CBAP and CCBA v3 Exam

CBAP and CCBA v3 Exam Update

CBAP/CCBA Mailing ListIIBA has developed a new Business Analysis multi-level, competency-based certification framework that supports a BA’s career progression. Current CCBAs and CBAPs will map to levels 2 and 3, respectively, and will not be required to take the new exams. However, if an applicant has not taken the CCBA or CBAP exam prior to September 22, 2016, they will need to take the enhanced v3 exams. As the deadline for the changeover gets closer, we continue to learn more information on the new v3 program. Below are some of the highlights:

  • v3 Exam (Level 2 and 3) Launch Date. The new v3 exams for CCBA and CBAP will be available at all test centers, starting on September 30, 2016. The exams will only be available in English at the launch. 
  • Retakes. IIBA announced they will be dropping the 90-day period wait time for re-taking a failed exam. As of September 30, an applicant can take an exam up to 3 times per a 1 year application period, with no wait time required between exam takes. Applicants will still need to pay an exam fee for each take. 
  • Eligibility Requirements. The CBAP exam will now require 35 hours of professional development in the last 4 years. This is an increase from the previous 21 hours, which will remain the requirement for the CCBA exam. 
  • Applications. With the new v3 certification, the IIBA will be revising the online application itself. However, approved applications submitted prior to the revised online application will be accepted to take the revised exams.Applications not submitted prior to the revised online application will need to start the revised application. The current application will be available to view and print but it will not be editable. Work Experience and Professional Development information entered in My Profile will be available for the new application, and other migration support is being considered.
  • v3 Exam Blueprints. IIBA has now released all three of their blueprints for their level 1-3 exams. These blueprints are guidelines giving the percentages of knowledge areas represented on each of the exams.
    • A new thing IIBA is adding for the v3 CBAP in support of the competency-based framework is case study questions. They have always had scenario-based questions, and will continue to have them for CBAP and CCBA. What’s new is lengthy, several hundred word case studies with 3-5 questions per study.
    • Take the exam blueprints seriously. They help you focus your study, and knowing them is part of a good preparation plan. For example, the CCBA exam only has 6% of its questions on Solution Evaluation. You won’t need to study that chapter of the BABOK Guide as much as Requirements Analysis and Design Definition. The latter, along with its associated techniques, represents nearly one third of the questions you will see on your exam and deserves extensive study.


    IIBA Exam Blueprints

  • Recertification. Current CCBA and CBAP credential holders will be automatically grandfathered to Level 2 and 3, respectively, and you are not required to take the new exams. A revised recertification process will be communicated after September 30, but everyone will continue to recertify as per the current process. In other words, you will not have to recertify until your recertification anniversary date.

In summary, IIBA has released several changes to their certification program, and more are going to be announced. Check on IIBA.org for official notices. Watch our blog and eNewsletters for announcements as we hear of them and as always, best wishes on getting your BA credential!

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Richard Larson, PMP, CBAP, PMI-PBA, was the founder of and is now a consultant for Watermark Learning. He is a successful entrepreneur with over 35 years of experience in product development, business analysis, project management, training, and consulting. As an internal entrepreneur, Rich led the development of several Watermark Learning online products as a business analyst and product owner.

Rich is a frequent speaker at Business Analysis and Project Management national conferences and IIBA® and PMI® chapters around the world. He has contributed as a lead author to the BA Body of Knowledge version 2.0 and 3.0 and was a lead author on PMI’s Business Analysis Practice Guide. He and his wife Elizabeth Larson have co-authored five books on business analysis.

Richard Larson, PMP, CBAP, PMI-PBA

Richard Larson, PMP, CBAP, PMI-PBA, was the founder of and is now a consultant for Watermark Learning. He is a successful entrepreneur with over 35 years of experience in product development, business analysis, project management, training, and consulting. As an internal entrepreneur, Rich led the development of several Watermark Learning online products as a business analyst and product owner. Rich is a frequent speaker at Business Analysis and Project Management national conferences and IIBA® and PMI® chapters around the world. He has contributed as a lead author to the BA Body of Knowledge version 2.0 and 3.0 and was a lead author on PMI’s Business Analysis Practice Guide. He and his wife Elizabeth Larson have co-authored five books on business analysis.

32 comments

  1. Hello,

    Sadly I failed the CCBA v2 exam by a few points, and because of the wait time period to retake the exam, I will take the new exam in about 2 weeks. Although my application was based in v2 KA working hours, from what I have been reading is that my exam will be v3 based.

    I am a bit worried mostly because:
    – it seems that I won’t know immediately my score… and, mainly,
    – all my studying material, including example questions, are v2 based. Do you have any example questions for v3 exams?

    Kind regards,
    Nuno Santos

    1. Hi Nuno,

      I’m sorry to hear you did not pass your exam. Yes, your retake would be on v3. The last day to take a v2 exam was Sept. 22nd. IIBA does offer a few sample questions on their website at http://www.iiba.org/Certification-Recognition/certificationlevels/level2-ccba.aspx. However, we do recommend you read the BABOK Guide v3 and take numerous practice exams, at a minimum, to pass the new exam. The new exam is longer and harder than v2 so without studying any v3 materials, you will likely not pass the v3 exam.

      We do offer several products to help in your studies, including a CCBA v3 Online Study Exam, which has over 1,100 realistic questions, similar in tone and quality to the actual CCBA exam.

      Please contact us at info@marketing.com should you have any other questions regarding our study materials.

      Thanks so much for contacting us and good luck on your exam!

      1. Thank you very much for your responses… I will take a look at your Online Study Exam.

        One thing new about v3 regards the BACCM and the perspectives. Do you know the importance of them within the questions?

        Kind regards,
        Nuno Santos

  2. i have attended the Babok v2 training back in Aug 2016, which was too late for me to take the v2 exam. With the introduction of v3 and 35 PDUs, how should I get the additional PDUs on top of my 21PDUs earned from the v2 training? Kindly help to advise.

    thanks!

    1. Hi Peggy,

      Thank you for contacting Watermark Learning! That is a great question and concern among many in your situation. You mentioned you had v2 training in August; was that with Watermark Learning or another provider? We recommend that you take a v3 training class to receive your hours due to the fact that v3 has a lot of different info to learn. For example, the BABOK Guide v3 nearly doubled in size and contains 15 more techniques.

      If you attended our v2 class, you can take a v3 class for just the cost of the new materials, space permitting. Should you have any other questions or are interested in taking our course, please contact us at info@watermarklearning.com.

  3. Hi
    I am preparing for CBAP ver 3 and using water mark online studying exam . Can you tell me chances of questions from perspectives?
    Do you includes questions from perspectives in your online study exam ?
    I would appreciate your quick response.

  4. Hi. I’m preparing to write CBAP exam.
    1.Could you please tell me whether all the questions are based on case study ?
    2. Will the exam have questions on techniques too apart from KAs ?

    1. Hi Sree, thank you for contacting us! Our CBAP Online Study Exam does contain case studies, but not all of the questions on the real exam (or in our bank of questions) are case studies. There will be questions on techniques, and to help focus on those, our Online Study Exam provides the ability to select techniques in our Drills. You can find more information on our CBAP Online Study Exam at https://www.watermarklearning.com/certification/cbap/cbap-online-study-exam.php. If you have more questions on this or any other products, please contact us at any time at products@watermarklearning.com. Thanks so much and good luck on your CBAP!

  5. Hi Richard,

    This article published date was July 7, 2016.

    Please confirm if IIBA – blueprints, Table 3, is it still valid based on the CBAP / CCBA exams V3 or there is any change in %. Like CCBA students may not get any questions from techniques / BA Key Concepts / Under. competencies ?

    Regards,

    Kamal

    1. Hi Kamal,

      The table is still current. What is deceiving is that IIBA lists more categories for the ECBA exam than for CBAP or CCBA. Yet we know there are many questions on techniques, and some on concepts and underlying concepts. Their blueprint should list those in my opinion, but IIBA chose not to.

  6. Hi ,
    I’m planning to write CBAP V3 exam shortly. Could you please let me know
    1. Where do I get the previous / model questions of V3 ?
    2. Are there any mock tests that we can take ?
    3. What is the pass mark in the exam ?

    1. Hi Sreemahdure,

      1. Not sure exactly what you mean by “previous / model questions.” IIBA does have a few sample questions which you can find at: http://www.iiba.org/ba-connect/2016/november/certification-is-here.aspx.

      2. Our company provides mock exams as part of our Online Study Exams for CBAP, CCBA, and ECBA. Visit our web site to learn more: https://www.watermarklearning.com/certification/online-study-exam.php.

      3. IIBA does not reveal the pass mark, but our best guess is the passing mark is 70%. We advise using our online exam until you score around 80% to be fully prepared.

      Hope this helps!

  7. Hi team,

    Can you please let me know if there will be any questio. From chapter 9,10,11: underlying competencies, techniques and perspective in CCBA/CBAP exam ?

  8. Hi, PLease i am plan to write the CBAP by September 2018. I am practising with the watermark. Read through he Babok once. When can I say I am ready to write the exam in terms of practise scores tests.

  9. I am appearing for the CCBA Exam in a few days.
    I wanted to know approximately how many questions can one expect from the chapter 9,10 & 11 of of the BABOK guide?
    Will help me plan accordingly . many thanks.

    1. Hi Chinmay, thanks for your question. IIBA does not list how many questions might appear in those chapters. We hear from examinees that Underlying Competency (ch 9) information is mixed in with other questions. There are several Techniques (ch 10) questions so you need to study this section well. If you have our CBAP Study Guide, make sure you study the Techniques section to get familiar with them. They are written as part of one of the 6 main Knowledge Areas, which means IIBA does not list how many are on the exam. We hear that CCBA and CBAP exams will test extensively on them. IIBA does not list Perspectives (ch 11) as part of their exam blueprint and we have not heard any mention of these questions on anyone’s exam. Hope this helps.

      Best wishes on passing your exam! Let us know how you do.

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