The Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP) course is one of the most sought-after certifications in the corporate world. It’s a certification for senior business analysts and is something that is being taken up by professionals worldwide.
Apart from work experience you also need to show expertise and experience in at least four of the following six knowledge areas—Requirements Planning & Management, Enterprise Analysis, Requirements Analysis and Documentation, Requirements Elicitation, Solution Assessment and Validation, Requirements Communication, and Business Analysis Fundamentals.
Preparing for the CBAP certification exam can be a daunting task and here there are few tips to help you clear the exam:
Set An Action Plan
Having an action plan is important, no matter what exam you’re preparing for. Get hold of the study materials and decide on how many months or week you need to prepare for the exam. Take into account if you’ve some important project running in your office.
Setting a goal and trying your best to achieve it can go a long way in helping to get started on with the journey. A 3-month preparation time is more or less enough for CBAP exam. You can also register for the exam well ahead of time as to commit yourself for an extensive preparation.
Collect Your Resources
Resources and study guides are essential, so make sure you have them all. BABOK or Business Analysis Body of Knowledge is the Bible of people preparing for CBAP exam. However, it can be a bit too much for starters. It’s better if you look for books and guides that give you a clear understanding of the basics of business analysis in an easier way. There are quite a few in the market and look for ones that offer stories and hypothetical scenarios. Read reviews before choosing one.
BABOK—The Quintessential Guide
No matter which guide you start with, you’d have to eventually end up with BABOK. Preparing for the CBAP exam is incomplete without going through BABOK by heart. Make sure to read every single thing in the book to link all the knowledge you gained from all the other study materials.
Demonstrate Your Knowledge
While memorizing the terms given in BABOK is more than a necessity, being able to apply those concepts is also very important when it comes to success. In the CBAP exam, you’ll come across numerous situational scenarios and a clear understanding of the language and usage of the six knowledge areas is critical. You need to align your business analysis experience and skills with the exam questions to succeed.
Have A Clear Understanding Of The Concepts
Simply glancing over chapters will do more harm than good to your preparation. In order to pass, you need to have a proper understanding of the ideas and concept and apply them to whatever context you’re presented with in the exam hall. Don’t hurry while giving answers—read and think carefully before attempting each question.
Know A-Z About Knowledge Areas
Regardless of which study guide you follow, all have one common recommendation—know all the knowledge areas and the tasks related to them well. Knowing the input, output, and the associated technique is equally important. You also need to learn how to link them to the tasks during application. Make sure you’re well-versed with all the terms before the D-day.
Use Flash Cards
It’s natural to find it difficult to retain some of the definitions and terms. Take help from flash cards which offer the definition of each and every term in each of the knowledge areas. This is a fun way to memorize the terms and you can make these cards for yourself or purchase a ready-made deck.
Practice Is The Key
No matter how much you prepare, everything looks different when you actually sit for the exam. No matter how your action plan was, make sure to practicing writing as many mock question papers as possible.
Get A CBAP Simulator
A great way to test your knowledge is by getting a CBAP simulator. It contains important questions and you would have a fair idea as what all to prepare from BABOK and prevent the risk of skipping through something that is important.
Consider Training
Getting a formal training always help and can help you to prepare faster and also in a streamlined manner. Last minutes tips and ideas can always help you in cracking the exam.
Last but not the least, make sure you get a good night’s sleep the day before the exam. Don’t try re-reading the BABOK overnight as the CBAP is a three-hour long exam and you need to have a clear and focused mind in order to score well.
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