Laura’s CBAP Journey: Finding My “Why” (Week 4)

Full Confession

I was almost a complete slacker this week. I spent just an hour or two on Wednesday progressing against this week’s goal, which was to work through (and maybe finish) the techniques section of the BABOK. At about 80 pages, this chapter is the longest. It also contains the real tactical gems that we all love. Yet, I made it through about 10 pages total.

Now, I did do some studying this past weekend, finishing up Solutions Assessment and Validation and going through a practice exam (again topping out at 78%). This chapter was the most difficult I’ve tackled so far. Maybe it’s just my type of BA experience, but I found it abstract and very difficult to relate to. I kept trying to pull out pieces of my career history for examples, but there were a lot of cases where I just wasn’t sure exactly what part of my experience aligned. This is one chapter I’m definitely looking forward to reviewing as part of the BA Mentor prep class, as I hope by talking about it with other BAs it starts to sink in.

But Wait – Some Good News!

But in all my honesty about my slackerdom, I have forgotten to share the good news. On Wednesday I also received an email indicating my application had been accepted. I’m all clear to sit for the exam! Now to pull together the $325 and be ready to commit to an exam date.

The Slacker Antidote

One thing I’ve learned about myself in the last few years is that if I don’t know why I’m doing something, I usually stop before I finish. There are a few reasons…and they might surprise you.

Learning from the PMP

First, if you look at the BA career path and assume it might evolve similarly to the PM career path, there’s a definite risk factor in choosing not to earn the CBAP while I have the experience to do so. If in 5 years (or 10 or 15) I want to go back to a full-time BA job and, like the PMP, the CBAP is so prevalent its a “must have” requirement, my options will be limited. I’m not sure I will want to do this, but I don’t like having my options limited.

But I don’t make decisions based on fear alone. And something tells me that the 300+ posts I’ve written here will count for something. I’ve already earned credibility and trust by sharing what I know and what I don’t. Do I really need some letters behind my name to further validate what I’ve already proven?

Related to the above is the idea that the very success of my mentoring and training organization might come to depend on my being certified. I actually received my first response from a potential mentee a few weeks back challenging my experience and lack of certification. My response is (and will still be even once certified) that you should judge me based on the results I can deliver for you, not based on a certification. Still, it makes me wonder how many people are caught up on the idea that I’m not certified and use that as an excuse to look elsewhere for their training needs.

I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m creating a bit of a fail-safe for myself and protecting my career against potential future circumstances. Because we all deserve to take care of ourselves once in a while, right?

I Care About BA

Which leads me to my second reason. I care about business analysis. When I left my full-time job just over 3 years ago and took the summer off to find my career direction, I discovered that business analysis is where I belong. And then I started writing here and meeting many other talented BAs, the kind I had been looking for in my work for a long time, and everything kind of clicked. And you know what, many of the talented BAs are CBAP Recipients. There is definitely a sense of being one of “them” that’s inspiring me on this journey.

That being said, I show I care and belong to this group in many ways, mostly through writing but also through training and mentoring. I could choose to say ‘that’s enough’. There are some great BAs out there sticking to this approach for their BA careers and I will never think anything less of them. In fact, I might think more of them because they are choosing the more difficult path of consistently proving their value and contribution to the profession through their actions and not by relying on credentials.

The Value of the Certification Process

But let’s go back to this certification and what it really means. At the end of the day, it means that you can have the designated experience and can pass a multiple choice test that represents you have comprehended or memorized the BABOK. That being said, many people find value in the process. The application process alone requires you to dig up elements of your BA work history and many people find this creates a great sense of confidence. I agree. I’ve been digging up my career history ever since I wrote the first Bridging the Gap blog post. It’s a valuable process I do because it’s valuable, not because I need to do it for a certification.

And how about that exam preparation? In a comment on my first CBAP Journey post, Deb Hill said something that clicked.

There is still a lot to be learned from the BABOK. My first reaction to seeing it many moons ago (I think I first saw version 1.6) was … wow, somebody really gets what I have been doing for the past twenty or so years. A lot of good stuff … Understanding how the outputs from one knowledge area/task flow into another knowledge area/task is really helpful.

Yes, this is what I needed to hear. And it’s resembling my own experience as well. By going through the BABOK and putting the pieces together in my head I’m building a model for business analysis that goes beyond what I had before. I have the pieces and parts, I can diagnose my experience, now maybe I’ll be able to be a bit more “formal” or at least informed about my approach.

I’ve also already found that as I create new lessons for My Business Analysis Career, I’m bringing elements I’ve learned through my study to bear. These represent small tweaks, but definite improvements. Again, I could do this without ever taking the exam, but even though I’ve read the BABOK a couple of times, reading it with an eye for the exam is encouraging deeper comprehension.

My Deep Dark Secret

So then to the final reason. If you look carefully at the archive of posts on CBAP here at Bridging the Gap, you’ll notice I’ve rarely presented my personal opinion on the value of CBAP. I’ve shared others’ opinions, interviewed CBAP Recipients about their experiences, and published posts by CBAP Recipients and CBAP-wannabes, but I’m relatively quiet on the topic myself. (And there’s not much I’m quiet about, is there?)

Why is this? Well, despite talking to so many great BAs who also happen to be CBAP Recipients, my impression of certifications in general is not favorable and I wasn’t ready to share my view publicly. I think there is a significant disconnect between documenting experience and successfully passing a multiple choice exam and great business analysis. Although I’ve heard the stories and listened to the experiences, I haven’t drunk the CBAP Kool-Aid. Something is missing.

What I think we see happening right now is that those who are most passionate about the profession chose to earn the certification because they’ve been waiting for a way to say, “yes, this is me!” And that’s definitely honorable and it means that CBAP Recipients, at least those in our readership, represent a top-notch group. Five, ten, fifteen years from now when there might be 20,000 CBAP Recipients, the story will probably be very different.

Although I’m pursuing my CBAP, my opinion hasn’t changed. I’m not pursuing certification because I think it will make me a better BA or because I think it should lead someone else to think I’m a better BA. But I am curious about the process and the benefits it might have for my career, even if I am not-so-secretly still questioning that those benefits are valid. A girl can be practical, can’t she?

Besides, I’ve realized that I simply don’t have the right to be critical of a certification I myself haven’t yet managed to earn.  Rest assured, when all is said and done, I’ll share if and how going through the process has changed my opinion of certification.

So there you have it…my ‘why’. I know I won’t get anywhere without it and, quite honestly, I think it’s a little weak. It still frustrates me that I have to take time to do this when I could be creating better products or helping more people advance their BA careers or honing my skills by picking up a small contract. For me, all of the above are the opportunity costs of becoming a CBAP and the reason why I’ve put it off to the very last responsible moment.

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24 thoughts on “Laura’s CBAP Journey: Finding My “Why” (Week 4)”

  1. Though I am not CBAP and never read CBABOK(except some extracts here and there)., I still do believe, BABOK is very helpful in making BA skills stronger and skills to generalise any kind of BA situations. But as far as CBAP side, I do see this as mere short-convincing factor to your recruiter(not the employer). Recruiter wants to judge your skills just not on your documented experience, but a valid certifications. Because, for him it is not possible to judge your entire skills just by interviewing for few minutes or an hour. Ofcourse, once you are hired, then its your turn, how you impress them with your way of working.

  2. Hi Angela,

    While commercial training options do (generally) incur significant cost, there is no requirement for such training to meet IIBA certification application requirements.

    IIBA certification study groups run by IIBA Chapters can be run in such a way as to ensure that time spent participating in them will qualify towards the Professional Development requirement. Chapters are aware of these requirements.

    I’d certainly encourage you to check out this option to obtain the required professional development at a significantly discounted rate (or free). I believe there are even chapter study groups that are run virtually.

    I hope this helps.

    Michael

  3. I found this a very interesting posting thread as I have been contemplating certification for the last 12 months. I agree with all the points here, pro and con, but at the end of the day, I know I could buckle down and spend the time and do it. I do not mind a rigorous certification process. (That could easily fulfill the “how tenacious is your BA??” portion of an exam!) I think there can be value in the credentials depending on the situation. I believe even for a seasoned professional who may not “need” the certification, there is valuable learning to be gained from studying the BABOK and taking the prep courses. (We can ALWAYS learn something new!)

    So I had to question myself on why I really haven’t invested in it…and that is where I find my problem with the certification process. I actually struggle with the cost prohibitive nature of the certification. It seems as is if the requirements appeal to an elite class. As a single working professional with a child, I have to carefully weigh where to budget my funds. (We are well cared for, entertained and fed, mind you, but every large expense is reviewed carefully!) While I can justify a $300+ one time exam fee and budget for it, I struggle with the professional study/prep hours requirement. Boot camps, online study courses, and other options I have explored that fulfill this requirement are well over $2,000, some closer to 5 and 6K. This is a HUGE deterrent for certification. Certainly it may “weed out” people who just want to do a brain dump on material and sit for a test, but it is just plain prohibitive for your average working professional. My perception is that the certification option may only be available to a wealthier BA “class”.

    I believe those certification requirements should be allowed to be met through alternatively low or non-cost means. (Volunteering specifically in a BA role? Being in a mentorship program? Free online recorded classes through IIBA? There has to be something…)

    Perhaps there are other low/free methods to meet this requirement and I have just not interpreted that portion of the requirement correctly? If so, it’s likely there are others who feel the same and need to be enlightened.

    1. Angela,
      And in case the study groups Michael mentions are not an option for you (not all chapters yet run them and not all locations have IIBA chapters), there are some more affordable training options.

      On our courses page, there are links to 3 BA courses, all well under 1K, that provide the PDs required for certification. These are more affordable because they are offered virtually and, in some cases, with more limited instructor support. But they are still great learning opportunities. I can personally attest because I have participated in some degree in each.

      https://www.bridging-the-gap.com/business-analysis-training-courses/

      Good luck!

  4. @Geri:

    “I have often wished that there was some simpler process to certification (any certification, not just IIBA), for those who acquired a lot of experience in the subject before the certification existed. (I have been in this situation several times in my career.) I do not know what that process would be, but something that simplifies the process would certainly make getting certified much more appealing. It is really the commitment of time to the process that has stopped me from pursuing the certification.”

    Exactly. Right now, I find other means of supporting IIBA, like introducing the institute to BAs who don’t know about it, purchasing the BABOK, presenting at and participating on local chapter meetings, etc. If IIBA simplified the process for BAs with lots of obvious experience in this area, I’d definitely reconsider the idea of getting certified.

  5. Like Laura and Adriana, I have been putting off getting certification because I do not see the need for it in my personal situation. I have been working as a BA and with BA’s since about 1996. I published a book and training materials for BA’s long before there was an IIBA and many people have told me they consider me a thought leader in the Business Analysis community. I get most of my work through personal contacts in the industry and do not need certification to prove my worth.

    I have considered getting certification for several reasons:
    1. To show people who are new to Business Analysis and who do not know me by reputation that I have credentials in this area.
    2. To support the work of the IIBA, which I think is important.
    3. To update my training materials to used the exact terminology that appears in the BABOK.

    For now (sorry Michael!) this has not been sufficient motivation for me to spend the time and money to pursue certification. I certainly know how to do Business Analysis and actually helped to develop some of the techniques outlined in the BABOK. But like Laura, I would have to spend quite a bit of time learning the terminology of the BABOK.

    This is the same as every other certification I have held – I have to spend the time figuring out how the certifying agency describes what I already do so that I can answer the questions in the expected manner.

    There are a very few certifications based on producing artifacts that are judged by human beings. While this would seem to be a better approach than a multiple choice test, there are a couple of flaws:
    1. Any individual person will interpret standards his/her own way. The result of this is that one person may say that the work you submit is good and another may say that it is not good. Having a human grader introduces a level of subjectivity to the process. Which is why these kinds of certifications typically require your work to be appraised by at least 3 people.
    2. It is extremely time consuming and expensive to grade the work compared to a multiple choice test. This makes a human graded approach impractical for any significant certification program.

    I have often wished that there was some simpler process to certification (any certification, not just IIBA), for those who acquired a lot of experience in the subject before the certification existed. (I have been in this situation several times in my career.) I do not know what that process would be, but something that simplifies the process would certainly make getting certified much more appealing. It is really the commitment of time to the process that has stopped me from pursuing the certification.

    I wrote this post to give more insight into why very experienced BA’s are not getting certified. Basically, the resource commitment is much larger than the perceived benefit.

    Overall, I have no problems with the IIBA certification program, and I do recommend it. The vast majority of BA’s are not in my situation.
    I think going through the process has all the benefits Laura is finding. I think studying for the exam is a great way to find out where you are strong and where you are weak in Business Analysis. And maintaining certification is a great way to make sure you are keeping up-to-date with the industry.

    Geri

  6. Pingback: Why does Linda do what she does « CBAP Mentor Blog

  7. Thanks Laura for the great and honest post. I think you hit the nail on the head for my motivation with your comment “those who are most passionate about the profession chose to earn the certification because they’ve been waiting for a way to say, “yes, this is me!”” And maybe part of it is to have something to point to when my family and friends ask me what exactly i do for a living!

    1. Christy Nicholson

      Oh heck yes! Sometimes I wish I made hamburgers for a living. That would be easier to explain.

      Or, you know, rockstar.

  8. Christy Nicholson

    “At the end of the day it means that you can have the designated experience and can pass a multiple choice test that represents you have comprehended or memorized the BABOK…” Thanks for calling it what it is 🙂 I like that.

    Once the big letter “S” is off, though, I do think the certification is good for a few solid things. One, it is “something to show” for thousands of hours of work – and a quick receipt, without a resume check, for those who need to know our experience level. Two, it forces study of the BABOK, which provides a good common language for many of our responsibilities and can be used to put up much-needed boundaries in a stretchy role.

    Lastly, though, I want to get certified just to support the efforts of the IIBA. I have a lot of respect for the past several years spent defining the role, and the best way to promote adoption… is to adopt 🙂

    1. Thanks, Christy! Painstakingly honest…that’s me (to a fault sometimes). 🙂 I really like the last point you mention, about pursuing certification to help support the efforts of IIBA. I tend to focus on things from the ground up…seeing my contribution to the profession as helping one individual at a time become better, which thereby impacts the profession as a whole. And of course IIBA is looking at things from a much broader perspective, in terms of how they can influence employers of BAs and the role as a whole worldwide. As an individual, pursuing the CBAP and increasing the awareness of certification puts more momentum behind what IIBA is trying to do. Very, very good point.

      I think that even posts like this, which test the limits of a certification’s value and bring light to the less rosy realities, also support that overall goal. Not everyone is ready to drink the koolaid and having some dialog that meets them where they might be along the adoption curve and encourages a discussion is a contribution too.

      1. Christy Nicholson

        Good point, Laura. Question everything, right?

        I think there is an important flip side of the improvement of the quality of our role. While you are doing fantastic work, no doubt, improving one BA at a time, there are a ton of companies who are not good consumers of the BA role. At least in southern California, there is a rampant tendency to create a role to attract smart college grads, and either use it as a technical writer (write the ‘requirements document’ for what we just built) or a product owner (get it online and then run it).

        Once we turn out all of these educated BAs, they may also have to educate companies as to what they really should be performing. And maybe the current vicious cycle will slowly turn around.

      2. Yes, exactly. The better the individual BAs, the more people to make cases and do the excellent work that builds the reputation of business analysis as a whole…it’s all about building momentum from multiple directions. I’m choosing to lead us here at Bridging the Gap to tackle the smaller problem because it’s where I see we can have a measurable impact given the resources we have.

  9. @Michael: we are in agreement. That’s what I tell people who ask me about this subject. There is no “one size fits all” answer, and BAs need to do their homework and decide for themselves whether pursuing the certification is the right choice in their case.

    Laura, I think you made the right decision based on your current circumstances!

  10. Michelle Swoboda

    Laura, thank you for being so honest in your post. This has really made me think about doing my CBAP. It is very true that it is not the certification, it is what you do in practice. You can have BAs with a CBAP certification that are not good BAs and you can have them without the CBAP who are not good BAs.
    I have gone back and forth on my MBA – because for some reason people view you differently with the letters after your name. They either are jealous, think hmmph unless she proves herself it means nothing or they glorify it.
    I did my MBA for myself. I did not do it to advance my career – I had always wanted the designation so I went for it.
    Laura your honesty about this past week has helped me. I don’t know my motivation or the benefits around CBAP. It does seem painful, and I cannot get to the point to say yes I will do this.
    Bottom line, we are both good BAs. Our work and experience stands on its own. Our record of getting our projects to the finish and very well speaks for itself. So I am still not convinced that this is the right way to go, but I am scared that if I don’t then the job market will decrease. Lot’s of thinking to do. Thank you Laura – once again for your great post!

    1. You are welcome Michelle. You are right to find your why before committing to do something as big as the CBAP. There is nothing worse that investing effort towards achieving a goal that doesn’t have value for you in the end. In a recent seminar, the speaker challenged us to look at the opportunity cost of every big commitment we make. Are we willing to give up everything we have to give up to achieve what we are setting out to do? If yes, then go for it! If not, then make a different choice.

      Careers are all about choices. I am sure that once you find your why it will be a good one…and much better than mine!

  11. Laura and Adriana,

    Certification is not for everyone, even where the individual is qualified. As you both suggest, in cases where an individual does not expect to use certification to support career advancement, job hunting, etc., he/she may feel efforts are better spent elsewhere.

    For many, though, certification is another tool to help them:
    * Find their next job/client. While you are both in the enviable position of either being able to rely on your clients/employers for referrals, or are in steady positions, this is not true for everyone. Certification can help these individuals by providing the independent “voice” that they may not be able to obtain elsewhere.
    * Develop professionally. For many senior BAs, finding a way to continue to develop professionally is difficult. Certification provides an opportunity for senior BAs to continue to invest in themselves beyond training courses and other traditional development methods.
    * Reach a career milestone. While doing good work is great, for many, being able to say “I achieved a specific career milestone”, whether it matters professionally or not, is significant. It also gives people something to work towards.

    Laura, to your comments about expectations for those who are certified: let’s remember that certification is validating experience and knowledge; it is not validating how you go about it. Doctors and lawyers require a licence to practice, which is a greater hurdle than certification; and, yet, there are poor doctors and lawyers. There are individuals who marginally pass the CBAP exam who may not be “better” BAs than individuals who marginally fail.

    Nothing out there is going to solve every problem, and I don’t think anyone expects certification to do so. Certification is another tool available to those individuals – and those companies – who look to take advantage of it. And while it’s not for everyone, as the head of the IIBA certification program, I have to say that I wish many – if not most – qualified individuals would apply for our certifications.

    1. Thanks, Michael. I think you nailed exactly the dilemma I’ve been working through…that there is a disconnect between what the certification represents in actuality and what it means to individuals professionally. While the actuality might not inspire me, the 3 bullets you list do. I suspect I would have never made it as a doctor. 🙂

      You are right to contain the scope of certification and what it represents. And thank you for communicating that. There is no other way to be successful and I do respect that even while I work through this dilemma personally.

  12. Laura, unsurprisingly, we have similar thoughts on this subject. Your post made me realize that one of the main reasons I have zero motivation to go through the CBAP process is that I still hold a business analysis position (and consequently don’t have your concern of losing the window of opportunity to apply before this experience expires from a certification perspective 😉 ).

    Michael, I think your explanation will be very valuable for many people considering whether to go for the CBAP. Rarely a week goes by without my receiving a question from business analysts asking me if they should apply for the CBAP, and now I can include a link to this post/comments as part of my response.

    When you say that the main purpose is to “show a high likelihood that the certification-holder can do – and does – good work”, my conclusion is that for people who don’t have other means to prove their competence (based on recommendations from executives, project managers and developers who can attest the value the BA provided to their projects, among other signs), the CBAP may be the “seal of approval” they need.

    However, I’m sure many people (including Laura and myself) have no difficulty proving that 1) we have a lot of experience in performing business analysis activities; and 2) former clients consider our BA work of high quality.

    During the past 5 years, first working as a consultant, and now as a full time employee, I’ve often interviewed for positions and had to provide references (that is, when I wasn’t being referred to a job by an ex-client who was praising my work to begin with).

    I haven’t checked the CBAP test, but based on the effort Laura is describing to get ready for the exam, I wonder if I’d pass it without first memorizing the material (if she can’t, neither can I!). I sometimes use the BABOK as a reference for my work, but depending on how the questions are phrased, I might be unable to answer them correctly.

    Laura, perhaps that’s what you mean by talking about a “disconnect”? One may have accumulated years of experience doing the work described in the BABOK, be recognized by peers and superiors as a great BA, and still not pass the test without spending time memorizing the “right answers”. That to me would be a flaw in the certification process.

    Having said that, despite my terrible memory, I have a track record of doing well in exams, and publicly admit that the main obstacle preventing me from trying the certification myself is the part that feels like “doing the taxes” as Laura aptly put it in her first post about her journey (i.e., filling out the application). I hate so much this type of tedious, time consuming task that I’d be tempted to change professions rather than go through the motions, lol.

    1. Hi Adriana,

      Thanks for sharing your own approach to the CBAP. I’ve been giving your questions some thought. One thing that came to mind is that I know you have a much better tendency to use the right words than I do and this is one thing that has been an issue in my exam prep. I know the concepts and I’m confident I would do the right thing in a live experience, but using the right words at the right time to reference that activity is what I struggle with. I am obviously not an expert on passing the exam, but I think that someone who used the BABOK regularly and used the terminology to talk about their work day-to-day (and their work history) would have an easier time prepping for the exam. That is where the memorization, or what I’m now referring to as assimilation, comes in.

      The other issue I face is that because I’ve learned BA intuitively, I often combine what are discrete BABOK tasks. This is fine in real-life work, but when it comes to the exam, I need to be ready to think of them as separate tasks. Again, once you get where the BABOK is going, it all kind of falls into place, but it takes some deep comprehension to get there.

      Also, just to note, that while my efforts thus far are not out of the ordinary, I will probably be going above and beyond in my prep for two reasons.

      1) I pretty much have one shot!
      2) I’m interested in exploring different prep techniques and resources so I can help others make good decisions about their prep after all is said and done.

      Does that help clarify?

      1. Laura,

        I see your point about not using the terminology and consequently having to put more effort into the study than a person like me, who already uses the terminology in a day-to-day basis.

        Another point for readers to keep in mind–some BAs may not need as much preparation for test simply because of this familiarity with the BABOK terminology.

        Thanks for clarifying!

  13. Michael,
    Thanks so much for stopping by. It’s great to hear yours and IIBA’s perspective on this topic. It’s an important one to many BAs who really care about what they do.

    I think it’s important to realize, if I can paraphrase the first sentences of your 4th paragraph, that the CBAP is intended to represent a likelihood that the certification holder good work. I think many, myself included, come to the certification process looking for something more (along the lines of great work). And that something more is probably very unrealistic. And it would be misguided of me to hold the CBAP to my expectations instead of IIBA’s.

    I am in 100% agreement that work experience is essential in any sort of meaningful certification, which is why you’ll see in other posts I highly recommend CCBA or CBAP over training-provider certificates that document knowledge only.

    I agree with you here:
    “But, we do assert that they have significant BA experience (based on the documention submitted, subject to our audit process), that they have the requisite knowledge (based on passing the exam), and that they’ve made an investment in themselves and their careers.”

    I see that this is what certification represents. I’m just not sure this is enough to inspire me. I suppose this is why I fallback on the process itself needing to be valuable to me personally as a BA professional. And since I am finding it is, at least pieces of it, the process is slowly changing my view of certification, if only a little bit. It will be interesting to see where this story ends up.

  14. Thanks, Laura, for the post! It’s certainly valuable for the BA community to learn from your experience going through the entire CBAP certification process.

    As for your comments on certification itself, you are certainly not alone. Over the last few years, since we launched the CBAP designation, I’ve heard from many people who have said, “I’m a strong, senior BA with lots of experience; what’s a certification going to do for me.” We all also have lots of experience dealing with “professionally certified professionals” who didn’t quite meet our expectations for those roles.

    However, I wouldn’t attribute this to a “disconnect between documenting experience and successfully passing a multiple choice exam and great business analysis.” There is, though, an obvious difference between being certified and being able to do the work. One can be a great BA without being certified, or be certified but not a great BA.

    The challenge, though, is in building a certification that does, to the greatest extent possible, show a high likelihood that the certification-holder can do – and does – good work. This is what we’ve done, we believe, with both CBAP and CCBA. Learning from our and our stakeholders’ experience with the recipients of other professional certifications, we built our certifications on the premise that work experience is critical to professional certification. And, no, just because you can document 7500 hours of BA experience doesn’t mean that you were – or are – good at doing it. But, on average, we’d expect someone who actually spent 7500 hours doing something to be reasonably good at it. In addition, we decline a significant percentage of applications, either because the individuals don’t actually have the requisite experience (in which case they should be declined), or because they didn’t follow the instructions properly (in which case, we’d question their effectiveness of doing business analysis and they should be declined).

    Does being certified mean that you’re good at the job? No. Or at least “not necessarily”. And we don’t assert that every CBAP or CCBA recipient is good at their job. But, we do assert that they have significant BA experience (based on the documention submitted, subject to our audit process), that they have the requisite knowledge (based on passing the exam), and that they’ve made an investment in themselves and their careers.

    As you finished with, “Fire away”. The better the discussion, the more information for all, whether individuals view certification as something for themselves or not.

    Michael

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