So today, I’m going to answer some of the questions we receive about business analyst certification options, and also share WHY I chose to launch the ACBA.

Why Business Analyst Certification Is Important

Certification is important because having a professional association and a certification process unites us as professionals. The certification process and body of knowledge bring us together, with a shared understanding of the role. They make us all stronger.

And on a personal level, certifications give us recognition and credibility. People see us as more authoritative in our profession when we have a certification. I fought this for a long time because I didn’t think I needed any letters behind my name to be a good BA. And I didn’t. I was a good BA.

• But when I earned my CBAP® nearly 10 years ago, it gave me an extra layer of credibility.
• It was true when Bridging the Gap became an Endorsed Education Provider (EEP) of IIBA® – people automatically had more interest in our business analyst training courses, even though nothing about them had changed!
• And I’ve seen it be true for our initial ACBA Recipients too – I’ve heard stories of shout-outs from managers, contacts from recruiters, people coming to THEM, and asking about their experience.

Like it or not, having a certification and letters to put behind your name does elevate you and your professional stature.

And on a very practical level, if you are looking for a business analyst job, or just want to know you could someday, having a business analyst certification allows you to represent yourself as a professional with a BA certification.

Business Analyst Certifications Not Required to Get Started

While certifications are incredibly important to our profession and can give you an immediate career boost, having a certification is not a pre-requisite to getting started. There are opportunities to get started in the here and now.

For over a decade, we’ve been helping mid-career professionals start business analyst careers, with or without their certifications, by applying business analyst techniques on the job, identifying their transferable business analyst skills, and receiving the training and instructor support they need to feel really confident about moving into a business analyst role.

Why the Applied Certification in Business Analysis?

And that leads me to why I created the Applied Certification in Business Analysis.

We’ve been providing online training since 2010, and our courses have always included a combination of pre-recorded, on-demand training and on-the-job application.

In The Business Analyst Blueprint® program, participants learn and apply a wide range of business analyst techniques on-the-job, or through volunteering, and have their work reviewed by an instructor to meet rigorous program and industry standards.

Historically this has been a requirement just to earn a certificate of completion for the program. And by creating this sort of learning experience, our participants have achieved some phenomenal results.

It’s not uncommon that as aspiring business analysts, be recognized quickly for more on-the-job opportunities, and expand the role they are in (which may be QA, SME, or development) into more of a BA-focused role. Often their transition to a full or official business analyst role then happens within a year or two of finishing the program.

As a practicing professional build up confidence in their business analyst skills, that enables them to move into more senior business analyst roles or step into new business domains or lead and manage other BAs in their organization.

The demands of The Business Analyst Blueprint® program are significant – there are 4 modules in 4 key skill areas – business process analysis, use cases and wireframes, data modeling, and the business analysis process framework. For each module, they prepare and submit a workbook demonstrating they’ve applied the program content on-the-job.

This could involve preparing visual models, writing out requirements documentation, engaging with stakeholders to discover or validate the information. It’s true on-the-job application. There is no fictitious case study to use – participants apply what they learn in the real-world.

That workbook goes through a rigorous instructor review. Many are sent back for revisions and updates. Not everyone passes.

And there was a point at which I realized that what we are asking of our participants deserved more than a certificate of completion. They are demonstrating that they can successfully apply the foundational BA techniques on-the-job, and they deserve a certification as a result.

And so came to be the Applied Certification in Business Analysis.

There Was Another Driver For Me

Most of the professionals we help at Bridging the Gap are mid-career, meaning they have at least a few years of professional experience. Some have decades of experience.

And while they may not yet be ready for a senior-level certification that requires past work experience in business analysis, neither are they served by an entry-level certificate like the ECBA.

The Applied Certification in Business Analysis provides an opportunity for these professionals to earn a certification that aligns with the work experience they have.

And Even More Than This

Ever since I founded Bridging the Gap, part of my mission has been helping us as professionals understand and appreciate our own value, to gain the recognition we deserve and feel truly confident in our skill sets. Granting a certification is a way that I’m serving that larger purpose.

Because when individuals receive a certification they do see their own value, others do recognize them, and they do feel more confident.

Application-Based Business Analyst Certifications Versus Exam-Based Options

Now, when it comes to the difference between the ACBA and the certifications provided by IIBA® and PMI®, it’s really an ‘apples to oranges’ comparison.

These professional certifications are exam-based certifications. You’ll find many providers that teach certification prep courses, and these courses are designed to help you pass the exam. You submit the application, you pass the exam, and you receive the certification.

I don’t say that to minimize the process – these exams are rigorous, and many people do not pass on their first try. I studied for a solid 3 months to pass my CBAP® exam and it was one of the more challenging exams I’ve ever taken. And even submitting the application was quite challenging.

But at the end of the day, they are exams, and that’s an entirely different type of certification than what we offer at Bridging the Gap.

The ACBA on the other hand is an applied certification. It’s in the very name – Applied Certification in Business Analysis – and it represents not just your documented work experience, but the validation of your work experience according to our rigorous certification standards.

It certifies not just that you know how to pass a test, but also that you can perform the foundational business analysis techniques in an industry-standard way on the job. This requires you to go through our specific training materials, because that’s where we teach you how to do each of these techniques, and educate you on the certification and industry standards.

The only way to earn your ACBA is by joining a session of The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program, and you can find the details on that by clicking the link below this video.

What Business Analyst Certification Is Right For You?

You may be wondering what certification is right for you?

From a professional perspective, I believe there is room for all types of certifications and probably many more in the business analysis space as well. I look forward to professionals having a myriad of options so they can choose what serves them and their career goals.

The ACBA is right for you if:

• You are looking for practical training that you can immediately apply on-the-job and gain hands-on experience, not just abstract knowledge or theory.
• You are willing to invest significant time and energy learning and applying business analyst skill sets to create more opportunities in your current role, or are willing to volunteer to gain experience.
• You want to confirm what you know (and don’t) and fill in any gaps in understanding and build confidence by having an outside perspective on your work.
• You want to put all the techniques together in an end-to-end process that you can apply again and again, and even use as the foundation of your business analysis practice.
• You may be thinking of IIBA® certification in the future, but are still lacking confidence in your actual work experience. Many of our participants find their exam prep for the CCBA® or CBAP® is much easier after participating in our programs because the knowledge has a place to “land” as they build more extensive experience.
• You want to build a portfolio of vetted work samples that you can share with employers to represent your ability to actually do this work.
• You are looking for more credibility, and want a credential that is aligned to your level of career experience, that you can put on your resume, post to LinkedIn, and share with your employer.

How to Earn Your Applied Certification in Business Analysis

If this sounds like you, we’d be honored to help you take your next step and create a purpose-filled career in business analysis.

Click here to learn more about The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program, where you can earn your Applied Certification in Business Analysis (ACBA).

We build our profession one business analyst at a time. Success starts with you.

How Your ACBA Can Help You Add More Value as a Business Analyst

In this panel of practicing business analysts, 3 of our ACBAs shared their real-world experiences into how they’ve applied business analysis best practices to create value for their organizations.

Tune in to discover how:

• Business processes have helped our panelists identify inefficiencies, find more cost-effective solutions, and ensure you are building solutions that truly benefit the business.
• Use cases and wireframes help them reduce rework late in the software development cycle and prevent missed requirements.
• Data modeling techniques and clarifying terminology help you reduce communication issues and identify data quality issues early on, which saves an immense amount of time later in the project.

At Bridging the Gap, we serve mid-career professionals, and most of the individuals who ask me about the ECBA have at least a few years of professional experience. Some have decades.

The ECBA is an Entry-Level Certificate

From the perspective of a mid-career professional, it’s important to note that the ECBA is an entry-level certificate that does not validate the recipient’s work experience. In contrast, the CCBA® and CBAP® are both certifications that are backed up by documented work experience in business analysis.

While earning the ECBA does allow you to check the box of holding an IIBA certificate, it’s not technically a business analyst certification.

The ECBA Brands You as an Entry-Level Business Analyst

One significant challenge I see with the ECBA is that is brands you as an entry-level business analyst. In the vast majority of cases, seeking an entry-level business analyst role is NOT the best path to success for a mid-career professional.

Entry-level business analyst jobs are reserved for recent college graduates at entry-level salaries. The harsh reality is that whether or not you are willing to accept a lower salary, often employers will pass over more experienced and qualified candidates for recent college graduates.

So by pursuing the ECBA and entry-level roles, you are actually taking the more difficult path to starting your business analyst career.

An Alternative to the ECBA – credentialed training

For over a decade, Bridging the Gap has been providing the following career advice to mid-career professionals starting business analyst careers:

• Find yourself employment in a professional role in an office setting. (This may be a transitional role.)
• Complete an analysis of your transferable business analysis skills.
• Expand your experience to include business analysis responsibilities, focusing on those where you have actual skill gaps.
• Update your resume to highlight your business analysis experience and pursue both internal and external positions that you are closely qualified for.

Expanding your business analyst work experience, while building a vetted set of work samples, is the exact process we walk you through as part of  The Business Analyst Blueprint training program.

And because you apply business analyst techniques and processes on-the-job as part of the program, you’ll immediately see an ROI in your on-the-job business analyst work, giving you a stepping stone to mid-level business analyst roles where you will find the most opportunity as a mid-career professional.

The CCBA and CBAP are Also Alternatives

As they go through our online business analyst training programs, many professionals build up the confidence in their work experience and skill set, and feel more prepared to tackle the CCBA^® or CBAP^®, both IIBA certifications.

Either certification is a suitable choice for a mid-career professional with transferable business analyst experience.

The ECBA is Appropriate for Entry-Level Candidates

All of this being said, the ECBA is an appropriate choice for entry-level candidates. For example, a recent college graduate who did not take business analyst training as part of their college coursework could benefit from the ECBA to showcase their general business analyst knowledge.

In this scenario it is possible that earning a certificate like the ECBA could help you get an interview for a business analyst job. Any extra credential you have can slightly stack the deck in your favor.

How to Start Your Experience in The Business Analyst Blueprint

We’d be honored to help you take your next step and create a purpose-filled career in business analysis.

Click here to learn more about The Business Analyst Blueprint training program.

We build our profession one business analyst at a time. Success starts with you.

And yes, The Business Analyst Blueprint training program does qualify for the professional credits you need to apply for the ECBA, CCBA^®, or CBAP^®. But perhaps more importantly, this program helps you build the business analysis work experience you need to actually move into a full-fledged business analyst career. This principle of integrating learning and action is foundational to how we structured our training programs at Bridging the Gap.

Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP®)

Although I very, very reluctantly pursued my CBAP®), I do believe that PMI entering the business analysis space is a good thing for us as business analysts.  In my opinion, the more business analyst certification options, the better. Each certification expands our profession and provides each individual with more opportunities to achieve their specific career goals.

And this is one reason why at Bridging the Gap we’ve introduced the Applied Certification in Business Analysis, which you can earn by joining a session of The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program.

In this article, you’ll learn about a few of the differences between the PMI and IIBA® certifications, why the PMI-PBA℠ is good for business analysis, and then I’ll offer up some criteria you might use to choose the right certification as part of your near-term professional development goals.

First, let’s take a look at what the PMI-PBA is.

The PMI-PBA is explicitly for business analysts who work on projects and programs, as well as project and program managers who perform business analysis as part of their role. According to PMI, the certification spotlights your ability to work effectively with stakeholders related to project or business requirements, and ensure projects drive successful business outcomes.

To obtain a PMI-PBA, first you complete an application that verifies you meet the following requirements:

• Minimum of 3 years (4,500 hours) of business analysis experience within the past 8 consecutive years if you have a bachelor’s degree. (Or 5 years/7500 hours of experience if you do not.) (For comparison, the CBAP® requires 7,500 hours of experience and the CCBA® 3,750.)
• 2,000 hours working on project teams within the past eight consecutive years.
• 35 business analysis education (contact hours).

Source: PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)℠ Handbook

Then, you must pass the PMI-PBA exam covers the following material:

• Needs Assessment (18%)
• Planning (22%)
• Analysis (35%)
• Traceability and Monitoring (15%)
• Evaluation (10%)

One insight to take away is the the PMI-PBA is much smaller than scope than the CBAP® and even the CCBA®. The Examination Content Outline appears to be written around what the business analyst role looks like when the business analyst is working under the wing of a project manager on a discrete project.

The IIBA® view of the business analyst role is much larger than this.

In contrast, IIBA® does not confine business analysis to projects or programs. In fact, IIBA® explicitly defines a collection of business analysis activities that transcend the project and are applicable to all types of organizational improvement. And, at its best, business analysts should be routinely involved to evaluate opportunities before projects are even approved – or before a project manager has even been assigned.

Of course, the PMI view of business analysis is what’s more commonly in place at today’s organizations. However, the IIBA® view gives us something to strive for as we seek out senior business analyst opportunities and grow our careers generally.

Let’s look at some specific differences between the two understandings of the role:

• The Needs Assessment in the PMI-PBA outline is much more limited in scope than the Enterprise Analysis Knowledge area of A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge® (BABOK® Guide), which includes many additional tasks to proactively determine the business needs, current capabilities, and define the business case, rather than to merely review and refine the existing business case or meet with stakeholders to understand their needs.
• In the PMI-PBA outline, Elicitation is wrapped up inside the Analysis knowledge area, rather than being a discrete Knowledge Area that applies to a wide-variety of different business analysis activities.
• The Planning task as defined by the PMI-PBA outline is confined to the Requirements Management space, rather than the broader view offered by the BABOK® Guide in the Business Analysis Planning & Monitoring Knowledge area. The IIBA® BABOK® Guide gives business analysts a role in identifying the best possible techniques, activities, and approach to the entire business analysis effort.

One area that the PMI definition is broader in scope is that the Evaluation tasks cover some elements of Quality Assurance, whereas the BABOK® Guide specifically limits the business analyst role in this matter.

Why more certification options is a good thing for business analysts.

Even with a more limited view of the business analyst role, PMI’s decision to enter this space is a sign of many positive things to come for business analysts.

With the strength of PMI behind the business analyst role, I think we will see wider adoption of business analysis, as a discrete role from project management, on more and more projects. Through the new practice guide and PMI-PBA certification, PMI will drive an awareness of the role globally that IIBA® has simply not had the resources to do. This is a good thing as it means more jobs, even higher business analyst salaries, and less time spent selling our value.

However, it doesn’t seem as if PMI will define and promote the next generation of business analysts – the type of opportunities that excite me about being a business analyst and that make it an attractive profession for senior-level professionals looking for leadership opportunities. We need the IIBA® for that. This work is much more challenging and the path to success will necessarily be slower. IIBA® will need our support, strength, and resources to lead the charge on our behalf and keep it going even as the number of PBA credential holders quickly surpasses the number of CBAP® and CCBA® Recipients.

Is the PMI-PBA or IIBA® CBAP® or CCBA® right for you?

As a professional with limited time and resources, you might be wondering whether you should choose the PMI-PBA instead of the IIBA® CBAP® or CCBA®. While it’s way too early to know for sure how each certification will impact your job prospects and career aspirations, here are some criteria you can use to decide what is in your best interest in the short term.

• If you are in a project-focused business analyst role right now, and happy to stay there, and your organization is engaged with PMI, the PMI-PBA could be a really good option to gain more internal credibility.
• If you are in a project-focused business analyst role, but discontent and want a bigger seat at the table (or a seat at all), look to the CBAP®. As a by-product of the certification process, you’ll expand your view of your own capabilities and discover ways to add even more value to your organization.
• If your organization already supports the CBAP®/CCBA® route or your certification process is underway, stay the course. You can always pick up the PMI-PBA later should it prove beneficial.
• If you are targeting project-focused business analyst roles, either the PMI-PBA or IIBA® CBAP® or CCBA® could help set you slightly ahead of the pack when it comes to your business analysis job search. It’s too soon to tell if the PMI-PBA is going to significantly outstrip the CBAP® or CCBA® from the perspective of employers hiring business analysts.
• If you are happy where you are in your career or dislike certifications, then do what you would have done anyway and ignore them all!

Of course, many professionals have already chosen both by opting to add the PMI-PBA to their existing CBAP® or CCBA® credential. Since each certification means something different, that is certainly a valid path.

Personally, since I’m already a CBAP®, I’m keeping an eye on the PMI-PBA since I want to do everything in my power to help my readers, course participants, and coaching clients as much as possible.

No matter what certification you choose, business analysis training is important

Many participants in The Business Analyst Blueprint® training program report that they are so glad they participated in our practical, deliverable-focused training BEFORE trying to prepare for an exam-based certification.

With our training, they were able to apply what they were learning on-the-job and familiarize themselves with the business analysis terminology and way of approaching a typical project. This made their exam prep so much easier!

If this sounds like a path you’d like to take, we’d be honored to help you take your next step and create a purpose-filled career in business analysis.

Click here to learn more about The Business Analyst Blueprint training program.

We build our profession one business analyst at a time. Success starts with you.

And, the last word.

Obviously, the prevalence of certification options only more good things to come for business analysts. We’ve reached the point of the professional timeline where we are no longer in the early adopter stage. Business analysis is making its way as a proven profession with a wide variety of viable career paths.

If you’ve been on the fence for awhile, it’s an excellent time to consider starting your business analyst career, whether that means starting a new business analyst role, shifting your responsibilities, or gaining formal acknowledgment for the business analyst job responsibilities you’ve been doing for awhile. And while the time to get in on the ground floor has passed, it’s still a great time to get in and experience a lot of growth relatively quickly.

Of course, if you are looking to get into business analysis, you should pick up a copy of the second edition of How to Start a Business Analyst Career.

In this article, we’ll explain the difference between PDs, CDUs, and PDUs, which are terms used by the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA®) and the Project Management Institute (PMI)®.

Professional Development Hours (PDs)

Professional Development Hours (PDs)  is a term used by the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) to define the type of coursework required as one of the many requirements to sit for the ECBA, CCBA® or CBAP®.

To qualify for PDs, the training must involve meaningful interaction with the instructor and cover a BA topic included in the BABOK® Guide.  To qualify for PDs, the course does NOT need to be an exam prep course. Courses offered by an Endorsed Education Provider (EEP) of IIBA have already been evaluated by IIBA and the education provider may advertise the PD hours for which the class qualifies.  Should you take a class from a non-EEP, you can list the class on the certification application and IIBA will determine if it qualifies for the PD hours that you are requesting. (As long as the class meets the requirements specified by IIBA in the certification handbook, this should not be an issue.)

Bridging the Gap is an Endorsed Education Provider of IIBA and The Business Analyst Blueprint® training n program, qualifies for 36 PDs, or what you need to apply for any IIBA certification.

Continuing Development Units (CDUs)

CBAP and CCBA recipients must re-certify every 3 years if they wish to maintain their designation. Re-certification involves filling out an online application and documenting a certain number of CDUs or Continuing Development Units. CDUs are broken into 6 categories. Three of those 6 categories can be fulfilled by participating in training opportunities. Like courses that qualify for PDs, courses offered by an EEP have already been evaluated by IIBA and will automatically qualify for a certain number of CDUs.

However, the requirements for some categories of CDUs are more lenient. Self-study courses, webinars, professional development meetings, and other less formal training opportunities to learn about business analysis can all qualify for CDUs. And, as is the case with PDs, an offering can qualify for CDUs even if it’s not pre-endorsed by IIBA as long as the opportunity meets the requirements of the CDU category you list it under.

Again, The Business Analyst Blueprint® training program qualifies for 36 CDUs, and can help you meet your re-certification requirements with IIBA.

Professional Development Units (PDUs)

Finally, let’s talk about PDUs or Professional Development Units. The PDU term is used by the Project Management Institute (PMI) and is very similar to IIBA CDUs. PDUs are relevant for maintaining any of your PMI-supported certifications, the most common of which is the Project Management Professional (PMP)®.

Because the acronyms are so similar, PDUs are often confused with PDs, but they are most definitely not the same. Similar to CDUs, many less formal learning opportunities such as webinars and professional meetings can easily qualify for PDUs without meeting the more stringent requirements of the IIBA PDs.

In a Nutshell

In a nutshell, if you are applying for the CBAP or CCBA, focus on earning your PDs. If you are already a CBAP or CCBA Recipient, focus on CDUs. If you are a recipient of one of the many PMI certifications, focus on PDUs. (And, yes, many offerings count for both CDUs and PDUs. If you hold certifications from both IIBA and PMI, you can count the same opportunity on both re-certification applications.)

About The Business Analyst Blueprint®

When you join The Business Analyst Blueprint® training program, you’ll learn all 12 of the industry-standard techniques and the business analysis process framework – to build your confidence in the best practices of business analysis.

> Click here for more information about The Blueprint <<

One question we receive again and again is whether to pursue the CBAP or CCBA.

About the CBAP and CCBA

Both certifications are offered by International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA®). The CBAP is the Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP®) and the CCBA is Certification of Competency in Business Analysis (CCBA®), how do you choose between the two?

There are two big differentiators between the two options:

• The total amount of business analysis experience required.
• The overall diversity of business analysis experience required.

You can qualify to sit for the CCBA exam if you can document at least 3750 hours of  work experience aligned with the BABOK^® Guide in the last seven years. You also must have at least 900 hours in 2 of the 6 knowledge areas or 500 hours in 4 of the 6 knowledge areas.

In contrast, applying for the CBAP requires more experience. A minimum of 7500 hours of BA work experience aligned with the BABOK^® Guide in the last seven years is required in the last 10 years. You also must be able to document 900 hours in 4 of the 6 knowledge areas.

The exams are also different and I would imagine that given the lesser experience requirements for the CCBA, that the exam might be easier overall.

CBAP or CCBA for You?

If you can meet the experience requirements for the CBAP, I would recommend pursuing it instead of the CCBA. If not, then consider the CCBA as an interim certification and, provided you are still leveraging your business analysis skills and expanding your business analysis experience, work towards qualifying for the CBAP before your recertification period.

Of course, you could choose to do both certifications, but unless you work for a training provider looking to build materials specific to each certification, I can’t imagine why you would.

No matter what certification you choose, business analysis training is important

Many participants in The Business Analyst Blueprint® training program report that they are so glad they participated in our practical, deliverable-focused training BEFORE trying to prepare for an exam-based certification.

With our training, they were able to apply what they were learning on-the-job and familiarize themselves with the business analysis terminology and way of approaching a typical project. This made their exam prep so much easier!

If this sounds like a path you’d like to take, we’d be honored to help you take your next step and create a purpose-filled career in business analysis.

Click here to learn more about The Business Analyst Blueprint training program.

We build our profession one business analyst at a time. Success starts with you.

A long time ago, back when I first started working with Laura and Bridging the Gap, I sat for the CBAP exam and failed. In December of this last year, I finally sat down to try again and have achieved my certification. There were so MANY convenient and juicy excuses to put off the inevitable along the way, but I finally ran out of them. This is the last chapter in my story about seeking the certification and picks up when I was coming away from the first try on the exam.

(By the way, if you are interested in pursuing the CBAP, you’ll want to be sure you check out our overview article: 8 Steps to Becoming a CBAP.)

I learned many lessons in my first attempt and have shared them here previously. A couple really stand out through the time that has passed.

First, one must really sacrifice a period of time to properly study not just the BABOK, but also the ancillary materials that have fed the creation of that document and the practice of business analysis. One document cannot provide justice to all we need to really understand. Second, get over yourself. I had this thought process that had me convinced that I knew it all in a practical sense and simply didn’t memorize the content properly. In all honesty, I do have a lot of practical experience, but that mindset brings arrogance to the table and stands in the way of being fully open-minded about new ways to perform my craft. I was not able to learn and absorb and focus until this occurred.

Additionally, the BABOK has a lot of little tiny pieces of information that I never picked up the first fourteen times I read through it because my mind was closed off. There are small portions of sentences and direction that tie various aspects of the content in the BABOK together in order to provide the links to proper practicing of iterative business analysis. Remember, there are often multiple places to start our work, and this is highly dependent on the situations that are presented to us, and our actions are often altered as a result. Therefore, the BABOK cannot address a front-to-back approach in the written content, but it DOES hold little gems that will guide the reader toward a holistic approach IF you are open to seeing it.

Finally, I truly don’t memorize things well or test well. Only in removing my own misconception about knowing more than I did was I able to really push into the detail over and over again to pick up information.

So these are the mechanical lessons learned that I bring back from the edge of the ledge with me. Let’s delve into the other side…the emotional stuff.

When I failed the first time in trying, I really took a confidence hit. Not because I failed, but because I thought I knew more than I really did. It took me a long time to bounce back emotionally to realize that the knowledge was there all along, but it wasn’t there robustly enough to be useful for personal improvement in exam testing or even in practice. Once I had a big slice of “humble pie” and got out of my own way, I began the journey of understanding my walls and then breaking them down.

Mission accomplished. Test taken. Certification achieved. Woohoo!

Now, it’s time to tackle the final question, “Is it worth it?”

Yes and no is my response. The CBAP designation is still young and gaining influence; I notice more and more roles are requiring the certification in candidates. My own firm, Avanade, Inc., is a very strong proponent of the certification and so am I…just not for the reasons most would think.

The completion of any certification shows only one tangible thing, and that is that the student can pass a test. Nice piece of paper. I still hold this view after passing, because a test score does not make the master. What I find extremely valuable is the insight gained through learning the material in the first place, and if that insight is then put into practice there is a very powerful gain. If the new paper-holder continues with incompetent practices, then shame on the wasted opportunity to grow. Each person who takes and achieves certification must be evaluated individually for what he or she does with it.

Come to think of it, there is much we can do for ourselves even if we don’t pass. For me, I am able to bring insight from the way I studied, not to mention the volume of studying, into the workplace and immediately implement some of the learned practices. I also now have something for those who do not know me or my BA work history to make an initial evaluation that I MIGHT know what I’m doing; I can build on that first impression very rapidly. That is FAR more than I had before.

So yes, it’s worth it FOR ME. In short, if the exam is taken for the right reasons and used with good intention of improvement to the individual and profession, there is great value. If you are looking for letters or dollars as a result, find something more enjoyable to do with your time.

Thanks for joining me on the road to success.

>>Kick-Start Your Own Road to CBAP Success

We’ve broken the road to the CBAP down into 8 steps, each own getting you closer to your CBAP certification goal.

Click here to read about 8 Steps to the CBAP

I began to distrust the exam simulators and also my own test taking skills.  Although frustrated, I withheld judgement. How could I provide an honest evaluation of the simulators before I could compare them to the real exam?

If you remember, I was using simulators from two different companies: Watermark Learning’s, to which I purchased a 60-day license, and BA Mentor’s, to which as a Bridging the Gap partner I was provided with complimentary access. Both were helpful tools and they were similar in many ways.

The Features

Watermark Learning

• Provides 3 modes – Warm-Up, Study Drills, and a full exam simulator. I did not see the need for the warm-up, but used several of the study drills to determine how well my studying was going with a particular knowledge area. I also did not have the opportunity to use the full Exam Simulator because my subscription expired a day earlier than I expected, so I can’t comment on that aspect of the tool.
• I really liked how Watermark explained the answers – there were explanations both for the right answers and the wrong answers. So if I chose a wrong answer, I’d be able to read why it was wrong (often with some interpretation of why my thinking may have wrongly led me to that answer). The right answer included a reference to the appropriate section of the BABOK and, for the most part, some more detail from the BABOK or summarizing the BABOK.
• I did not like that in order to view all my wrong answers, I had to scroll back through each question individually. (I was told that an enhancement was being made to address this and so it may no longer be an issue.)
• You do have the option to submit one question at a time and receive feedback about whether the answer was right or wrong with the detailed explanations.
• Also, Watermark only saved one exam at a time, so as soon as I started a new drill, I lost the results to the previous drills and could not review those answers or see progress in terms of scores.

BA Mentor

Pricing

Watermark Learning: CBAP Online Study Exam

• 30 Days: $99
• 60 Days: $129
• 90 Days: $159.

If in doubt, purchase the longer package. I purchased a 60 day package and then wanted to extend for a week before my exam and was only offered a 30-day rate of $79 to renew.

BA Mentor: CBAP Exam Simulator:

• 15 days: $39.99
• 30 days: $59.99
• 45 days: $69.99
• 60 days: $79.99
• 90 days: $99.99

Renewal discounts are approximately 50% and you can renew for as little as two weeks at a time.

Which one is best for you?

Well, first, be clear that there are many other exam simulators out there. I chose Watermark Learning because they seem to be the most globally trusted among BAs, and BA Mentor because I have always trusted founder Linda Erzah and her passion for helping BAs get certified. Before choosing one or the other, you might want to do more research into the other options out there. (If you have publicly published reviews of other products, feel free to leave a link below.)

It will really depend on what’s important to you as you prepare. Are you confident in your test-taking skills? Do you want specific features? How important is the price difference? Can you afford more than one tool so that you don’t have to put your eggs all in one basket?

Looking back, the biggest difference was the questions and I found that BA Mentor’s exam simulator did a better job of preparing me for the unexpected and convoluted questions I faced on exam day. Maybe not everyone had this same experience with their CBAP exam, but it definitely caught me by surprise. Like I mentioned above and in this post on my experience with the CBAP exam itself, I didn’t believe the questions would be confusing until I was actually sitting in the room. It didn’t seem right to me at all (and it still doesn’t). And, while I’m still disillusioned by the relationship between the exam questions and being a good (nevermind great) BA, that’s really not the point. If you want to pass the exam, you need to be able to fight your way through the confusing questions. Prepare yourself.

>>Learn More About Becoming a CBAP or CCBA

Interested in becoming a CBAP or CCBA? We cover 8 steps to the CBAP certification, that will take you to just learning about the certification to successfully sitting for the exam.

Click here to read the article

At about 12:55, I had signed in, made chit chat with the exam proctor, confirmed bathroom procedures, put my stuff in my locker, and gone through the exam instructions and was looking at my first question. It was about business needs and I did not know the answer. Actually, the question didn’t make a lot of sense to me. Hmm..must just be a fluke. (But a little flake of self-doubt creeps up nonetheless.)

For the next hour or so, I continue through this pattern.

• About one out of every three questions is crystal clear and I answer confidently.
• About one out of every three questions is slightly confusing, but I can make a good guess. There’s two reasonable answers and I am choosing what I think is probably the best one.
• About one out of every three questions does not really make sense to me and I feel that I can eliminate one, sometimes two answers but am not really doing a great job of picking the best one.

After an hour or so of this pattern, I reflect on what’s happening and realize I could actually fail this exam. Answering 1 out of 3 with confidence does not provide very good odds. And it’s definitely not how I expected to feel after all of my preparation.

In cycles a flow of negative energy. The questions get harder. Now I am doubting myself for about 2 out of every 3 questions. Then the negative energy shifts to a bit of anger. I studied. I know the material. Why can’t I understand these questions? Is that a typo or is it deliberately misleading? That seems like the right answer, if only there was another comma or one letter was shifted. None of these answers seem right at all. Oy.

At 1 1/2 hours in, I decide that a break will do me good. I get up and go to the bathroom. I take two long drinks at the water fountain. I stretch. I shake my head. I take deep relaxing breaths.

Since the middle of last week, I’ve done a lot of last minute prep which is helping me feel more confident. Here’s a quick rundown of my last-minute efforts:

• Analyze results of the CBAP full exam simulation and re-review relevant sections of the BABOK and my notes to fill in obvious knowledge gaps.
• Read the Underlying Competencies section, which had not yet been part of my “deep dive” since I’m likely to only get 2-3 questions on the exam in this area.
• Drew out a model of the inputs and outputs of the first 4 knowledge areas, to visually walk-through for myself how they related.  I only stopped because I ran out of paper and, well, it was time for dinner. This was a valuable exercise as it helped me clarify some of the relationships between tasks and it would be great to see if someone could pull this together with no overlapping lines!
• Did one last review of my notes, focusing on the purpose for each task and technique.
• Confirmed the exam logistics. Went over my confirmation email with a fine tune comb for instructions. Since I’ll be at a Community College, confirmed the location of the exam place within the college, printed out duplicate directions, and typed up a quick schedule to allow for pre-exam snacks AND extra time in case something unexpected happens.

This past week I took my first two practice exams. The first was Watermark’s 50 question “light” exam. The second was BAMentor’s full 150 question exam. (Watermark also offers a full 150 question exam, but my subscription ran out a day earlier than I was expecting, so I didn’t get to try it out.)

I liked the light exam because it was reasonably efficient to complete and gave me a breakdown of how I did by knowledge area. I could quickly see that Requirements Management and Communication was my weakest area and used that information to plan some short-term cramming.

But it was when I got to the full practice exam that I really learned what it’s going to take next Tuesday, when I sit for the real deal. Here are a few of the challenges I’m preparing myself for.

Distraction and Boredom

While it doesn’t seem that big, 150 questions is a lot of questions. It took me nearly 2 1/2 hours to complete the practice exam. Admittedly I checked email and Twitter a few times and got up for snacks and bio breaks. But I felt I needed to do these things to keep my energy up and refocus. During the exam, I doubt I’ll have access to Twitter (though it would be great to leverage your collective expertise!) so I’ll need some quick, short distractions that will help me refocus my energy on the task at hand. And, well, at about 8 months pregnant, I’m sure I’ll need some bio breaks too and will hopefully be able to snack on a handful of almonds or something.

Uncertainty and Self-Doubt

Undoubtedly, there were questions I did not know the answers to. Sometimes this uncertainty created a lot of self-doubt.

Some were big and impacted many questions. How could I forget the purposes of the elicitation knowledge areas? (This cropped up especially after about the third question on elicitation where it became clear I was missing some key transition or output.) What was the difference between requirements validation and verification again? (I thought I had nailed it but then grew wary.)

Some were small. What’s the difference between an operative and structural business rule? Did I even see this model that looks like a decision tree and was it labeled? Is the input for this task business need (since so many are) or is it something further down the process (many more are than I thought during the exam)?

These doubts really speak to the need for a bit more preparation. As I made my way through the exam I realized it would be useful to capture these patterns so I could do more detailed reviews of these areas before my next practice session.

But regardless of how much I study, I know I’ll forget something or doubt something. So I think what’s important during the exam is to isolate these areas of doubt to specific questions and not let them creep into the entire exam.

Choose Between the Two Best Answers

Despite my doubts, I could almost always rule out two answers. Then it was a matter of choosing between the two best answers. They might both seem logical or relevant. Sometimes I could build some confidence that one seemed better than the other. Sometimes I just had to choose randomly. But choosing randomly between 2 gives you better odds than between 4. I’ll take my chances.

Opportunity and Sunk Cost

These are both concepts from the BABOK but they apply to the exam prep process too. When I looked back at my afternoon, I was a bit disappointed at the amount of time (sunk cost) I had invested in the practice exam. I wondered about the opportunity cost of this activity. In the context of exam preparation, I think the time spent taking a sample exam was well spent. In the context of all the other areas of my professional and personal life I could be investing in, it was a difficult pill to swallow. I’ll be swallowing it at least one, possibly two, more times before Tuesday. And then it will all be sunk cost behind me…and we know there’s no reason to fret over a sunk cost. At that point I’ll be able to look forward to all the magical things the future holds.

>>Learn More About Becoming a CBAP or CCBA

Interested in becoming a CBAP or CCBA? We cover 8 steps to the CBAP certification, that will take you to just learning about the certification to successfully sitting for the exam.

Click here to read the article

Some of this seemed so readily apparent, the BABOK terms falling nicely into place. Other aspects seemed so completely foreign.

And that’s when it hit me over the head.

The BABOK makes so much sense when…you’ve done it before!

Never having done decision analysis, the description to “calculate expected value of outcomes” seemed foreign until Kym went over it a second time. (Then it was relatively simple.)

Never having done a sequence diagram, I had to break apart the elements and try to piece them together. Essentially, using the BABOK descriptions to teach myself how to do a quick and dirty sequence diagram.

But having written user stories, the knowledge fell right into place (or validated what I already knew). And though I’ve never done anything I called Functional Decomposition, I could definitely relate the material to examples from my own work.

Obviously, this opinion isn’t the result of any fancy rocket science. But the realization hit me with so much force, I thought it would be worth sharing.

>>Learn More About Becoming a CBAP or CCBA

Interested in becoming a CBAP or CCBA? We cover 8 steps to the CBAP certification, that will take you to just learning about the certification to successfully sitting for the exam.

Click here to read the article

When I first started my journey with CBAP exam simulators, I posted a Tweet voicing this frustration. Kevin Brennan promptly replied that IIBA purposefully does not use trick questions on the exam. So perhaps the exam providers are helping us over-prepare (or freak out) with crazy questions that make no sense? Or, perhaps Kevin’s understanding of a trick question and my own are different? How will I know before I sit for the exam?

When I started taking sample tests 5 weeks ago somehow I thought by answering more questions and reading the BABOK with more care and attention, this would magically get easier. So it’s frustrating to find that it’s not. My test scores seem to be going down instead of up.

This isn’t one simulator either — it’s both the simulators I’m working with. So something tells me it’s not them, it’s me. It’s frustrating now to realize I need to work more on my test taking skills, something that has about zero value for me in my career, except that I get to put these 4 letters behind my name at the end. But alas, I’ve started on this journey and I’m not about to give up now.

If I had more time ahead of me, I think I would give up on the exam simulators and trust that my best-Laura-test-taker would magically emerge come exam-day. (She tends to come out when needed. For me, stress creates focus and focus brings forth the right skills for the right situation. I know stress shuts other people down, but I guess I’m lucky that doesn’t happen to me too often.) I would study the BABOK, be confident in my knowledge, and sit for the exam to the best of my abilities. Then, if I failed, I could revisit the exam simulators with the prior experience of what the exam was really like so I could focus my time and attention. But I really don’t want to be taking this exam with a 6-month old in my lap (I’m pretty sure that’s not even allowed — heck I’ll be 8 months pregnant and can’t even bring in water to drink!). So I must fight a way through this and be confident by exam day that I have done everything in my power to pass.

And soon. I scheduled my exam for September 27th!

>>Learn More About Becoming a CBAP or CCBA

Interested in becoming a CBAP or CCBA? We cover 8 steps to the CBAP certification, that will take you to just learning about the certification to successfully sitting for the exam.

Click here to read the article

But now I am at the point where the rubber hits the road. Literally. About two weeks ago, I sent the check in for my exam fee. I walked it down our little dirt road to the mail box, breathed in deep, dropped the letter in the box, and put up the flag. We’re not exactly in the country, but we are not in the city either. The mail truck going by is a rusted out old jeep, painted white. This being one of the first pieces of mail I sent from our new home and given my choice to use a recycled envelope instead of a nice clean new one, I had some lingering doubts about whether the check would arrive safely.

So every day I check to see if the check is cashed. Every day it’s not. Although the entire CBAP process is really well documented with timeline expectations, this is one piece that’s a little vague. So I’m actually not sure what to expect next.

Luckily, IIBA sends a confirmation email when they have received a check. I received that last week. And then earlier this week (about a week later) I received the email that’s now plaguing my inbox. This one is from the test center. It has every piece of information I need to schedule the exam. And given there are exam times just about every morning and afternoon from here to eternity, now it’s up to me to decide.

When do I sit for the exam?

• Morning or afternoon?
• Beginning of the week or end?
• September or October?

I decided to use any free time that my schedule allowed – no matter how little, to get the process started. And as it often happens, after I got done with it, I thought, “gosh, this wasn’t so bad – I wish I had done this sooner!”  It was actually very invigorating and motivating. That’s when it dawned on me what an excellent idea it would be to share my experience and the template that I had created to structure my thought process, with my fellow BAs so that a larger group could benefit from my efforts. And then what else could be a better place than Bridging-the-Gap to share this – I have grown so much with the help of this blog, its members, its experts: Doug, Michelle, Linda, and last but no means the least, Laura!

(By the way, for more advice on getting your CBAP, check out Laura’s 8 Steps to Becoming a CBAP resource page.)

The worksheet that I have provided here is a template to help you capture information about your projects as they pertain to your CBAP application. The way this worksheet was planned, it allows you to work in in bits and pieces. So even if you have 20 minutes every day, I believe this worksheet will allow you to capture the required information and any related thoughts that come to mind, thus allowing you to keep the process going.

There are 6 sheets in the attached worksheet:

1. Start – Provides an overview on how to use this worksheet.
2. Projects – Allows you to list all your relevant projects and the associated details required for the application.
3. Project Tasks – Allows you to match your experience with the tasks defined in BABOK.
4. Org Info – Allows you to collect details about the organizations where you have performed these BA tasks and information about your project contacts.
5. Questions – Allows you to capture questions as they arise in your mind. There will be several questions that will come up in your mind while you are working on your application. This space will serve as a placeholder before you can draft an email to IIBA.
6. To Do List – To keep the application process on track. Write down the things that you need to attack to keep things moving for your CBAP application.

When I started this document for myself, I only had the Projects and the Questions sheet. I worked on my worksheet in bits and pieces over the span of my three weekend travels, and I am glad that I decided to forge ahead rather than waiting for a big free slot of free time, else I could have never finished it.

So my two cents would be to begin working on your CBAP application as little or as much you can every day! If you can set aside a dedicated time, that is superb, but if not, don’t prevent yourself from putting in those few minutes every day.

I hope this template serves as useful to you as it did to me.

>>Learn More About Becoming a CBAP or CCBA

Interested in becoming a CBAP or CCBA? We cover 8 steps to the CBAP certification, that will take you to just learning about the certification to successfully sitting for the exam.

Click here to read the article

Then the reality hit. Another week, another chapter, another simulated exam. Although the material is new, there is a certain monotony in preparing for an exam. At first, you are trying different study techniques, experimenting with new ways of absorbing information, and exploring new tools. Around every corner surfaces something new and unexpected. Then you land on what seems to be the best way for yourself to study the material, and you become acclimated to the discovery process. And there’s nothing left to sludge on through, using the process you’ve discovered, again and again and again. It’s more like getting on one of those little kid trains that goes a few feet up and down than the Gemini, the Blue Streak, or the Millenium Force. (Yes, I live in Denver, but I grew up near Detroit where boat trips to Cedar Point were yearly occurrences. I remember approaching Cedar Point from a mile or more away and seeing the initial climb of the Millenium Force rising into the air and thinking, “tomorrow I’ll be up there.” But again, I digress. CBAP. CBAP.)

This is where you find me now. Diligently moving forward. Occasionally putting off studying. Doing what needs to be done. The excitement is gone. The passion for the process was really never there so there is nothing to rekindle. But I might be being a bit dramatic here. There have been a few moments of excitement along this otherwise now routine path. A few blips that keep my interest piqued and my intellectual faculties engaged. Most of them have come from interactions with my CBAP study group. And, again, they revolve around this core idea of discovering how what I do is similar or different to what “the BAs of the world” do.

Elicitation results vs. Documenting the Results of Elicitation

This is one of those things you read in the BABOK and makes sense, but then when someone else explains it to you, it becomes more puzzling. The Elicitation knowledge area of the BABOK is split into 4 tasks:

• Prepare for Elicitation,
• Conduct Elicitation Activity,
• Document Elicitation Results, and
• Confirm Elicitation Results.

The output of Conduct Elicitation Activity is “Elicitation Results,” which is an input to the next task, Document Elicitation Results. But in a pattern that emerges throughout the BABOK, the output does not have a prescribed form. Often it’s safe to assume it’s some sort of document and storage of information, even if in the real world that information is captured in a deliverable with outputs from one or more other tasks. But the Documenting Elicitation Results task clearly indicates that meeting notes, meeting recordings, or even picture recordings of a whiteboard fall within its domain. So what exactly is this output from the earlier task? It seems that the Elicitation Results are things that hang in the ether somewhere.

I raised this question in the CBAP prep class I’m taking and was glad to learn that I wasn’t alone at being a little puzzled. Through the chat box, several participants shared possible examples and we had a bit of interaction about the possibilities. I ended up deciding to keep things straight in my mind by thinking of “Elicitation Results” as raw notes, perhaps even those transcribed by hand during the meeting, and the outputs of Document Elicitation Results, which are Stated Requirements and Stated Stakeholder Concerns, as organized notes ready for analysis.

Of course, in the real world, I blend all of this together for expediency and because I can often quickly move to analysis. But I get the separation and think I have the concepts straight enough to answer questions correctly on the exam.

What is a focus group anyway?

It’s always surprised me that focus groups are a technique in the BABOK as I think of them as a marketing activity. And as we talked through Focus Groups in class my perception didn’t shift. Then someone from class asked a question about the difference between Focus Groups and what she has called Breakout Sessions. After the instructor summarized the technique, the student added a bit more context about her Breakout Sessions and how she used them to better understand a problem and stakeholder perceptions of a problem. It seemed that she was probably facilitating Focus Groups in a very different way than I had thought of them before. This line of thinking opened up the possibility that I, too, had used the technique. While the broader definition I now understand isn’t likely to help me with the exam, it does expand my view of my own experience and help me think about the separation between Focus Groups and Requirements Workshops, which might help me plan a few meetings better in the future.

Discovering my primary elicitation practice is 1/3 interview, 2/3 requirements workshop

I made a lot of assumptions about the techniques in the BABOK. It’s funny what you learn when you actually take the time to read the text carefully. I had always assumed a Requirements Workshop was the kind described by Ellen Gottesdiener in Requirements by Collaboration – a full day meeting in which participants collaborate together on requirements deliverables. After reading the BABOK‘s description of the technique, I discovered while the time frame of 1-2 days is referenced, the creation of deliverables is not. In the general way the technique is described, it could include collaborative creation of deliverables. But it could also include group dialog, around a set of requirements, which are captured by a scribe, and then put together after-the-fact by a BA. And this is the type of meeting I typically run. Still, since the BABOK specifically says these meetings typically last 1-2 days and mine typically last 1-2 hours, I say I’m about 2/3 there. And the other 1/3 is captured by the Interview technique which can include interviews of more than one person together.

Interesting?

Where am I going with all of this?

I’ve been reticent to offer advice to other potential CBAPs along this journey, since I know not yet whether my process is going to work and do not have the real experience (i.e. taking the exam) to enable me to reflect on what aspects of my preparation were most useful and why. But one thing that’s emerged so far is that finding a group of BAs to share the experience with might be the most important thing I did in terms of keeping my energy up.

This doesn’t have to be a prep class. It can be a study group or just one other BA to share experiences with. But you have to step through the BABOK with them, share experiences, share frustrations, work out details, and use dialog to absorb the material. I think this group picks you up when you get down (or bored) and reigns you in when you get lost. I’m really glad our instructor treads the fine balance between interaction and focus, allowing us some discussion about the material, and how it relates to the real-world, to ensure we actually get it and then refocusing us back to the BABOK and what we need to understand for the exam. Because sometimes all I need to hear is, “yes, that’s a good point, but let’s be sure we understand what the BABOK is telling us.” This sort of subtle redirection that keeps the energy I have focused on the preparation that will help me be exam-ready.

How about you? Has being part of a group helped you prepare for the CBAP exam?

So it’s no surprise that I’ve bypassed a good deep reading of the preface and introduction to the BABOK until preparing for the exam. What a mistake I had made! There’s some good stuff in there! Here are a few of my favorite passages:

IIBA encourages all practitioners of business analysis to be open to new approaches and new ideas, and wishes to encourage innovation in the practice of business analysis (2) .

Sometimes the BABOK can feel like a self-contained world in which everything we do as business analysts must have a spot. But when you begin to look at the content with this perspective, it’s more about a framework for bringing new ideas into the profession. I still think that we BAs have a lot to learn from UX professionals (and vice versa). And when you read the list of sources of information that follows the introduction, you get the feeling that business analysis is more about inclusion and trying new approaches, than following a rigid methodology or process. Nice. This is my kind of BA.

The BABOK Guide contains a description of generally accepted practices in the field of business analysis. …. In addition, practices which are not generally accepted by the business analysis community at the time of publication may be equally effective, than the practices described in the BABOK Guide (3).

As Kym Byron, my instructor for BA Mentor’s Exam Prep Class, so nicely noted, this is what separates the BABOK from other BA texts. It’s not one person’s opinion on how to do BA. It’s not an example of a methodology that has worked in a certain set of circumstances. It represents a collection of tasks and techniques that have been validated by a large number of business analysis professionals in their active work.

As such, the BABOK is an “as is” document, not a “to be” or, definitely a “should be.” Although many take it that way and look to the BABOK as a methodology. This is an important constraint to keep in mind when we consider the value of certification against the knowledge in the BABOK as well as consider how we use the BABOK in our work. Assimilating the BABOK is more about becoming connected with business analysis as it’s done today, flaws and all. For individuals or organizations looking for a baseline to measure themselves against, the BABOK would provide that framework. For organizations and individuals looking to become best in class, this might mean leveraging the BABOK framework but looking beyond it for practices and approaches. At least that’s how I understand the implications of this passage.

Finally, my absolute favorite.

Similarly, we do not assume that requirements are analyzed at any particular level of detail, other than to say that they should be assessed to whatever level of depth is necessary for understanding and action (5).

Get out the yellow highlighters and pink stickers! Or, you might be re-reading the above sentence and wondering what the heck I’m so excited about. Well, I feel like a bit of my own BA Manifesto is validated (even if it’s publication does post-date the publication of the BABOK 2.0) with the focus here on understanding (what I called alignment) and action (what I called positive change).

I also feel validated in the natural tension I feel on so many projects where I try to balance clarity and ambiguity and decide when “enough is enough.” Here’s our professional body of literature telling us that this tension is justified, because our work is not just to document the requirements, but to assess the requirements at the right level of detail to keep the project moving and ensure everyone understands the implications of those requirements.

Hmm…perhaps I should re-evaluate my “skip the introduction” philosophy. I wonder what else I’m missing?

>>Learn More About Becoming a CBAP or CCBA

Interested in becoming a CBAP or CCBA? We cover 8 steps to the CBAP certification, that will take you to just learning about the certification to successfully sitting for the exam.

Click here to read the article

I was almost a complete slacker this week. I spent just an hour or two on Wednesday progressing against this week’s goal, which was to work through (and maybe finish) the techniques section of the BABOK. At about 80 pages, this chapter is the longest. It also contains the real tactical gems that we all love. Yet, I made it through about 10 pages total.

Now, I did do some studying this past weekend, finishing up Solutions Assessment and Validation and going through a practice exam (again topping out at 78%). This chapter was the most difficult I’ve tackled so far. Maybe it’s just my type of BA experience, but I found it abstract and very difficult to relate to. I kept trying to pull out pieces of my career history for examples, but there were a lot of cases where I just wasn’t sure exactly what part of my experience aligned. This is one chapter I’m definitely looking forward to reviewing as part of the BA Mentor prep class, as I hope by talking about it with other BAs it starts to sink in.

But Wait – Some Good News!

But in all my honesty about my slackerdom, I have forgotten to share the good news. On Wednesday I also received an email indicating my application had been accepted. I’m all clear to sit for the exam! Now to pull together the $325 and be ready to commit to an exam date.

The Slacker Antidote

One thing I’ve learned about myself in the last few years is that if I don’t know why I’m doing something, I usually stop before I finish. There are a few reasons…and they might surprise you.

Learning from the PMP

First, if you look at the BA career path and assume it might evolve similarly to the PM career path, there’s a definite risk factor in choosing not to earn the CBAP while I have the experience to do so. If in 5 years (or 10 or 15) I want to go back to a full-time BA job and, like the PMP, the CBAP is so prevalent its a “must have” requirement, my options will be limited. I’m not sure I will want to do this, but I don’t like having my options limited.

But I don’t make decisions based on fear alone. And something tells me that the 300+ posts I’ve written here will count for something. I’ve already earned credibility and trust by sharing what I know and what I don’t. Do I really need some letters behind my name to further validate what I’ve already proven?

Related to the above is the idea that the very success of my mentoring and training organization might come to depend on my being certified. I actually received my first response from a potential mentee a few weeks back challenging my experience and lack of certification. My response is (and will still be even once certified) that you should judge me based on the results I can deliver for you, not based on a certification. Still, it makes me wonder how many people are caught up on the idea that I’m not certified and use that as an excuse to look elsewhere for their training needs.

I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m creating a bit of a fail-safe for myself and protecting my career against potential future circumstances. Because we all deserve to take care of ourselves once in a while, right?

I Care About BA

Which leads me to my second reason. I care about business analysis. When I left my full-time job just over 3 years ago and took the summer off to find my career direction, I discovered that business analysis is where I belong. And then I started writing here and meeting many other talented BAs, the kind I had been looking for in my work for a long time, and everything kind of clicked. And you know what, many of the talented BAs are CBAP Recipients. There is definitely a sense of being one of “them” that’s inspiring me on this journey.

That being said, I show I care and belong to this group in many ways, mostly through writing but also through training and mentoring. I could choose to say ‘that’s enough’. There are some great BAs out there sticking to this approach for their BA careers and I will never think anything less of them. In fact, I might think more of them because they are choosing the more difficult path of consistently proving their value and contribution to the profession through their actions and not by relying on credentials.

The Value of the Certification Process

But let’s go back to this certification and what it really means. At the end of the day, it means that you can have the designated experience and can pass a multiple choice test that represents you have comprehended or memorized the BABOK. That being said, many people find value in the process. The application process alone requires you to dig up elements of your BA work history and many people find this creates a great sense of confidence. I agree. I’ve been digging up my career history ever since I wrote the first Bridging the Gap blog post. It’s a valuable process I do because it’s valuable, not because I need to do it for a certification.

And how about that exam preparation? In a comment on my first CBAP Journey post, Deb Hill said something that clicked.

There is still a lot to be learned from the BABOK. My first reaction to seeing it many moons ago (I think I first saw version 1.6) was … wow, somebody really gets what I have been doing for the past twenty or so years. A lot of good stuff … Understanding how the outputs from one knowledge area/task flow into another knowledge area/task is really helpful.

Yes, this is what I needed to hear. And it’s resembling my own experience as well. By going through the BABOK and putting the pieces together in my head I’m building a model for business analysis that goes beyond what I had before. I have the pieces and parts, I can diagnose my experience, now maybe I’ll be able to be a bit more “formal” or at least informed about my approach.

I’ve also already found that as I create new lessons for My Business Analysis Career, I’m bringing elements I’ve learned through my study to bear. These represent small tweaks, but definite improvements. Again, I could do this without ever taking the exam, but even though I’ve read the BABOK a couple of times, reading it with an eye for the exam is encouraging deeper comprehension.

My Deep Dark Secret

So then to the final reason. If you look carefully at the archive of posts on CBAP here at Bridging the Gap, you’ll notice I’ve rarely presented my personal opinion on the value of CBAP. I’ve shared others’ opinions, interviewed CBAP Recipients about their experiences, and published posts by CBAP Recipients and CBAP-wannabes, but I’m relatively quiet on the topic myself. (And there’s not much I’m quiet about, is there?)

Why is this? Well, despite talking to so many great BAs who also happen to be CBAP Recipients, my impression of certifications in general is not favorable and I wasn’t ready to share my view publicly. I think there is a significant disconnect between documenting experience and successfully passing a multiple choice exam and great business analysis. Although I’ve heard the stories and listened to the experiences, I haven’t drunk the CBAP Kool-Aid. Something is missing.

What I think we see happening right now is that those who are most passionate about the profession chose to earn the certification because they’ve been waiting for a way to say, “yes, this is me!” And that’s definitely honorable and it means that CBAP Recipients, at least those in our readership, represent a top-notch group. Five, ten, fifteen years from now when there might be 20,000 CBAP Recipients, the story will probably be very different.

Although I’m pursuing my CBAP, my opinion hasn’t changed. I’m not pursuing certification because I think it will make me a better BA or because I think it should lead someone else to think I’m a better BA. But I am curious about the process and the benefits it might have for my career, even if I am not-so-secretly still questioning that those benefits are valid. A girl can be practical, can’t she?

Besides, I’ve realized that I simply don’t have the right to be critical of a certification I myself haven’t yet managed to earn.  Rest assured, when all is said and done, I’ll share if and how going through the process has changed my opinion of certification.

So there you have it…my ‘why’. I know I won’t get anywhere without it and, quite honestly, I think it’s a little weak. It still frustrates me that I have to take time to do this when I could be creating better products or helping more people advance their BA careers or honing my skills by picking up a small contract. For me, all of the above are the opportunity costs of becoming a CBAP and the reason why I’ve put it off to the very last responsible moment.

>>Learn More About Becoming a CBAP or CCBA

Interested in becoming a CBAP or CCBA? We cover 8 steps to the CBAP certification, that will take you to just learning about the certification to successfully sitting for the exam.

Click here to read the article

• Submit CBAP Application
• Initial Absorption of Solutions Assessment and Validation
• Exam simulation for the above and BA Planning and Monitoring

There’s no turning back once you hit submit…

First off, I submitted the application. The second reference came through and I hope he said good things about me. I did a final review and hit submit. Yes, once you hit submit there are NO changes. This was a big moment. Now just 21 business days until I find out the results. That seems like a woefully long time…but no reason to pause on my studying.

Absorption and the BOK

Exam preparation consumed most of my energy this week. As I started doing what I’m calling the “absorption” of the BABOK, which is essentially a deep read along with detailed hand-written notes (this is just how I learn best), I realized I didn’t have a clue if what I was learning was enough to pass the exam. Sure I felt a bit smarter and more aware. I definitely read a few things that surprised me and was doing pretty good at “being the BOK.” But was this all I needed to know or was I missing something?

I think anyone who uses a self-study approach is going to feel this lack of confidence. It’s like, I “get it” but do I really get it? And what we mean is, will I be able to transform this newfound knowledge of business analysis (which really doesn’t feel all that new, just different terms than I’m used to using), into successfully passing the exam?

Because again, this exam is not about writing about business analysis (which I could do for a long, long time) and there’s no real-life person on the other side of the exam who can say, “I know what you meant and I see you understood the material. Nicely done.” In fact, you don’t get to say anything. You just get to read a question and select, A, B, C, or D. And hopefully you make the right selection enough times to pass.

There’s no translator and no benefit of the doubt. And of course that drives me crazy.

So to get myself out of my head on this one and into something tactical, I purchased an online exam simulator. What better way to see if I could pass than actually answer exam-like questions? I purchased Watermark Learning’s online exam simulator and will be evaluating BA Mentor’s online exam simulator when I start their prep class in a few weeks.

Why two simulators? Two reasons.

1 – This whole idea of someone who didn’t write the exam crafting questions that test my exam preparation is a bit sketchy to me. I mean, really, no offense to the training providers out there, but how do you know what’s on the exam? You don’t. That stuff is kept under lock and key in a lead-sealed vault in Toronto. (Probably not, but I’m sure it’s safely tucked away somewhere…) I figure by leveraging the resources of two companies, I’m covering more bases.

2 – I have always been a huge fan of BA Mentor on the site and recommended their materials. That recommendation has been based mostly on knowing Linda Erzah, the founder of the company, and the spirit of what makes them tick. Linda gets BA and is devoted to helping others pass the CBAP. As a reluctant participant on this journey, I can tell you I really appreciate her energy and enthusiasm. She’s sent me countless emails (in addition to her comments here) to help me stay motivated.

But now that I’m actually preparing for the CBAP myself, I figure it’s time to compare what BA Mentor brings to at least one other company’s materials, as a way of giving you a more informed opinion. I chose Watermark because they are reputable and involved. Founder Richard Larson came to visit our Denver IIBA chapter earlier this year and talked about CBAP prep, and instructor Bob Prentiss  is one of the most motivational speakers on business analysis I’ve ever had the pleasure to experience. My experience with them made their materials a logical choice.

My first simulator results

OK. So that’s my why…let’s move onto what happened with the exam simulator. Well, I scored 73% on Requirements Planning and Monitoring and 78% on Business Analysis Planning and Communication. I think these are decent scores? Not so sure. They are a little lower than they should be because Watermark’s exam includes questions about the techniques with the Knowledge Area(s) in which they are referenced. This just doesn’t gel with how I’m studying as I’ve set aside a separate time to go through that humongous chapter at the end instead of doing it in pieces and parts as I go through each knowledge area.

While it’s frustrating to get a question you know you haven’t prepped for yet, I’m honing my testing skills by seeing some patterns in what I have prepped for. One mistake was glancing to quickly at terms and see “requirements” when it should have been “business analysis” and making a wrong choice. Another was to blur together inputs, outputs, techniques, tasks, deliverables, work products, etc…which all are used in very specific ways in the BABOK and, at least in this sample set, for the questions as well. This often led to a conceptually logical choice but a wrong one.

Here she goes again…

Now, I could get on my high horse and start complaining about this. In fact, I think I already did a bit earlier. The truth is that right now I just want to pass the darn exam. Even if I conceptually get it and whether or not that should be enough to become a credentialed business analysis professional, I don’t want to fail. Not now that I’ve got all of you watching me! So I’m going to learn the ins and outs and be ready to dot my I’s and cross my T’s in business analysis. And the exam simulator is definitely helping me do that. And doing it chapter by chapter helps a ton. I felt my second and third waves of “absorption” were more on target than the first one, simply because I knew what kinds of questions I might be asked.

Strangely enough, I do feel like I’m enjoying some parts of the studying. It’s sort of like putting a big puzzle together in your head, except the puzzle involves blending “how I do BA” and “how the BABOK talks about BA.” And by looking at it this way, it’s become less about memorization and more about brainwashing assimilation. Some might say I’m crossing over to the dark side. Better or worse for Laura the BA? Not so sure yet, but I’ll chew on that and be sure to share my thoughts when they crystallize.

>>Learn More About Becoming a CBAP or CCBA

Interested in becoming a CBAP or CCBA? We cover 8 steps to the CBAP certification, that will take you to just learning about the certification to successfully sitting for the exam.

Click here to read the article

This week my major milestone was to finish the work experience section of my CBAP application. This is a milestone indeed and is the part that deters many BAs from applying for the CBAP.

I had done an initial round of counting up hours and documenting projects last week. After attending Linda’s CBAP application seminar and getting the concepts straight in my head, I knew I had some adjustments to make. I had unwittingly fallen into a few of the traps that those CBAP application reviewers set for us in how I documented my experience and hadn’t quite added up enough hours yet. On Tuesday, I sat down with Linda’s worksheet and recompiled my work experience in her template.

At first I was peeved…I had to estimate hours by task in order to fill in the worksheet. All the CBAP application asks you to do is document percentages by knowledge area and check off tasks. Why go to all this seemingly extra trouble? However, I really wanted to use Linda’s spreadsheet to ensure I met the requirement of 900 hours in 4 different knowledge areas and I realized that no matter what path I took to figuring this out there would be some grunt work. So I settled myself down and got to work.

And then an amazing thing happened. As I sat there calculating hours and really thinking about what I had done within each task area while also being sure I hadn’t duplicated date ranges or over-counted hours or done anything that might seem even just a little bit shady, I started to feel really good about my BA work. I kind of got addicted to the process.

Where before, I had decided to leave some gaps in my work history since I had some extra hours to play with, I now decided to go for it all. I documented the 5% of my time I spent building a QA process in 2001 and 2002. I documented the enterprise analysis and other BA work I did to create our Bridging the Gap virtual training platform. I documented everything except for a few minor contracts, the BA mentoring I’ve done for the last year and a half, and the last year I spent as a manager. From each of these I could have probably eked out a few hundred more hours, but I finally decided that enough was enough.

When all was said and done, I had over 900 hours in all of the knowledge areas and my total came in at over 10,000 hours. I quickly sent my worksheet to Linda for validation and Tweeted out this cool news. Besides being a round number, the “10,000” hours mark is one that is sometimes associated with “mastery.” So right now, I’m feeling pretty good about myself. I’ll also admit, even though I wasn’t excited about the forms part of the CBAP process, discovering that you’ve done something you’re passionate about for 10,000 hours of your adult life is pretty cool. Side bonus #1 of becoming a CBAP.

And then I discovered side bonus #2. Yesterday I sat down and emailed 6 project contacts that I listed in the work history section, just to let them know I listed them and that if my application is audited they will be contacted to confirm my BA contributions. Some of these are people I’ve been in touch with recently. Others I haven’t talked to in years or more…I’m not even sure if they know I’m running my own business now. Reaching out to all these people was a fun process. It also lets them know I’m engaged professionally, gives me a chance to update them on what I’m up to, and could potentially turn up new collaboration opportunities in the future. If you are a consultant or in a job search process, this step could be a real benefit, especially if you take care with how you craft these messages and use them strategically.

Also on my agenda this week was tackling the first BABOK chapter – the Business Analysis Planning one that I had lost some pages of. As of Thursday, this task had been on my agenda every day and every day it got pushed out as other duties captured my attention. I’m realizing that dedicating the effort to studying is going to take some focus on my part. Last week the newness of it all gave me momentum. Already, that positive anticipation is waning. Still, I know I can finish what I need to do this week. I’ll also be acquiring a CBAP Exam Simulator that allows me to practice questions by knowledge area and test how well I’m absorbing the information I need to absorb from self-study. More on that next week.

Thanks again for your support. By the end of next week, I intend to have submitted my application (just waiting for one reference to come in) and completed an initial absorption of 3 knowledge areas, and have some real feedback on my self-study success by taking a practice exam.

>>Learn More About Becoming a CBAP or CCBA

Interested in becoming a CBAP or CCBA? We cover 8 steps to the CBAP certification, that will take you to just learning about the certification to successfully sitting for the exam.

Click here to read the article

What are these personal reasons you ask? Well, let’s be honest. I’m not super-excited about preparing for the CBAP. I’ve put this cumbersome task off as long as possible. Now I’m looking at a quickly-shrinking 4-month window until I become a mother. And a not-quite-as-quickly-shrinking 2-year window before my “5 years” of BA experience recedes into BA history unless I change my career direction yet again (since I am spending more time now helping BAs than doing BA). I can do it now, do it while insanely tired, or lose the option to become a CBAP. I’m choosing do it now.

But how does writing about the journey help? Well, writing is fun. I love to write about business analysis. Heck, that’s why I started this blog! And sharing real-world stories is just what we do here. I figure a weekly update about what’s really happening on my journey would make this process more fun. If I can pull out the pieces of becoming a CBAP that I find valuable and make light of the more tedious aspects of my journey, perhaps I’ll find more meaning in this experience. Because right now it feels a whole lot like a combination of doing my taxes and preparing for my freshmen biology exams. Both activities I hope never to do again. (My husband does the taxes and, well, I chose degrees in philosophy and English so I could write papers instead of study for exams….here we are back to writing again.) Jeesh, maybe if there was a written exam for the CBAP, I’d have been all over this about 3 years ago. Memorizing the BABOK? OMG–please kill me now.

No, don’t really. I love life too much and I’m carrying a child. Don’t kill me. I’m already having more fun, I promise.

OK. So, let’s see. What HAS been fun about this process this week?

First, I had the chance to reconnect with my prior boss. The one I followed to three different states. Yea, he’s going to be one of my references. Thank goodness ’cause he thinks I’m a great BA. I hope that’s a good thing. Who knows. This app seems crazy.

Second, I spent 1 1/2 hours reading and taking notes on 2 tasks in the Requirements Management and Communication Knowledge area. That’s about 10 pages of the BABOK. Why did I start there? Well, out of all the knowledge areas, it’s this one and Business Analysis Planning that I feel least comfortable with, and somehow I lost the first 20 pages of my BABOK print out, so until I rectify that situation I jumped into Requirements Management and Communication instead. How was this fun? Well, I got to sit outside on our deck on a beautiful day and distract myself by watching the deer roam around our new backyard. I also learned that per the BABOK it’s OK to gain approval for requirements verbally or via an informal email. Woo hoo! Because I’ve been doing that for a few years at least. The risk, of course, is that your stakeholder doesn’t actually understand the requirements they are approving. (So the BABOK does not give you the license to distract your sponsor at the water cooler with a shot of Jagermeister and get them to nod while taking the shot and count that as approval. Right. Remember that, just in case you are tempted.)

Third, I reached out to Linda Erzah of BAMentor to ask about the references because it wasn’t exactly clear to me if these people needed to understand the BABOK knowledge areas themselves. Luckily the answer is no, or my trusted boss would not have qualified. Linda also offered up a chance to sit in on her application workshop, something I’ll be doing later today.

Fourth, I filled in all the minor little details in my application. Everything from changing my address to adding the addresses of my prior companies to starting the guts of my work history and adding Roadmap to Success in as my evidence of professional development credits. Like I said, I hate taxes (er, forms) but the great part about this is now the boring stuff is done. I need to vet my work history and ensure I don’t fall into any pitfalls (something Linda’s going to teach me about later today) but all the little stuff is done.

I suppose that’s about it for now. What can you expect to hear from me between now and (knock on wood) passing the exam? Not wanting to overly control this journey, I’m not going to make any big promises. But given my current state of mind, here are some ideas:

• How the process is going and what value I am getting from it as a BA who cares about their career.
• Things that frustrate me along the way.
• New-to-me concepts I find in the BABOK as well as little tidbits I find interesting or mind-boggling for whatever reason whatsoever.
• Anything I find useful along the way.
• Anything I don’t find useful along the way.
• Random quips about the baby kicking, the dog chasing deer, and the other fun things I focus on to distract me from my studying.

That’s all for now. Wish me luck on this journey and, actually enjoying a few pieces of it. Really, I’m feeling better already. Thank you.

>>Learn More About Becoming a CBAP or CCBA

Interested in becoming a CBAP or CCBA? We cover 8 steps to the CBAP certification, that will take you to just learning about the certification to successfully sitting for the exam.

Click here to read the article

Can you share your list of free webinars that offer PDs?

Let’s start by defining our terms, because there can be a lot of confusion when it comes to professional credits towards your IIBA^® or PMI^® certifications:

• Professional Development Hour (PD) – required to apply for the ECBA^® or CCBA^®,  and 35 for the CBAP^® exams. These are needed if you are looking to obtain one of these certifications.
• Professional Development Units (PDUs) – PMI^® designation for continuing education, to maintain (or re-certify) for a PMI certification.
• Continuing Development Units (CDUs) – an IIBA^® designation for continuing education, to maintain (or re-certify) for an IIBA certification.

To answer the reader’s question, there are no free options to earn Professional Development hours as part of obtaining your certification. In order for a “class” to qualify for PDs it must:

• contain material related to business analysis tasks, techniques or underlying competencies,
• an instructor must lead the students through the material, and
• students must have the ability to interact with the instructor and other students in the class.

We do offer complimentary webinars from time-to-time at Bridging the Gap, and these do qualify for CDUs. But they do not qualify for PDs because webinars do not provide the required interaction between students and the instructor to qualify for Professional Development hours.

If you are interested in pursuing your certification with IIBA, consider our flagship program The Business Analyst Blueprint certification program, in which you can earn 36 PDs towards an IIBA certification. Bridging the Gap is an Endorsed Education Providers (EEP^TM), and so your credits are guaranteed.

>>Learn More About Becoming a CBAP or CCBA

Interested in becoming a CBAP or CCBA? We cover 8 steps to the CBAP certification, that will take you to just learning about the certification to successfully sitting for the exam.

Click here to read the article

Professionals with a certification in business analysis find themselves in higher demand, more respected, and that it’s easier to get credibility for their business analysis work.

For me, earning my CBAP back in 2011 was about being sure I had all the credibility and authority pieces in place that I needed to offer the highest value training programs, like we do here at Bridging the Gap. And also being sure I earned this certification while I had the recent and necessary amount of experience, before I took some planned time off while I raised my 2 young daughters.

While there is no one path to becoming a CBAP^® and the path you take depends heavily on the time you wish to invest, your budget, and your timeline for becoming certified, there are some general phases of preparation that each individual seems to pass through. For some, all of this happens in a week or two with a Boot Camp type class. For others, this process is spread out over a year or two as they use their CBAP^® preparation time to become a better business analyst.

And while this post is specific to the CBAP, the same general steps apply if you are looking to earn your CCBA – IIBA’s mid-level certification.

Earning Your CBAP – Step 1: Confirm Your Business Analysis Experience

Applying for the CBAP^® requires 5 years (7,500 hours) of business analysis experience, as defined by the BABOK^® Guide. You must also demonstrate 900 hours of experience across at least 4 of the 6 knowledge areas.

Many professionals that have been working in a business analyst capacity for a long time, but have not been aware of the BA profession are surprised to learn that they can apply to sit for the CBAP^®.

You can read about my experience – through the process of finishing the “dreaded” work history section, I became even more self-aware of yourself as a business analyst professional. I was surprised to find I could document 10,000 BA hours. And, once I got started recounting projects, it was actually difficult to stop.

Documenting your experience, in and of itself, builds confidence.

Many professionals exploring the profession start by researching the CBAP^® only to get this step and realize they don’t meet the experience requirements. Instead, you may want to consider the IIBA^® Certification of Competency in Business Analysis (CCBA^®) (Level 2 certification) or Entry Level Certificate in Business Analysis (ECBA) (Level 1 Certificate).

If you are looking to start a business analyst career, there are alternative paths you can follow that do not involve certification. I outline many of them in my free career training on how to kickstart your BA career.

Click here to learn more about the free BA career training.

Earning Your CBAP – Step 2: Earn Appropriate Professional Development Hours (PDs)

To submit your CBAP^® application, you must have 35 documented professional development hours. In general, you’ll need to choose a business analysis training course to earn professional development credits.

Bridging the Gap is an IIBA^® Endorsed Education Provider (EEP) and The Business Analyst Blueprint training program also qualifies for the PDs you need to apply for your CBAP.

We often receive questions about how to earn these credits for free. Because of the instructor engagement requirements for PDs, it’s unlikely that you’ll find free professional development units.

Earn Your CBAP – Step 3: Prepare and Submit Your CBAP^® Application

Applications are submitted to IIBA^® and they have a full page on their website listing the entire CBAP^® certification process. In addition to work experience and professional development hours, you must provide meet the minimum education requirement (high school or equivalent) and have two references.

Earning Your CBAP – Step 4: Become Intimately Familiar with the BABOK^® Guide 3.0

Becoming a CBAP^® represents that you are a senior business analyst professional, as IIBA^® defines it through A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge^® (BABOK^® Guide). That means preparing for the CBAP^® requires you understanding the content of the BABOK^® Guide and are able to pass an exam demonstrating your knowledge and application of the material.

The BABOK^® Guide is a dense text. It’s likely that several readings will be required to fully appreciate the information contained within it.

Many business analysts report enhanced experience at this stage from joining a BABOK^® Guide study group. Study groups can be informal, and focused mostly on reading and discussing the BABOK^® Guide contents, or more formal, and focused on exam preparation. Study groups can be hosted by an employer, an IIBA^® chapter, or anyone who wishes to coordinate one.

Another great resource here is to use exam simulators to test your knowledge and ability to answer the kinds of questions you’ll need to answer on the exam.

Personally, in addition to practically rewriting out the BABOK^® Guide to assimilate the knowledge and terminology, I found CBAP^® exam simulators to be a critical piece of my preparation. In week 3 of my journey, I share my first brush with exam simulations. By week 9, I became frustrated with exam simulators, but after passing the exam, I realized the simulators I used helped me prepare for the more, shall we say, counter-intuitive aspects of the CBAP^® exam.

Earn Your CBAP – Step 5: Schedule and Pass Your CBAP^® Exam

Once your application is approved, schedule an exam for 2-3 months out. You can always reschedule the exam or, if you take the exam and do not pass, you can schedule to take it again within one calendar year of your application approval. Scheduling an exam promptly helps keep you motivated through the home stretch.

In week 8 of my journey, I scheduled the CBAP^® exam for about 1 month out, the week after I finished my CBAP^® prep course. (I had dove right into step 7 after submitting my application and so had a running head start.)

Sit for the exam and do your best. If you do not pass the exam the first time, you can schedule a second exam within one calendar year of your application approval.

Take a few days and celebrate your success. You’ve earned it! Stay involved in the profession and in your own professional development. We are grateful to have you serving our profession.

We build our profession one business analyst at a time, and success starts with you.

About The Business Analyst Blueprint®

When you join The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program, you’ll learn all 12 of the industry-standard techniques and the business analysis process framework – to build your confidence in the best practices of business analysis.

>> Click here for more information about The Blueprint <<