Getting CBAP Certification

Sit for the exam and do your best. If you do not pass the exam the first time, you can schedule a second exam within one calendar year of your application approval.

Take a few days and celebrate your success. You’ve earned it! Stay involved in the profession and in your own professional development. Re-certification is necessary every 3 years to stay a CBAP.

The journey to CBAP or CCBA certifications can be overwhelming. It’s important to stay motivated and focused. This entertaining story of one business analyst’s journey to the CBAP will keep you going when the going gets tough.

The advice I keep hearing is that once your application is approved, schedule an exam for 2-3 months out. You can always reschedule the exam or, if you take the exam and do not pass, you can schedule to take it again within one calendar year of your application approval. Scheduling an exam promptly helps keep you motivated through the home stretch.

In week 8 of my journey, I scheduled the CBAP exam for about 1 month out, the week after I finished my CBAP prep course. (I had dove right into step 7 after submitting my application and so had a running head start.)

As you prepare to sit for the exam, you need to ensure your knowledge of theBABOK can be recalled effectively.

There are a variety of ways to assimilate the information, from study guides to prep courses.

• If you study best independently, then a study guide or workbook might be a useful part of your prep process. I personally am a big fan of BA Mentor’s CBAP® & CCBA™ Workbook as it helps you actively read the BABOK.
• Exam simulations and flash cards can help confirm your assimilation of the knowledge.
• CBAP prep courses can walk you through the BABOK and provide a forum for addressing any doubts and concerns you have.

Personally, in addition to practically rewriting out the BABOK to assimilate the knowledge and terminology, I found CBAP exam simulators to be a critical piece of my preparation. In week 3 of my journey, I share my first brush with exam simulations. By week 9, I became frustrated with exam simulators, but after passing the exam, I realized the simulators I used helped me prepare for the more, shall we say, counter-intuitive aspects of the CBAP exam.

Preparing for the CBAP starts with understanding the content of the BABOK. The BABOK is a dense text. It’s likely that several readings will be required to fully appreciate the information contained within it.

Applying for the CBAP requires 5 years (7,500 hours) of business analysis experience, as defined by the BABOK. You must also demonstrate 900 hours of experience across at least 4 of the 6 knowledge areas.