An Insight Into The World Of CBAP Certification

CBAP or Certified Business Analysis Professional is certification course offered by International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) for business analysts who want to take their skills and knowledge to the next level.

It’s an internationally recognised course, and getting this feather in your hat can land you with attractive job opportunities. Thousands of business analysts are achieving this certification to add an “X” factor to their resumes. The demand for CBA professionals is quite high as they help in identifying business needs and designing strategies to achieve the same with the best solutions. Read on to know more.

How To Get CBAP Certification?

In order to get CBAP certified, you need to clear the CBAP exam. But before that you need to get your application to IIBA approved. Not everyone can apply for CBAP certification exam and you need to be eligible for it. Here is the list of eligibility criteria:

1. You need a minimum of 7500 hours of work experience in business analysis. This work experience should be in alignment to the tasks mentioned in Business Analysis Body Of Knowledge (BABOK)
2. You also need to have at least 900 hours of work experience in any 4 of the knowledge areas—there are six knowledge areas in total
3. In the past 4 years, you should have a minimum of 21 hours of Professional Development experience
4. You also need to get hold of two references from a CBAP certificate holder, a client, or a career manager

If you’re planning to apply for the exam, these following tips will help you to prepare in a more streamlined manner:

Set Goals

Setting goals is important but it’s important that you try and achieve them. You’d need at least 2-3 months to prepare for the exam and keep that in mind while scheduling your exam. There are specific knowledge areas where you need to concentrate. Allot specific time slots for each knowledge areas if that suits you. Regardless of what action plan you’ve make sure to know about their input, output, and associated technique.

BABOK & Other Resources

BABOK is one stop solution for all your CBAP questions and is the authentic CBAP guide. It is available in three languages—English, German, and Japanese. Knowing everything given in the BABOK is really important to clear the CBAP exam.

Initially, the terms and topics are a little difficult to comprehend. You can consider taking help from other CBAP guides and books. Make sure to read the reviews of the books before purchasing them.

Understand & Memorize

In one hand you’ll need to memorize the terms and on the other, understand the concepts. In CBAP exam, you’d need to demonstrate your knowledge. You’ll come across various hypothetical business scenarios in the exam and you’ll need to use your understanding of the concepts to answer them. You’ll need your business analysis experience, your skills, and your BABOK knowledge to answer the questions.

Practice, Practice, And Practice

Solve workbooks, solve previous year’s papers, and any questions related to this course. Keep a time frame, just like what you’ll get during the exam while solving questions. Solve as many questions as you can for a better understanding of what is coming your way.

Why Get CBAP Certification?

All kinds of certifications serve as evaluators about the person’s experience and expertise. When you get the CBAP credential, your potential employers will already know that you have 7500 hours of business analysis experience and have a firm grip on everything given in BABOK.
A CBAP certification offers immense benefits to individuals, like:

Personal Recognition

While preparing for the exam, you’ll get to learn a whole new set of things which will expand your knowledge and skills. Your expertise as a business analysis practitioner will also improve.

Career Development

Your certificate proves you make use of industry standard techniques—something organisations are always on the lookout for. Finding the right people for the right task is not easy and this certification is just one of the ways by which companies will identify your skills and knowledge.

Increased Income

Organisations are always ready to pay for the right person. A CBAP certification will help in increasing your salary, as experienced by most CBAP recipients. You’ll be recognised as a senior member of the business analyst profession and get paid more.

Getting a CBAP certification is helping thousands of business analysts worldwide. It’s something that is here is to say but it’s important that you get your recertification done every 3 years to keep climbing up the career ladder.