The Ultimate Guide to CBAP Certification FAQs, Part 2: Exam and Application

Watermark Learning holds monthly IIBA Certification chat sessions, and we get great questions each time. I compiled many of the questions received over several months and answered them below. Most are about CBAP certification and we’ll publish a separate blog post on ECBA questions.

In part 1 of this blog, I addressed parts 1-3 (general, study tips, and study materials) of our extensive guide on CBAP certification FAQs. Part 2 will cover the last two sections on the CBAP exam and application.

For space reasons, we list only a few questions in this post. For all of the FAQs, including those from part 1 and more, download a pdf of The Ultimate Guide to CBAP Certification FAQs.

CBAP Exam

Q. Will my CBAP score be shown immediately after exam?

A. Yes, you will know immediately if you passed or not. Plus, you will get feedback on which Knowledge Areas you were above average, average, and below average compared to other examinees. This feedback is helpful in case you need to re-take your exam.

Q. Do we have questions on tools & guidelines, perspective, core concept, elements, management theories (theory X)?
Q. How important is “Perspectives,” which is added newly in v3?
Q. What about the Agile extension?

A. You will have questions on all of these except none on Perspectives and none on the Agile Extension. The management theory you mention is an example of underlying competencies and you will be tested on a few of these.

Q. Some techniques may require some calculations, does the exam include that type of questions?
Q. How many formulas will I need to know, and which?

A. We have reports from successful CBAP candidates that they have had to perform calculations on their exams. Our recommendation is to memorize some of the basic financial formulas like ROI, but not the complicated ones like Net Present Value. We also suggest memorizing the formula for PERT estimates, since it is straight-forward and widely known. Our Online Study Exam has some calculations like the ones I just described.

Q. What are the important Techniques I should focus on?

A. The techniques are challenging, since you will receive many questions on them. There are 50 techniques and we can’t imagine you will be tested on all of them. I always recommend focusing on the ones most widely referred to in the BABOK. Appendix B in that Guide has a handy cross-reference table called “Techniques to Task Mapping” to help.

Q. What is the breakdown weight of each knowledge area on the exam?

A. We list the exam blueprints for all IIBA exams (CBAP, CCBA, and ECBA) on our CBAP FAQs page.

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CBAP Application

Q. Do I need to complete training before I fill out the Education Hours of the application?
Q. Are there any restrictions on the professional development training requirement?

A. Yes, your 35 BA education (professional development or PD) hours need to be complete before you can finish your application. Bear in mind the training must be BA-related, and “close calls” such as Six Sigma or CSPO Certification won’t count. You also cannot include PDU/CDU activities such as webinars, conferences, articles, etc. You will need CDUs for re-certification, but not for initial qualification for the CBAP (or CCBA or ECBA for that matter).

Q. When filling out the application and listing projects, are we supposed to post projects from most recent to the oldest worked on?
Q. When completing the application, does the “Your Role” field always have to be Business Analyst or can it be Business SME or Tester?

A. Yes, IIBA requests that you list projects in reverse order, newest to oldest. I would recommend you list your role as “BA” and only include hours spent doing BA tasks. If your role was as an SME or tester, you should not include those projects. If you had multiple roles, only list the hours spent doing BA work.

Q. I’ve heard IIBA’s application process for CBAP is pretty strict. Do applications happen to get denied or asked for more info?
Q. Is there a sample tracking sheet available where the six knowledge areas are provided – something that would facilitate tracking the 7500 hours prior to registering for the test?

A. IIBA has made the application process simpler and we think easier with version 3. That said they are strict with the requirements of 7500 BA hours, 35 hours of PD, two references, etc.

We have a tracking worksheet available that you can download and use to list your hours. It has many handy calculations, including a way to see if you meet the 900-hour requirement and the overall 7500-hour requirement.

Q. Regarding the application process, I paid for my application and instantly got an email stating my application is APPROVED. (No wait or lead time.) As for the next step, I believe I need to pay the exam fee. Does that have any sort of processing time or do I expect an instant “Go ahead and schedule” email once I pay the exam fee?

A. You should be able to schedule your exam instantly once your application is approved. If anyone knows differently, please leave a comment!

That completes our FAQs received recently. Did the questions or our answers prompt even more questions? Do you need clarification on anything? Please comment below and we would love you to join the conversation. If you want additional information on CBAP certification or the ways we can help, please visit www.watermarkLearning.com/certification/cbap/.

If you want to join our monthly chats to get your questions answered, please visit our Events page for further details. Best wishes on achieving your own CBAP dreams and goals!