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passing business analysis certification exam
BRMP, Business Analysis, CBAP, CCBA, ECBA, IIBA-AAC

What, Me Worried? Five Tips to Improve Study and Comprehension for Passing Business Analysis Certification Exams

Studying for and passing a certification exam is challenging and anxiety-producing. I admit to feeling stressed each time and spending numerous hours preparing for my exams. It helped me in all cases to memorize key aspects of the underlying Body of Knowledge, which exams like CBAP, PMP, or PMI-PBA are based on. Even in an […]

ecba vs ccba
BRMP, Business Analysis, CBAP, CCBA, ECBA, IIBA-AAC, Watermark Learning

ECBA™ vs. CCBA® vs. CBAP® vs. IIBA®-AAC: Which IIBA Certification is Right for You?

In this blog, we will be exploring the various certifications offered by IIBA (International Institute of Business Analysis). We will start by differentiating between the three designations that are considered the “core” business analysis certifications: ECBA™ (Entry Certificate in Business Analysis) CCBA® (Certificate of Capability in Business Analysis) CBAP® (Certified Business Analysis Professional) After outlining

what can a business analysis certification do
Business Analysis, Career Advancement, Certification, Watermark Learning

What Does a BA Certification REALLY Buy You?

Studying for any certification is a daunting task; actually, it is more like a project. Watermark Learning routinely advises that studying for the Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP®) exam after taking our 35-hour certification preparation class will take approximately 100 hours or more, depending upon how familiar you are with the Business Analysis Body of

a primer on working with executives
Agile, Business Analysis, Communicating, Project Management, Watermark Learning

A Primer On Working With Executives: Swim With The Sharks Without Getting Eaten Alive

Even though my wife Elizabeth Larson and I owned and ran a business, I wouldn’t exactly have used the term “executive” to describe us. But, we have both worked with several. And, in building and running Watermark Learning, we shared an important characteristic with executives which this series of articles will explore. Early in my career, I was

five trends in business analysis
Agile, Business Analysis, Project Management, Watermark Learning

Five Trends in Business Analysis, Project Management, and Agile for 2020

Since 2009, we have enjoyed reflecting on what’s happened the previous year in the world of projects and making predictions for the upcoming year. Here are some of the recent trend topics we have discussed: The digital transformation Roles that help organizations maximize value Agile successes, challenges, and use beyond software Scaling agile BAs and

The Digital BA Series
Business Analysis, Watermark Learning

The Digital BA Series: How BAs Can Help Reduce Bias In Hiring Caused By AI-Related Bias

A recent article in Harvard Business Review (HBR) raises an interesting question: do hiring algorithms used by companies to recruit staff prevent bias or amplify it?[i] Their conclusion is unclear. The article warns that the technology has to be “proactively built and tested” to remove any intentional or unintentional bias.”[ii] In this article, I want to make the

Agile Isn't Enough Part 4
Agile, Business Analysis, Watermark Learning

Why Agile Isn’t Enough, Part 4: Lean Startup Learn Phase and BA Techniques that Enhance It

In previous parts of this article, we covered an overview of Lean Startups and its Build-Measure-Learn (BML) methodology. We also explored the Build portion of the cycle, the first step in a Lean Startup. Another article examined the Measure phase of the methodology, which can provide the measures to learn if our product is on

Lessons Learned from Bhutan and Nepal
Agile, Business Analysis, Project Management, Watermark Learning

Lessons Learned From Bhutan And Nepal: Part 2 – Process Thoughts About Digital Transformation

In this age of digital transformations and the digital BA, data matters. Without data there would be no big data, no data mining, no machine learning or predictive analytics. No AI. Nothing digital to transform. So yes, we have to focus on data. But what about poor process, once the king of projects, now often