solid. Move to heavier domains.
- 8–10: Reread 2.6.1 on operating models, the 2.6.6 case study and the talent factors in 2.6.2.
- Below 8: Work through all of section 2.6, including the 2.6.4 technique table, then retest.
For broader coverage, try our CBDA practice questions across all domains and the Domain 5 decision-making quiz. For timed practice, the CBDA exam simulator has 75 questions in exam and practice modes; sign up to unlock it.
What candidates say about analytics strategy on the CBDA
Candidates and trainers mostly stress practice volume and reasoning. Our author, in our CBDA certification overview, flagged about 20 of 75 questions and found the exam more focused on analytical decisions than definitions. Mufaddal Haidermota, certified in December 2022, recommends per-domain mock questions, full-length tests, mind maps and cheat sheets. LN Mishra of Adaptive US advises daily questions, timed mocks and reviewing wrong answers. A Techcanvass candidate story describes a developer who relied on mind maps and two to three hours of daily study.
FAQ
How much of the CBDA exam covers analytics strategy?
Domain 6 is 9% of the CBDA blueprint. The questions test judgement about operating models, talent and data strategy rather than definitions.
What are the analytics operating models in the Guide?
The Guide describes centralized, decentralized and hybrid models. Hybrid can take a hub-and-spoke form split by geography, and organizations often shift models as data maturity grows.
Does the Guide recommend one model over the others?
No. Its case study shows the pros and cons can be finely balanced, so maturity, budget, speed and politics decide. The case ends with a staged hybrid.
Which techniques matter most for Domain 6?
The Guide lists Balanced Scorecard, Business Capability Analysis, Business Model Canvas, Benchmarking, Five Forces, SWOT, Organizational Modelling, KPIs, Collaborative Games, Risk Analysis and Value Chain Analysis. Process views such as value stream mapping also help show where analytics adds value.
Sources
- Certified Business Data Analytics (IIBA-CBDA) — IIBA, checked October 2026
- Certification Fees — IIBA, checked October 2026
- IIBA-CBDA Certification Handbook — IIBA, checked October 2026
- Business Data Analytics Certification — Mufaddal Haidermota, Medium, January 2023
- CBDA Certification Journey: Ivan — Techcanvass, 2024
- Mastering the CBDA Exam — LN Mishra, Adaptive US, October 2024