CBAP is an advanced certification that helps individuals to acquire new skills and expertise in proper planning and creating new business processes and solutions. Anyone who wants to sit for the CBAP exam must join a CBAP training course to get well acquainted with the pattern of the paper and the type of questions asked in the exam. Both CBAP online training courses and offline courses are available on the internet. You can choose any one of them depending on your availability and needs. The preparation course is set on the lines of high standards set by IIBA and will help professionals to achieve success in the field of business solutions.
Individuals who are CBAP certified can understand the quick changes taking place in the IT industry and can handle the competition in different fields of business analysis.
CBAP refers to certified business analysis professionals as a perfect certification for people who have suitable knowledge in business analysis. CBAP certificate is given by the International Institute of Business Analysis. Professionals with this certification understand the necessities of a business and use similar rules to get maximum benefits. The certificate offers complete knowledge and understanding of different ideas used for promoting and enhancing business. Individuals receive worldwide knowledge of business formulas that help them to excel in their jobs. The certification is recognized by different companies and employs individuals who have the required skills in business analysis.
The certificate helps professionals to nurture their skills in business analysis. Professionals who want to get this certificate need to join a course that can help them to understand the basics of the certificate and the important topics required to prepare for the exam. Individuals must become proficient in six areas that are given in the BABOK guide. The six areas include the following:
- Business analysis planning and monitoring
- Elicitation
- Requirements management and communication
- Enterprise analysis
- Requirements analysis and solution assessment
- Validation
An individual should have a working experience of 7500 hours as a business analyst to give the exam and acquire CBAP certification. After acquiring this certification an individual will become a prominent part of the business analysis group and he/she is considered to be an expert. Such an individual or professional can easily find the requirements of a business in an organization and he/she can also find the solutions for the same. People having this certificate can be appointed as senior business analysts having the capability of doing projects with different complications.
The benefits of CBAP certification
CBAP certification helps professionals to join a prominent community of business analysts. They become eligible to become a part of the growing community of business analysts and their professional knowledge is acknowledged in the company. Professionals can also see growth in their careers and can also receive a salary hike after getting this certification. Many companies are hiring CBAP certified individuals and paying them a very high salary.
The course is suitable for a wide group of individuals such as management consultants, enterprise analysts, business architects, IT professionals, product managers, process analysts, data analysts, system analysts, product owners, and requirement engineers.
Pre-requisites to earn a CBAP certificate
Individuals who want to earn a CBAP certificate must possess the following pre-requisites:
- He/she should have work experience of at least 7500 hours as a business analyst
- During the working experience, he/she should have completed at least 900 hours in four of the six knowledge areas given in the BABOK guide.
- Must have completed at least 35 hours of professional development
- Needs to provide at least 2 references
- Must follow the code of conduct
- Must agree to the terms and conditions
- Must clear the exam
Steps to get a certificate
You can obtain your CBAP certificate by following the given steps:
- You have to first register with a company to receive formal CBAP online training. You must choose an IIBA certified education center to receive the course training.
- You must acquire membership in IIBA and apply for the exam online. You must visit the official website of CBAP to apply for the exam. You have to make a fee payment of $450 for the exam.
- After clearing the exam, you will receive the CBAP certificate from IIBA
Many changes have been introduced in the BABOK guide and IIBA also has made some changes in the level of certificate. The different levels of the certificate are:
LEVEL 1: It is the basic level or the first step for people who want to get into the field of business analysis.
LEVEL 2: This level is for business analysis professionals having an experience of 2-3 years of business analysis.
LEVEL 3: This level is suitable for business analysis professionals who have over five years of working experience as business analysts.
Thus, you can choose the suitable level as per your needs and expertise. Many people continue working as business analysts after getting the level 2 certificate for getting the highest level of certification.
Tips to prepare for the CBAP exam
A few tips are given here that can help professionals to prepare for the CBAP exam and clear it on the first attempt.
- BABOK guide is the most important book that can help professionals to understand the topics and prepare them properly. You must go through the BABOK guide two or three times to understand the six knowledge areas required for becoming a certified BA professional.
- You must try to get some working experience under the guidance of an expert business analyst. Practical knowledge of the strategies used for business analysis can help you to understand the principles of business analysis.
- You must try to join a community where you can get useful tips from experts for understanding the concepts and principles of business analysis.
- You must start giving mock tests available online based on the latest syllabus and pattern for the CBAP exam to practice as much as possible.
- Register for the exam only when you are confident about the principles of business analysis. You must try to spare enough time to prepare for the exam.
The above tips can help professionals to prepare for the exam quickly and clear it on the first attempt.