How to prepare to successfully pass CBAP certification in first attempt

Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP) designation is a globally recognized professional certification granted to individuals with extensive business analysis experience. Possessing the coveted (CBAP) designation is a reflection of a business analyst’s competence in multiple business domains and ability to tackle more complex projects, ability to define and manage their business requirements with key stakeholders, drive/improve business processes, lead the business analysis effort, and identify opportunities & solve problems to achieve better business results. Earning the CBAP designation offer multi-fold benefits to business analysts that include better salary, better career progression, better job satisfaction, higher recognition in business analyst community and enhanced capabilities to perform job role better.

CBAP Eligibility Criteria

In order to appear for the CBAP exam to earn the sought-after CBAP designation, candidates must satisfy the below eligibility criteria –

• Minimum 7500 hours of work experience in business analysis in the last 10 years.
• Minimum 900 hours in 4 of the 6 BABOK Guide Knowledge Areas, for a total of at least 3,600 of the required 7,500 total.
• Minimum 35 hours of professional development in the last 4 years.
• Provide two references.
• Agree to Code of Conduct and Terms & Conditions.

In case an applicant’s experience is not in line with the eligibility requirements then he/she can aim for Certification of Capability in Business Analysis (CCBA) or Entry Certificate in Business Analysis (ECBA) whose eligibility criteria is not as rigorous as CBAP. However, if the applicant is able to meet the above eligibility criteria and aspire to attain the CBAP designation, there is no reason to wait any longer to be a part of esteemed CBAP community.

Before presenting my thoughts on the best possible preparation methods to clear the CBAP exam in possibly the very first attempt, I would like share that there is no set formula that will ensure 100% success. These methods are devised based on my own experience as well as experience of my peers, friends, acquaintances and even unknown folks (through their CBAP journeys shared in blogs/articles). In all likelihood, these methods cover all bases with respect to preparation and there is a very slim chance of an unsuccessful attempt if these are followed in a dutiful manner. The essential preparation methods are as mentioned below –

Set a Realistic Goal and Action Plan

It is a well-known fact that having a goal and a proper plan to achieve that goal is more likely to lead us towards it rather than just a vague aspiration. The goal here is undoubtedly clearing the CBAP exam but the real actionable goal here is to clear the CBAP exam by a set date.

Most of the CBAP recipients told that they dedicated over 100-150 hours of study time for the exam which would roughly be around 3-4 months if one devotes 8-10 hours per week. Different people have different pace as well as learning styles and hence one may require more or even less time.

One approach can to submit application for the exam well to get a date by which one is required to sit for the exam. Even though a candidate is provided one year from the day of approval of the application to appear for the exam, he/she should not wait for the last few months to prepare & sit for the exam since it would create undue pressure.

It would be useful to keep marking your progress during the day to ensure that you are on the right path and not losing your way. Do not just plan to study on weekends but try to take some time out on weekdays as well to not lose sight of the concepts.

Accumulate Your Resources with BABoK being the Principal one

Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABoK) v3 guide is a standard for the practice of business analysis. It is considered to be the bible for individuals preparing for CBAP exam. Since it can be a bit too heavy to read on its own considering its size and content, it is recommended (but not necessary) to purchase study guide which are summarized versions of BABoK. Study guides contain useful tips, tricks, hints, mnemonics, and scenarios to help the user grasp and retain the BABoK content. This doesn’t mean that one should omit BABoK from his/her study plan altogether but rather read BABoK and study guide together to streamline the preparation. There are quite a few study guides available in the market and it would make sense to purchase the most prevalent and established ones.

Don’t cram BABoK but rather focus on understanding the concepts

CBAP recipients in my circle are of the view that reading BABoK 2-3 times should be more than sufficient. This does not mean that one needs to overemphasize on memorizing BABoK content but rather focus on the understanding the concept. The key is to understand the concepts of knowledge areas, tasks, techniques and their association to enough detail that these concepts can be applied to whatever context you are presented with like scenarios and case studies. Using the simplified study guide along with BABoK will surely facilitate understanding the concepts in a streamlined manner. It would also make sense to associate your practical work experience with the BABoK concepts as much as possible to be able to comprehend the concepts better.

One must not overly depend on his/her business analysis experience, no matter how extensive it may be. Having significant business analysis experience is definitely a big bonus but is not an assurance that you already understand and have applied all BABoK concepts and techniques in your projects/assignments. Even you have practical experience of all knowledge areas, BABoK may define tasks and techniques in a manner different from what you may have applied and since CBAP has a strong correlation with BABoK, one has to approach the CBAP questions through the eyes of BABoK. Underestimating and hence under-preparing because of over reliance on experience is one of the biggest reasons for failure in CBAP exam and hence one must never take the preparations lightly.

Enroll for a formal CBAP Training from an EEP

First and foremost, enrolling for a formal CBAP preparation course with an Endorsed Education Provider (EEP) will provide the obligatory 35 hours of professional development. Secondly, course content is prepared by seasoned business analysis mentors/coaches who keep the course in line with BABoK guide and the CBAP exam pattern. It provides enhanced understanding to a candidate, much more than what he/she would gather by reading the preparatory resources on his/her own. There are quite a significant number of EEPs in market and one can choose to an EEP based on the location preferences or can also go for an online course.

A business analysis mentor is typically a veteran in business analysis field and is well-versed with BABoK guide & CBAP exam pattern and is usually a CBAP. They have spent considerable amount of time in creating the training content and revise it at regular intervals of time as new or supplementary information is received through various means. Mentors are a tremendous source of support during the training as they guide the candidates towards the right path of learning and clarifying doubts as and when they arise. Moreover, they provide their valuable support in filling the application form and some kind ones even continue to resolve any doubts after the course is over.

Get your hands on CBAP simulators

While one can attempt practice questions for each specific knowledge area available in study guide or question bank resources (free or paid) available on the internet, it is essential to attempt CBAP simulation tests since it gives an experience of a real CBAP exam. Simulations provide 120-question practice tests that are timed and familiarize a candidate with the format and difficulty level of questions. Simulations contain case studies, scenario-based and knowledge-based questions which enable a candidate to determine where he/she stands in terms of knowledge and whether or not they need to work on their pace of answering questions to be able to complete the exam within the stipulated duration.

Question banks can be purchased online from authentic resources and will apparently provide knowledge area specific questions of varied difficulty levels in addition to simulations. While one can attempt knowledge area specific questions of various level of complexity, simulations will continue to be the real test that judges a candidate’s preparedness for CBAP exam.

Join a study group of CBAP aspirants

This is not a definite step one has to take to ensure success in CBAP exam but certainly advantageous. CBAP aspirants may create or join groups (WhatsApp Groups or Facebook Groups or LinkedIn) where they can hold discussions and share their views on wide variety of topics & areas related to BABoK or CBAP exam. If anyone is stuck anywhere in preparation path or is unable to understand a topic, they can seek help from other group members. This can also be a very useful forum to discuss CBAP resources, training providers as well as scenarios & case studies relevant to CBAP exam. The discussions shall keep an aspirant spirited and give him/her the required push to advance towards the goal of becoming a CBAP.

More Tips to Pass the CBAP Exam in First Attempt

In addition to all the above CBAP preparation approaches mentioned above, there are some really useful tips that can come handy as well while writing the CBAP exam –

Requirements Analysis and Design Definition

• While one must try to cover & have a handle on all knowledge areas in their quest for attaining the coveted CBAP designation, there should be additional focus and effort needed to be placed on “Requirements Analysis and Design Definition” since it contributes 30% towards CBAP questions while the other knowledge areas contribute in range of 12-15%.

Underlying Techniques

• Since BABoK is mostly defined in terms of the six knowledge areas, most candidates do not lay too much emphasis on the techniques section. There are numerous questions on 50 techniques specified in BABoK and one must clearly understand the concept and the scenarios where they can be applied.

Park the Difficult Questions

• It has also come to light that the initial few questions in CBAP exam may be of high difficulty level to test whether a candidate possess the right mental ability to approach these questions as well as rest of the questions. One should not spend a significant amount of time in answering these questions if they are not able to figure out an answer & park those difficult questions. They should return to these tougher ones when they have got into the groove and have developed enough confidence after attempting a few questions.

Case Study

• Few CBAP recipients opine that since case studies a great deal of content, it is important to keep pay attention to the time spent on these questions. It is advisable to quickly scan through the case study and then move over to the questions and then return to the case to go through the details from the point of view of questions and answer accordingly. This is because the case studies may contain some irrelevant information which is not required to answer the questions.

Watch Your Time

• It is not a hard and fast rule but one must target to answer 35-40 questions an hour so that so that they have good 20-30 minutes to reassess the questions that have been marked for review. Be alert enough to observe the number of questions answered, number of questions remaining, and the countdown timer.

• 120 multiple-choice questions in 210 minutes may look like a comfortable exam but things are not as simple as they may seem considering there are a good number of scenario-based and case-study based questions. Therefore, it is worthwhile to do enough practice on CBAP simulation exams and score 70-80% on a consistent basis before sitting for the actual CBAP exam.

Final Thoughts on how to prepare for the CBAP Exam

To summarize, a combination of hard work with the right preparation approach will lead of success in CBAP exam more often than not. And don’t forget to relax and breathe a night (or rather a full day) before the exam since a fresh mind is required to have a crack at the CBAP exam 🙂

Please post your questions or comments below.