CBAP (Certified Business Analysis Professional) Application Process

What is CBAP?

applications

CBAP (Certified Business Analysis Professional) is a designation provided by International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) to recognize experienced Business Analysts. In order to certify, BAs need to meet certain prerequisites, submit a detailed application, and prepare for the certification test based on Business Analysis Book of Knowledge (BABOK, version 2.0) and pass the CBAP test.

APPLICATION

Prerequisites

Before you think of applying and preparing for CBAP, verify if you qualify. Eligibility requirements are:

High School or higher education 21 hours of training (professional development) in Business Analysis field 7500 hours of BA experience over last 10 years, spread over six knowledge areas as defined in BABOK, version 2.0 Two references - One from a manager and other from an internal or external customer or a CBAP certified person. (A reference from Project Manager is not accepted)
Application Form

CBAP application form is available online on IIBA web site. You can complete the application over one or more sessions. Application gets saved during every session. Application form has these sections:

Your Contact Information Education Work Experience This is the most tedious and complicated part of the application. You have to provide details on a project basis. If you worked on more than one project during a year, it can be combined. You need to provide project name, description, duration, company details, contact details. Then, you need to provide total hours spent on the project and number of Non BA hours. Last part on experience is a list of BA activities performed and percentage hours spent in that section. Based on the percentage, IIBA will compute number of hours spent in six knowledge areas from BABOK. They will validate if you have spent at least 900 hours in four of the six knowledge areas. Activities are predefined. You have to pick from the list. The list includes some Non BA activities as well (like creating project plan, performing testing, etc.) If you pick these activities, those hours will be disqualified. It is very important that you take an overview of six knowledge areas and tasks and techniques within those to understand if your experience really pertains to BA activities. Six knowledge areas in BABOK are Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring Elicitation Requirements Management and Communication Enterprise Analysis Requirements Analysis Solution Assessment and Validation

When you complete reference details, references are sent an email. They should then go on-line and fill in required details as requested by IIBA. Fees: Application fee is 5, payable online by credit card (or by check/money order). It is not refundable.

Start exam preparation. Most effective way to prepare is to enroll in a prep class. You get structured understanding, study materials, buddies to team up with and sample tests. It also keeps you motivated. While you are studying, you should also schedule your test. It takes some time to get a test schedule nearby. Exam fee is 5 for IIBA members and 0 for non-members. If the application is rejected, you will have to wait for 3 months before applying again.

CBAP (Certified Business Analysis Professional) Application Process

APPLICATION