AP27 — System Strategy, Process Improvement, Requirements, and Procurement

• Basis/source check: 2026 IPA AP Level 3 Syllabus Ver.7.2 / 2026-10-21

Learning index

PDF pages and printed-footer pages use distinct numbering systems.

1. PDF 103 / printed 99: information-system strategy purpose and procedure
2. PDF 104 / printed 100: EA, enterprise-wide optimization, BA/DA/AA/TA
3. PDF 106 / printed 102: process analysis/improvement, ECRS, BPM/BPR/BPO
4. PDF 109 / printed 105: system concept and systemization plan
5. PDF 110 / printed 106: requirements analysis and definition
6. PDF 111 / printed 107: feasibility, agreement, approval, procurement plan, start of RFI
7. PDF 112 / printed 108: RFI/RFP/RFQ, proposals/quotes, weighted evaluation, procurement risk, contract

日本語	English	한국어
現状（As-Is）	current state (As-Is)	현행(As-Is)
あるべき姿（To-Be）	target state (To-Be)	목표상(To-Be)
エンタープライズアーキテクチャ（EA）	enterprise architecture (EA)	엔터프라이즈 아키텍처(EA)
ビジネスアーキテクチャ（BA）	business architecture (BA)	비즈니스 아키텍처(BA)
データアーキテクチャ（DA）	data architecture (DA)	데이터 아키텍처(DA)
アプリケーションアーキテクチャ（AA）	application architecture (AA)	애플리케이션 아키텍처(AA)
テクノロジアーキテクチャ（TA）	technology architecture (TA)	기술 아키텍처(TA)
ECRS	ECRS	ECRS
BPM／BPR／BPO	BPM / BPR / BPO	BPM / BPR / BPO
要求事項	requirements	요구사항
情報提供依頼書（RFI）	request for information (RFI)	정보제공요청서(RFI)
提案依頼書（RFP）	request for proposal (RFP)	제안요청서(RFP)
見積依頼書（RFQ）	request for quotation (RFQ)	견적요청서(RFQ)
検収	acceptance	인수검사

Core explanation

Information-system strategy connects business strategy to IT investment. The sequence is understand the business → analyze As-Is business and systems → analyze IT trends → establish basic strategy → select the To-Be state and investment portfolio → specify measures → obtain approval. Selecting technology first risks retrofitting business goals and evaluation criteria.

EA organizes As-Is and To-Be enterprise-wide through BA (business), DA (data), AA (application), and TA (technology). A branch-specific customer code or approval tool may be locally fast yet obstruct enterprise integration, reuse, control, and analysis. Enterprise goals, standards, and transition order therefore take precedence over local optimization.

Process improvement first visualizes flow, roles, inputs/outputs, waits, exceptions, and measures to reveal bottlenecks and duplication. ECRS examines Eliminate, Combine, Rearrange, then Simplify. BPM continuously measures and improves processes; BPR radically redesigns them; BPO uses external resources to perform a process. Automating before removing waste merely accelerates waste.

A system concept sets the business problem, objectives, target work, and broad system direction. A systemization plan turns scope, schedule, organization, costs, benefit measures, risks, and strategic alignment into an executable plan. Requirements analysis elicits stakeholder needs, assumptions, and constraints and resolves conflicts. Requirements definition records testable business, functional, nonfunctional, security, data, operations, migration, and maintenance requirements. Feasibility, validity, and strategic alignment are checked before stakeholder agreement and approval.

The procurement flow is requirements → procurement plan/method and external-resource choice → RFI → RFP/RFQ → supplier proposal/quote → predefined weighted evaluation → risk analysis/selection → negotiation/contract → delivery/acceptance/change governance. Requirements state needed outcomes and constraints. An RFI explores market, technology, and supplier capability. An RFP requests a solution and may state proposed contract terms, but is not the signed contract. A supplier proposal is the supplier’s solution and conditions in response; the signed contract legally fixes negotiated duties and responsibilities. An RFQ focuses on price and commercial terms for a clear specification.

Fictional case and weighted evaluation

A fictional multi-branch organization uses inconsistent purchase approval steps, codes, and evidence, causing re-entry, waits, duplicate approvals, and bad enterprise reporting. It maps As-Is flow and measures processing, waiting, and rejection. Its To-Be removes unnecessary approvals, combines equivalent checks, rearranges independent checks in parallel, simplifies forms, and standardizes enterprise supplier/item data and approval rules. It then defines requirements for audit trail, segregation of duties, performance, security, migration, operations/support, and acceptance.

After an RFI tests market options and feasibility, an RFP is issued. The criteria are fixed in advance: requirements fit 35%, architecture/quality 25%, delivery/support 20%, and cost 20%.

• A: 90×0.35=31.50, 80×0.25=20.00, 70×0.20=14.00, 60×0.20=12.00; total 77.50.
• B: 75×0.35=26.25, 90×0.25=22.50, 85×0.20=17.00, 80×0.20=16.00; total 81.75.

B is selected under these criteria, but is not contracted on score alone. Security, financial, schedule, lock-in, and reference risks are checked; scope, responsibility, service levels, knowledge transfer, data return, change, and termination terms are negotiated. Traceable acceptance tests govern delivery, and changes require impact assessment and approval.

Original four-choice questions (exactly five)

Q1

Which is the correct information-system strategy sequence?

• ア Select To-Be → approve → understand business → analyze As-Is
• イ Understand business → analyze As-Is → review IT trends → basic strategy → To-Be/investment selection → measures → approval
• ウ RFP → contract → requirements → basic strategy
• エ Automate → select technology → write business objectives → approve

Answer: イ (2). ア puts solution and approval before evidence. イ preserves strategic alignment. ウ starts procurement before strategy and requirements. エ selects technology without process improvement analysis.

Q2

Which best describes enterprise-wide optimization with EA?

• ア Independent branch data definitions always optimize the enterprise.
• イ Once TA is set, BA, DA, and AA are unnecessary.
• ウ Align As-Is and To-Be through BA/DA/AA/TA and reconcile local benefits with enterprise standards.
• エ Make the fastest branch system the enterprise standard unchanged.

Answer: ウ (3). ア impairs data integration. イ wrongly separates the four views. ウ describes whole-enterprise alignment and transition. エ omits enterprise-fit analysis.

Q3

What is the best first approach to improve purchase approval?

• ア Visualize flow, waits, and exceptions; use ECRS to remove waste; then automate what remains.
• イ Automate every existing duplicate step unchanged.
• ウ Declare enterprise BPR complete without measurement.
• エ Treat BPM and BPR as identical and ignore their purposes.

Answer: ア (1). ア puts analysis and improvement before automation. イ entrenches waste. ウ has no evidence or validation. エ confuses continuous improvement with radical redesign.

Q4

Which distinction among RFI, RFP, and contract is correct?

• ア An RFI response is immediately a signed contract.
• イ An RFP only explores the market and requests no solution.
• ウ A supplier proposal forms a contract without negotiation.
• エ An RFI gathers market information; an RFP requests proposals; proposed contract terms in an RFP differ from a negotiated, signed contract.

Answer: エ (4). ア confuses discovery with contract. イ swaps RFI and RFP. ウ confuses an offer with concluded agreement. エ distinguishes purpose and legal stage.

Q5

What conclusion follows from the stated weights and scores?

• ア A=81.75 and B=77.50, so contract A immediately.
• イ A=77.50 and B=81.75, so provisionally select B and perform risk/contract due diligence.
• ウ Select A using cost score alone.
• エ Ignore totals and choose the supplier with the highest single score.

Answer: イ (2). ア reverses totals and skips due diligence. イ gets both weighted totals and follow-up controls right. ウ discards predefined criteria. エ is not weighted evaluation.

Sources, scope, and notices

• Official IPA PDF, overview, and revision information, all checked 2026-10-21.
• All five questions are original. No IPA past question was reproduced, translated, or adapted; year, season, AP label, original time band/question number, and official-answer comparison are therefore not applicable. No third-party commentary was used.
• This material is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by IPA and guarantees no pass or result. It contains no real personal data and no 2027 proposal.
• AP27 ends here. AP28 covers management, marketing, KPI, and technology strategy.