Benefits of CBAP® Certification

Benefits to the individual from acquiring and maintaining the CBAP® certification may include:

       A. Demonstrated knowledge of the skills necessary to be an effective Business Analyst
       B. Validation of professional level of competence in the principles and practices of business analysis
       C. Participation in a recognized professional group
       D. Recognition of professional competence by professional peers and management
       E. Advanced career potential by creating a separate and distinct career path within the information technology industry and business community

Benefits to the organization resulting from employees acquiring CBAP® certification may include:

       A. CBAP® recipients are acknowledged as competent individuals performing a role which is increasingly recognized as a vital component of any successful                      project
       B. CBAP® recipients can be identified as individuals with an advanced level of knowledge and qualifications
       C. CBAP® recipients can follow established standards as outlined in the IIBA® BABOK®
       D. CBAP® recipients produce reliable, quality results with increased efficiency and consistency

Definition of a Business Analysis Professional

The Business Analysis Professional is responsible for identifying the business needs of their clients and stakeholders to help determine solutions to business problems. The Business Analysis Professional is responsible for requirements development and requirements management. Specifically, the Business Analysis Professional elicits, analyzes, validates and documents business, organizational and/or operational requirements. Solutions are not predetermined by the Business Analysis Professional, but are driven solely by the requirements of the business. Solutions often include a systems development component, but may also consist of process improvement or organizational change.

The Business Analysis Professional is a key facilitator within an organization, acting as a bridge between the client, stakeholders and the solution team. Business Analysis is distinct from financial analysis, project management, quality assurance, organizational development, testing, training, and documentation development. However, depending on the organization, a Business Analysis Professional may perform some or all of these related functions.

Confidentiality of Information

The CBAP® Application Form, exam results and all other CBAP® certification program-related materials are kept private and confidential. This information will not be disclosed to anyone other than the applicant without the applicant’s consent.

To request the release of an exam result to a third party, IIBA® must be provided with a written request identifying which exam result may be disclosed and the person or organization to which the result should be disclosed. Any violation of the IIBA® Confidentiality Policy will be subject to disciplinary action(s) as described in the IIBA® Constitution.

       Requests should be submitted to:

       Certification Manager
       250 Consumers Rd. #301
       Toronto, Ontario
       M2J4V6
       Canada

CBAP® Certification Requirements

Each CBAP® applicant must meet the requirements specified in this section to be eligible to take the exam.

Work Experience Requirement

7,500 hours (i.e., five years) business analysis work experience in the last ten years engaged in tasks specifically related to the knowledge areas as defined within the BABOK®. The ten year timeframe is based on the date on which the application was submitted.

This section must be filled out by project as follows:

       A. For several small projects within the same year, those projects should be combined into one project. Indicate this on the application under “Description.”
       B. List projects in date order with the most recent project experience first
       C. It is mandatory that at least 7,500 hours of BA related work in the last ten years has been documented in order to meet the application requirement
       D. Resumes will not be accepted to complete this requirement

BA-related work is defined as activities where the applicant has either applied, or directly assisted others with applying the BABOK® knowledge areas. Acceptable activities include:

       A. Hands-on business activities (e.g., requirements gathering, writing requirements documentation, etc.)
       B. Coaching or mentoring Business Analysts with respect to business analysis activities (e.g., planning the requirements gathering process with the BA,                   reviewing requirements documents, etc.)
       C. Development of an organization’s business analysis methodology and/or best practices
       D. Development of business analysis training materials

Activities that do not apply include:

       A. Non-supervisory management of business analysis activities (e.g., resource management, status reporting, performance management, etc.)
       B. Teaching business analysis training courses
       C. Selling requirements tools/software
       D. Project management
       E. Testing (e.g., creating and executing test scripts, reporting on testing status, creating test plans/strategies, etc.)
       F. Programming

Neither the acceptable and non-acceptable activities listed above are comprehensive. These are provided only as a guideline. Each applicant’s work experience will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Below is a more detailed breakdown of the work experience that will and will not qualify as BA work experience as defined in the BABOK®.

The CBAP® certification recognizes business analysis work experience only. IIBA does not accept any other project related experience such as, project management, design or testing, to meet this requirement.

Do not include any non-BA experience in an application. If work experience is included that does not qualify, IIBA will adjust the Business Analyst hours for that project by deducting non-qualifying hours which could result in the total Business Analyst hours to fall below the required 7,500 hours.

Work experience information is used to verify that the applicant understands business analysis as defined in the BABOK®.

The following lists examples of work experience that will and will not qualify based on each knowledge area (i.e. hours submitted will be adjusted). This is not a complete list.

       A. Enterprise
              a. Qualifies: Determining project scope and objectives; Creating business architecture
              b. Does NOT Qualify: Creating project charter; Creating system or application architecture

       B. Requirements Planning and Management
              a. Qualifies: Creating requirements plan to feed into project plan; Identifying and documenting requirements risks; Reporting on requirements progress as                   input to project status report
              b. Does NOT Qualify: Creating project plan; Identifying project risks

       C. Requirements Elicitation
              a. Qualifies: Facilitating requirements gathering workshop

       D. Requirements Analysis and Documentation
              a. Qualifies: Functional requirements; Non-functional requirements; User requirements
              b. Does NOT Qualify: Creating service level agreements; Creating and documenting design solution

       E. Requirements Communication
              a. Qualifies: Walkthroughs and sign-offs of requirement package; Preparing and conducting requirements presentation for senior executives
              b. Does NOT Qualify: Providing weekly project status reports; Conducting design walkthroughs

       F. Solution Assessment and Validation
              a. Qualifies: Reviewing design document and ensuring requirements are met; Reviewing test strategy, test plans and test cases to ensure requirements are                   met; Supporting QA and testing team; Reviewing defects and working with client to determine 1) Priority of fix 2) Manual work around
              b. Does NOT Qualify: Creating design document; Creating test strategy, test plan or test cases; Executing testing; Tracking and managing defects

Knowledge Areas Requirement

Demonstrated experience and expertise (i.e. a minimum of 900 hours, or 6 months, of business analysis work experience engaged in tasks specifically related to the knowledge areas as defined in the BABOK®) in at least four of the six knowledge areas.

Education Requirement

The minimum educational requirement is a high school diploma or equivalent. (Note: there will be no reduction in work experience for post secondary education)

Professional Development Requirement

21 hours of professional development within the last four years. The professional development content must be directly related to business analysis or its underlying competencies and must be completed by application submitted date.

Reference Requirement

Two references from a career manager, client (internal or external) or CBAP® recipient are required. In addition:

       A. Include one current contact
       B. All references must have known the applicant for at least 6 months
       C. A career manager is defined by IIBA® as the person who is responsible for providing and preparing the applicant’s annual performance review
       D. Project Managers cannot be references unless they are also the applicant’s career manager. The reference form must clearly indicate they fill both roles or the             reference will not qualify
       E. Only two references will be assessed during the application assessment process
       F. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure the reference submits their form (either online or paper-based) in time to be considered for the exam date of interest and to do any necessary follow-up with their references

Overall CBAP® Certification Process

To be eligible for CBAP® Certification, the applicant must:

       A. Meet the above applicant requirements
       B. Complete the CBAP® Application Form online or the paper-based version (located at www.theiiba.org)
       C. Determine two professional references that indicate suitability as an applicant for the CBAP® certification. Each reference must complete a reference form                   either online or in paper-based format if completing the application by paper (paper-based reference form is the CBAP® Candidate Reference From located at            www.theiiba.org). For paper-based reference forms, the reference must provide the applicant with the completed reference form in a sealed envelope signed by            the reference across the seal.
       D. Agree to adhere to the CBAP® Code of Ethical Conduct & Professional Standards form either online as part of the online application process or complete the            paper-based form if completing the application by paper (www.theiiba.org)
       E. Complete the CBAP® Exam Special Accommodation Form if required (located at www.theiiba.org)
       F. Make a copy of the application package for recording purposes. For online applications, there is the ability to print the application before submitting it to the            IIBA®. All documents submitted to IIBA®, as part of the application process, will not be returned and become the property of IIBA®.
       G. Submit:
              a. The completed online application package including completed references and adherence to the CBAP® Code of Ethical Conduct & Professional                Standards
       OR
              b. The following paper-based forms:
                     i. The completed CBAP® Application Form
                     ii. The two completed, sealed CBAP® Candidate Reference Forms
                     iii. The signed and dated CBAP® Code of Ethical Conduct & Professional Standards Form
              c. The CBAP® Exam Special Accommodation Form (if required)
              d. The fees:
                     i. The application fee is $125.00 USD (+GST for Canadian residents) for all applicants (IIBA® member and non-member) payable by check or                          international money order to the International Institute of Business Analysis. The fee pays for the application processing and assessment. It is required                          with the application, and is non-refundable. The application will not be assessed if the application fee is not received. For online applications, this fee                          can be paid online by credit card.
                     ii. The exam fee of $325.00 USD (for IIBA® members) or $450.00 USD (for non-members) (+GST for Canadian residents) is payable by check or                          international money order to the International Institute of Business Analysis. If paying the IIBA® member fee, the applicant must be a member at the                          time of submitting their exam fee otherwise; they must pay the non-member fee. The fee pays for the initial exam sitting. (Note: for paper-based                          scheduled exams, seating is limited and filled on a first come first serve basis. If the applicant does not pass the exam, they will not be reimbursed the                          exam fee. We do not currently have support in place to submit payment of the exam fee online by credit card.
                     iii. The paper-based CBAP® application package should be mailed to:

Certification Manager

250 Consumers Rd. #301
Toronto, Ontario
M2J4V6
Canada

Please note – It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure IIBA® receives the paper-based application package. IIBA® does not take responsibility for any application packages submitted by mail/courier that are not received.