acceptance criteria: Criteria associated with requirements, products, or the delivery cycle that must be met in order to achieve stakeholder acceptance. (IIBA)

actor: A human, device, or system that plays some specified role in interacting with a solution. (IIBA)

adaptive approach: An approach where the solution evolves based on a cycle of learning and discovery, with feedback loops that encourage making decisions as late as possible. (IIBA)

architecture: The design, structure, and behavior of the current and future states of a structure in terms of its components, and the interaction between those components. See also business architecture, enterprise architecture, and requirements architecture. (IIBA)

artifact: Any solution-relevant object that is created as part of business analysis efforts. (IIBA)

assumption: An influencing factor that is believed to be true but has not been confirmed to be accurate, or that could be true now but may not be in the future. (IIBA)

behavioral business rule: A business rule that places an obligation (or prohibition) on conduct, action, practice, or procedure; a business rule whose purpose is to shape (govern) day-to-day business activity. Also known as the operative rule. (IIBA)

benchmarking: A comparison of a decision, process, service, or system's cost, time, quality, or other metrics to those of leading peers to identify opportunities for improvement. (IIBA)

body of knowledge: The aggregated knowledge and generally accepted practices on a topic. (IIBA)

brainstorming: A team activity that seeks to produce a broad or diverse set of options through the rapid and uncritical generation of ideas. (IIBA)

business: An economic system where any commercial, industrial, or professional activity is performed for profit. (IIBA)

business analysis: The practice of enabling change in the context of an enterprise by defining needs and recommending solutions that deliver value to stakeholders. (IIBA)