AP28 — Business Analysis, Marketing, Metrics, and Technology Strategy

Learning scope and sources

• Learning index: apply Major Category 8 (Management Strategy), Middle Category 19 (Management Strategy Management), and Middle Category 20 (Technology Strategy Management) from the 2026 IPA Applied Information Technology Engineer (AP) Syllabus Ver.7.2.
• Exact PDF-page/printed-footer mappings: 113/109, 114/110, 115/111, 116/112, 118/114, 119/115.
• Official material: Syllabus PDF · Overview · Revision information
• Checked: 2026-10-21. This is an independent study guide and claims no affiliation with or endorsement by IPA.

One synthetic case

Consider Aster Learning, a fictional company preparing an energy-saving learning SaaS for small businesses. It contains no personal data. Every analysis and number below belongs to this single synthetic case.

1. Analyze the environment and strategy

• PEST examines the political, economic, social, and technological macro environment: energy policy, the economy, conservation attitudes, and sensor technology.
• Five Forces examines industry structure through rivalry, new entrants, substitutes, buyer power, and supplier power.
• SWOT separates internal Strengths/Weaknesses from external Opportunities/Threats. A skilled data team is a strength, low brand awareness a weakness, expanded subsidies an opportunity, and entry by a large competitor a threat.
• 3C compares Customer, Competitor, and Company to assess the fit between market needs and company capability.

These tools are not substitutes. PEST fits macro change, Five Forces industry pressure, 3C the customer-competitor-company configuration, and SWOT an internal/external synthesis linked to strategy.

2. Distinguish STP from 4P

STP segments the market, targets priority customers, and chooses a differentiated position. Aster targets small manufacturers and positions itself as “save through behavior before replacing equipment.”

It then executes with the 4P: weekly conservation coaching as Product, per-site subscription as Price, direct web sales as Place, and industry webinars as Promotion. STP answers “for whom and in what position”; 4P answers “what mix of product, price, distribution, and promotion.”

3. CSF, KGI, KPI, and the funnel

• CSF: a condition critical to achieving the goal; for example, trial users complete a conservation action in week one.
• KGI: an outcome measure of goal achievement; for example, the number of paid customers.
• KPI: a performance or leading measure of progress; for example, visits, trials, and week-one completion rate.

In the baseline period there are 50,000 visits, 5,000 trials, and 2,000 paid conversions.

• Visit-to-trial rate = 5,000 ÷ 50,000 = 10%
• Trial-to-paid rate = 2,000 ÷ 5,000 = 40%
• Overall paid CVR = 2,000 ÷ 50,000 = 4%

If both stage rates stay unchanged, 2,500 paid customers (KGI) require 2,500 ÷ 0.40 = 6,250 trials and 6,250 ÷ 0.10 = 62,500 visits. Both visits and trials rise 25% from baseline. Visits and trials are leading KPIs; paid customers are the outcome KGI. Correlation between KPI and KGI movement does not establish that an activity caused the result. An experiment and review of confounders are needed.

4. The four BSC perspectives

The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) views strategy in balance.

• Financial: subscription revenue, customer acquisition cost
• Customer: willingness to recommend, retention, satisfaction
• Internal process: onboarding lead time, incident recovery time
• Learning and growth: analytics-training completion, improvement capability

Classify a measure by what performance it directly measures, not merely its wording. Employee training completion is learning and growth; customer-inquiry handling time is internal process.

5. Technology strategy and time-sequenced roadmaps

Technology strategy connects business and corporate strategy to technology development. MOT (Management of Technology) manages technology beyond research output, joining it to market needs and sustained business results.

• Value Creation: turn sensor data into conservation recommendations and create technical/product value.
• Value Delivery: let customers use that value through the web service, education, and support.
• Value Capture: recover economic value through subscriptions and retention.

Choose evidence for the uncertainty. A PoC asks whether the algorithm works on limited data; a PoV whether its recommendations provide meaningful customer value; a PoB whether acquisition cost, price, and operations form a sustainable business. An MVP is the minimum product for learning with real users, not a synonym for a technical demo.

A roadmap is a time-sequenced scenario with dependencies, not a list. Example: Q1 core sensor-integration PoC → Q2 segment PoV and MVP → Q3 price/support-model PoB → Q4 product expansion. Aligning technology, product-application, patent-acquisition, and market-needs roadmaps over time exposes the risk that technology readiness leads or lags the market.

Term	Canonical distinction
PEST / Five Forces / SWOT / 3C	macro environment / industry structure / internal-external synthesis / customer-competitor-company
STP / 4P	market choice and positioning / execution mix of Product, Price, Place, Promotion
CSF / KGI / KPI	critical condition / outcome indicator / performance or leading indicator
BSC	financial / customer / internal process / learning and growth
PoC / PoV / PoB / MVP	concept feasibility / user value / business viability / minimum product for learning
Roadmap	time-sequenced scenario linking technology, product, patents, and market needs

Practice questions — all original

Question 1

Which SWOT classification for Aster is correct?

1. Its skilled data team is an external opportunity.
2. Entry by a large competitor is an external threat.
3. Its low brand awareness is an external threat.
4. Expanded energy subsidies are an internal strength.

Answer: 2

• 1: Incorrect. A team the company possesses is an internal strength.
• 2: Correct. A competitor’s entry is an adverse change outside the organization.
• 3: Incorrect. The company’s brand awareness is an internal weakness.
• 4: Incorrect. A policy change is an external opportunity.

Question 2

Which statement best describes the relationship between STP and 4P?

1. STP sets only price, while 4P selects only the customer segment.
2. Both STP and 4P analyze only the macro environment.
3. STP selects segment, target, and position; 4P combines product, price, place, and promotion.
4. Only after 4P is set does it determine the industry’s Five Forces.

Answer: 3

• 1: Incorrect. Price is one of the 4P, while target selection belongs to STP.
• 2: Incorrect. Macro-environment analysis is chiefly PEST’s role.
• 3: Correct. It accurately separates market choice from the execution mix.
• 4: Incorrect. Five Forces analyzes industry structure; 4P does not determine it.

Question 3

If visit-to-trial remains 10% and trial-to-paid remains 40%, which combination is required for 2,500 paid conversions?

1. 5,000 trials and 50,000 visits
2. 6,250 trials and 50,000 visits
3. 10,000 trials and 62,500 visits
4. 6,250 trials and 62,500 visits

Answer: 4

• 1: Incorrect. This combination produces 2,000 paid conversions.
• 2: Incorrect. At 10%, 6,250 trials require 62,500 visits.
• 3: Incorrect. Ten percent of 62,500 visits is 6,250 trials.
• 4: Correct. 2,500÷40%=6,250 and 6,250÷10%=62,500.

Question 4

Which BSC perspective most directly includes completion of data-analysis training by Aster employees?

1. Learning and growth
2. Financial
3. Customer
4. Internal process

Answer: 1

• 1: Correct. It directly measures employee capability development.
• 2: Incorrect. It does not directly measure a financial result such as revenue or cost.
• 3: Incorrect. It is not a customer result such as satisfaction or retention.
• 4: Incorrect. It measures the capability base rather than workflow time or quality.

Question 5

The algorithm works, but customer value and business viability remain unknown. What is the soundest next judgment?

1. Because the PoC succeeded, launch to the entire market immediately.
2. Test customer value with a PoV and viability with a PoB, then reflect the results in a time-sequenced roadmap.
3. PoB tests only technical operation, while PoV tests only patent registration.
4. A roadmap is an unordered technology list, so validation results need not affect it.

Answer: 2

• 1: Incorrect. Technical feasibility alone does not prove customer value or business sustainability.
• 2: Correct. It matches evidence to the remaining uncertainty and connects it to a timed plan.
• 3: Incorrect. PoB concerns business viability and PoV concerns value.
• 4: Incorrect. A roadmap expresses sequence and dependencies over time.

Provenance and next installment

All five questions are original. Therefore past-question year/season/AP label/original time band/question number are N/A, translation/adaptation is N/A, and official-answer comparison is N/A. No IPA past question is used, and this article does not guarantee a pass.

The next installment remains AP29 — accounting, break-even point, and investment appraisal.