Three of the sixteen Certified Business Analysis Professionals are B2T Training staff: Barbara Carkenord, Kevin Quilliams, and Kupe. We are frequently asked about our exam experience. And many people ask us a number of questions related to the IIBA CBAP exam and application process. Many of you may have similar questions and we thought it would be helpful to dedicate a series of blog entries to answer these questions and provide our expertise.
There will be an entry covering each of the topics below:
- Application process
- Exam format
- Exam preparation
I hope you find this set of blog entries useful in your pursuit of becoming the next CBAP. I am sure you all have many questions. Go ahead and ask by adding a comment to this blog. We'll start answering them in future blog entries. We are here to help!
11 Comments
Kupe, Barbara and Kevin,
Many thanks for this blog – it has been most helpful.
A question for you on exam preparation. Are there any books you would recommend reading in addition to the BOK, or would you suggest focusing all study energies on the BOK?
Thanks.
Rosie
We are glad you are finding these blog entries useful.
I feel most of your studies should be focused on the BABOK, but you may find that there are concepts, tasks, and/or techniques covered in the BABOK that you need more information to help you really understand the point being covered. For example, the BABOK lists User Stories as a technique for documenting requirements. The BABOK covers that technique at a high-level and I have had no experience using User Stories. When I was preparing for the exam I found a book that explained User Stories in detail and I read enough to be familiar with this technique.
So, the books outside of the BOK to help you prepare are going to be based on your experience and knowledge. Use the references listed in the BOK after each KA to narrow down your search for the right book. In addition wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page, has a lot of information related business analysis.
I hope that helps.
-Kupe
Kupe,
Many thanks for your response. I have forwarded this link to our noontime BA study group (at SunTrust) , as this question came up in today’s study group session.
Rosie
Are there any free ractice test/questions available on internet?
How do we gauge that we are good to register for exam?
I am not aware of any free practice questions. Some study groups create questions to help during there sessions. Do you have a local IIBA chapter where you live?
As far as registering, I would look over the tasks and techniques identified in the BABOK and compare those to your experience. You can then determine if you have the hours and broad experience required to sit for the exam.
Best of luck to you!
IIBA has a requirement of 21 hours of professional development in BA related areas in the past 4 years. Typically these kinds of classes cost over $1000. Does anyone know of a way to satisfy this requirement without spending so much?
For James,
Take another look at the information about professional development in the CBAP Handbook. You will find that the professional development doesn’t have to be class specific. While I agree that a class is of great value (like the B2T course I took a year or so ago), professional development can also be viewed as the learning portion of IIBA Chapter meetings. Also, past company training, though not explicitly approved will often qualify.
Best of Luck/
What is the total number of possible questions in the CBAP Exam database? Not the number on a given exam but the total that are posiible.
Thanks so much for any help you can provide,
Hi Kay,
I am not sure. They just had a writing session to add or update questions for 2.0. I would send an email to certification@theiiba.org and see if they will share.
Best of luck!
I would like to switch over from Test analyst to BA role. Could you please guide me out which book do I need to buy for doing CBAP certification from ebay.
I highly recommend Barbara Carkenord’s book The Seven Steps to Mastering Business Analysis to understand the most important skills needed by the BA role. The content of this book is aligned with the BABOK Guide™. Most importantly you need to show that you have at least 5 years experience in business analysis to sit for the exam. (See previous blog, “Updated CBAP® Handbook now available for download”). Coming from a tester role you will be able to transfer some of your analytical skills but you will need to pick up education and experience in different BA technical skills and certain soft skills needed by a BA. The roles have some overlap but they are different and require mastering new skills. Good luck on your journey!