The CBAP®

The CBAP® (Certified Business Analysis Professional) is a professional certification from the IIBA® (International Institute of Business Analysis). At the time of writing there are approximately 623 CBAP® qualified people world wide with approximately 31 of these in Australia. To qualify for the CBAP® you must:

• Pay a fee of USD450 for IIBA member and USD575 for non members.
• Have five years (7,500 hours) business analysis work in the last ten years engaged in tasks specifically related to the knowledge areas as defined within the BABOK®.
• Demonstrate experience and expertise in at least four of the six knowledge areas in the BABOK®.
• Have a minimum of a high school education.
• Have 21 hours of professional development in the last four years directly related to business analysis or the underlying fundamentals.
• Provide two references.

Sit and pass the CBAP exam.

As can be seen from the stringent requirements you need to have a fair amount of experience as a business analyst to be able to sit for and gain the CBAP®. As such the letters CBAP® can be considered a précis of your experience.

But why do business analysts need a qualification? As the CBAP® qualification is examined and maintained by an independent third party it holds kudos in demonstrating that the holder meets a certain standard and therefore reduces the risk to the consumer (employer or client) of these services. The benefits to the individual from acquiring and maintaining CBAP® certification may include:

• Demonstrated knowledge of the skills necessary to be an effective Business Analyst.
• A proven level of competence in the principles and practices of business analysis.
• Participation in a recognized professional group.
• Recognition of professional competence by professional peers and management.

Advanced career potential due to recognition as a professional Business Analysis practitioner.

In my next blog I shall start concentrating on some of the individual knowledge areas required by a business analyst.

Who is a Business Analyst?

In my last blog I discussed business analysis and according to the BABOK®, “Business analysis is the set of tasks and techniques used to work as a liaison among stakeholders in order to understand the structure, policies, and operations of an organization, and to recommend solutions that enable the organization to achieve its goals.”

So who is a business analyst? Once more, according to the BABOK®, “A business analyst is any person who performs business analysis activities, no matter what their job title or organizational role may be.”

I would argue that liaising “among stakeholders in order to understand the structure, policies, and operations of an organization,” are key abilities of any manager, consultant, analyst (e.g., financial, management, business) or person involved in the SDLC (Systems Development Life Cycle). And that recommending “solutions that enable the organization to achieve its goals” is what we are engaged to do on most of our assignments (internal or external).

Therefore, in order to be able to service our customers and add real value to our assignments we all need to learn at least a sub set of business analysis tasks and techniques! This is not only confined to the non technical personnel (e.g., project managers, change managers); it applies equally to the technical personnel. The benefit our customers gain is that all our personnel, technical or non-technical, are able to draw on not only their own experience but also that of their colleagues to add that extra value by “understanding the structure, …”

As such all consultants, managers (from junior to “C” set), and anyone involved in the SDLC, at one time or another, would fulfil the role of business analyst and therefore need to be familiar with the tools and techniques. Not every one needs to have an in depth and detailed knowledge of all the tools and techniques. However, everyone should be at least familiar with what they are and then study, in detail, and develop those that pertain to them. Of course what pertains to you will change over time as you move through your career. I have found that the BABOK® provides a very good overview of these tools and techniques. I will discuss the BABOK® in my next blog.

What is Business Analysis?

According to the IIBA® (International Institute of Business Analysis) BABOK® (Business Analysis Body of Knowledge), “Business analysis is the set of tasks and techniques used to work as a liaison among stakeholders in order to understand the structure, policies, and operations of an organization, and to recommend solutions that enable the organization to achieve its goals.”

These tasks and techniques are not unique to the business analyst’s tool set; they are required to be mastered by many professions. The BABOK® provides a very good summary of these tasks and techniques:

• Planning and Monitoring
• Elicitation
• Requirements Management and Communication
• Enterprise Analysis
• Requirements Analysis
• Solution Assessment and Validation
• Underlying Competencies
• And lists 34 Techniques
  

It becomes apparent from the definition, which does not mention business analyst, and from the list of tasks and techniques that business analysis is a far reaching set of skills that are required by many professions. Business analysis can not be learnt overnight. It requires study, work experience and a dedication to continual improvement over many years in order to master business analysis and to be able to apply it in a profession; that is which ever profession you choose. This is why the requirements around the IIBA®’s CBAP® (Certified Business Analysis Professional) certification are so stringent. The CBAP® will be the topic of a future blog.