How to Apply for the CBAP Exam

Last Updated: May 6, 2021

The Certified Business Analysis Professional]® (CBAP®) certification is created and maintained by the International Institute of Business Analysis® (IIBA®). If you are interested in sitting for the CBAP® exam, the first challenge that you need to overcome is to submit the application.

Steps

1
Read the CBAP Handbook. You want to understand the qualification for sitting for the certification. This handbook provides a thorough explanation on the experiences needed to qualify, the educational requirements... etc.^{[1]
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2
Begin documenting your work experience. This is the most challenging task as it requires that you look back 10 years and recall information about each of the projects you've worked on. You will need to remember the project name, description, hours worked on each projects, hours spend on business analysis tasks on each projects... etc.^{[2]
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3
Align the tasks you've performed in your previous experience with the tasks defined in the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge® (BABOK®). A great technique for doing so is to first (1) understand the deliverables produced in each task and (2) matching them against those you've produced. This will allow you to determine if your past experience is inline with what the BABOK® defines as business analysis experience.
4
Determine the total number of hours you've worked on each project. This is the number of courses that you spent working on all project activities regardless of whether they were business analysis tasks or not.
5
Determine the total number of hours you've performed business analysis work on that project. In order to be eligible to sit for the CBAP, you will need a total of 7500 hours of business analysis experience. Meaning in any given project, if you've worked 1000 hours total, and only 25% of this time was allocated to business analysis activities, then you can only use 250 hours to apply toward your eligibility.
6
Determine eligibility: total hours. Sum up all the hours from each projects to determine if your past experience provides you with the 7500 hours needed to qualify for the CBAP®.
7
Develop a mechanism for allocating the percentage of total number of hours worked on a project to the specific business analysis tasks. The business analysis tasks you want to allocate time to are those that align with the BABOK®.
8
Determine eligibility: hours spent on each Knowledge Area. Another qualifying factor to sit for the CBAP is the number of hours spent on knowledge areas. IIBA requires that you have experience in 4 out of the 6 knowledge area and that you spend at least 900 hours performing the tasks of those knowledge areas.^{[3]
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9
Input this information into your online application form.^{[4]
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10
Submit your application. Wait about three weeks to receive a response on whether you have been approved or not.^{[5]
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Community Q&A

Question

What is the total cost of the CBAP certification?

Community Answer

The application fee is $125 USD and is not refundable, regardless of whether your application is approved or declined. The exam fee is $325 USD for IIBA members and $450 USD for non-members.

Warnings

This process can take you up to 1 month if you do not have the appropriate tools or mentoring to guide you.

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