The five Ws of CBAP Certification?

With only 38 days left before The International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA®) sunsets the CBAP® (Certified Business Analysis Professional) exam for the BABOK® 1.6, the curiosity of what the BABOK® 2.0 offers is driving a massive number of business analyst to seek out any study guides (study group, self directed or other materials) to take a pick at the content of the exam.

Unfortunately, of all these business analysts, only a few really qualify to sit for the exam. If you have considered joining the rush to become a CBAP®, here are a few things you should know:

What is CBAP® Certification?

The CBAP® is a professional certification for business analysis, business process analysis, and requirements definition in the developmental life cycle. It is offered by IIBA®, an independent non-profit professional association serving the field of business analysis.

The IIBA® is the leading association in the world of business analysis through the creation of the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK®), the collection of knowledge within the BA profession, reflecting the current generally accepted practices. This is similar to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI). To receive the CBAP® designation, candidates must successfully demonstrate their expertise by itemizing their hands-on work experience in business analysis through the CBAP® application process, and pass the IIBA® CBAP® examination.

Who can write CBAP® Certification?

A professional involved in business analysis who satisfies the five requirements set forth by the IIBA® can write the certification exam. The requirements pertain to the work experience, knowledge areas, education eligibility, professional development and providing references to demonstrate their eligibility.

Also if you are a business analyst, business system analyst, QA Analyst or any other professional and satisfy the requirements to sit for the CBAP®, you will be able to write this certification and take your level of knowledge and skills to the next level.

Why do I need to write CBAP® certification?

There are three primary reasons why you may want to write CBAP® Certification:

1. Increase your competence as a Business Analyst:

• Enhance your knowledge of principles and practices of business analysis.
• Get to participate in a recognized professional group as a member of IIBA®.
• Re-learn a few things that you might have been missing because of the way you currently work and relate the knowledge you gain from practical experience to attain useful insights.

2. Show commitment towards continuing education:

• Demonstrate and prove to current or future organizations your commitment towards continuing education and professional development.
• Gain recognition from peers for your knowledge and skills.

3. Gain industry wide recognition:

• CBAP® is increasingly becoming recognized by companies looking to hire Business Analysts.
• Give your BA resume the edge and recognition, by standing out from the crowd.

When can I write CBAP® Certification?

You can write your exam after your application has been approved. You must submit this application through IIBA®’s website: theiiba.org. The application process consists of completing a detailed application, disclosing all the business analysis tasks that you have performed in the last ten years. After your application is processed you will be eligible to sit for the exam for up to one year.

Where can I prepare for and write CBAP® Certification?

Your preparation will start with an in-depth study of the BABOK® handbook that is provided by the IIBA®. The current version is BABOK® 2.0. If you need professional help to prepare for the exam, there are many institutes that can help you. However if you are looking for an economical option our bamentor courses provides a comfortable (from home or work), organized and helpful way to understand the concepts faster and in a structured approach.

Since CBAP® is Computer Based Test (CBT), you can write it in any of the prometric or CBT centres across North American and all over the world in major cities. For a complete listing of cities please consult theiiba.org.

Happy CBAPing! J

Article One: Diary of a CBAP® Seeker: Taking Stock

Dear Diary:

“I’ve been an analyst for a long time now and have finally come to the decision that I don’t want to be just an analyst. I want to be a really good analyst. I’m no longer satisfied with taking the word of someone else as to why things are done a certain way. I not only want to know why, I want to be part of creating a better solution. I want to be respected for my opinion. I want people to know that my opinions are rooted in facts and not just some wild hair that someone got reacting to a situation. I want to be recognized for the things I have done, the countless hours I’ve spent making processes better or providing solutions to problems. Now, what?”

I’d been asking the “why” questions for a while. I knew that things weren’t necessarily on the correct path, and had tried to suggest adjustments to efficiency and cost. I’d tried to develop alternative plans that would lead to success. However, a man is no army in himself. It is only when the obstacles are removed that he or she can be successful. What could I do to be a better analyst regardless of my working environment?

Along the path to finding out about CBAP®, I’d been reading voraciously and actively engaging my peers in conversation about the topics of the day regarding business analysis. The interactions I had with them highlighted where my knowledge proved to be weak and also the few instances in which I really knew what I was talking about. These actions became the preparatory foundation for what it would take to consider something more: the CBAP® exam and certification process. I’ve never been the one to actively invite myself to study for more than six months followed by a casual 3.5 hour exam; I suddenly had to question my own motivations as to how serious I was about all this betterment stuff. I actually considered just poking my eyes out and being done with it all when I saw the BABOK® the first time.

To some, the exam may represent another “gotta have” set of letters at the end of their name, but for me it holds much more. It’s a commitment I make to myself to congeal all that I am trying to do for me and to practice what I believe in. My effort will prove that I’m not taking the lazy way out, but that I can back my arguments with effort-driven factual content, and that I am not too stubborn to think that I alone have all the answers. The CBAP® is only one piece of all my efforts to improve, but it is a tangible shred of evidence that one has run the certification gauntlet.

Of course, once I started to dig into the BABOK® and reviewed it, I learned that I couldn’t even think about sitting for the exam until I had documented my life’s history as an analyst for the last ten years. Had I thought about this eventuality ten years ago, it would have not been an issue today, but shouldawouldacoulda…. Now there are two major things to accomplish: (1) to tell my story and hope someone believed it enough to allow me to sit for the test and (2) to study my tail off. These two topics will form the next article in this series…. Diary of a CBAP® Seeker: Being Honest: CBAP® and Having the Skills

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Doug Goldberg is a Senior Business Analyst in the Dallas, TX, USA market. He has 12 years experience as an analyst in application development for financial, health care and technology companies. He has also programmed Java/J2EE for a period of time. View more

The contemporary Business Analyst

In today’s economy every corporate entity is striving towards making their business processes better and faster. This can be achieved by creating software systems that can compress cycle times, provide quick information, and increase the usability and reliability of the systems. A Business Analyst plays a pivotal role in the process of software systems development.

Today’s market place provides a unique set of system development challenges. From an application development perspective the incorporation of latest technology is sometimes constrained by a need to integrate with legacy systems. From a data mining perspective, the conversion of data to Information is constrained by the complexity and integrity of data.

In both these scenarios, the Business Analyst plays the crucial role of a liaison between the various business teams and departments who need a better system and the software development team that implements the system. A competent Business Analyst has the knowledge and experience to recognize problems and come up with solutions. The following roles enunciate the importance of a Business Analyst in today’s market place to implement a successful software project:

1. Project definition role: Business Analysts are assigned to projects at or before project initiation, resulting in them becoming key influencers on strategic technology decisions. They work closely with the Business Architect and project sponsor to define the scope of the project. (Roles to work with vary with organizations)

2. Project documentation role: Business Analysts elicit, analyze, document, communicate and validate business and system requirements for changes to business processes, and information systems. This is achieved by the convergence of various project stakeholders through JAD Sessions, Brain Storming, and walkthroughs. They also create transition documents and flows that acquaint the business users to the new system.

3. Project implementation role: Business Analysts play an important role in implementation of a project by communicating requirements to the development team. They also play a crucial role in the testing phase by planning and executing the system testing and user acceptance testing (UAT).

In conclusion, a contemporary Business Analyst needs to be in a state of constant agility to learn new technology, and methodologies and apply them in the development cycle. Each project presents unique technical and tactical challenges that a Business Analyst needs to assess and solve. The success of a software project largely depends on the efficiency and quality of the Business Analyst it has.

Question of the Day is back!

Hello All,

After building my other site, created the CBAP exam prep course for BABOK 2.0 and ran one session. I am now ready to get back to my blogging. For the remainder of this year, I will focus on reporting about the knowledge of the standard of business analysis in the BABOK 2.0.

I am hoping to bring on one or two guest bloggers who will share their perspectives.

For a starter, I've switched the questions of the day to reflect the changes in the BABOK 2.0. Every week, I will post a new question and will answer the previous' week question.

Have fun