{"id":8641,"date":"2017-06-21T11:30:15","date_gmt":"2017-06-21T16:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/?p=8641"},"modified":"2024-08-26T11:24:12","modified_gmt":"2024-08-26T16:24:12","slug":"pass-cbap-exam-study-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/pass-cbap-exam-study-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Pass the CBAP Exam: Study Tips from Recent Credential Holders"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are you ready to pass the CBAP\u00ae and earn your CBAP certification<\/a>? When the new IIBA Level 3 CBAP exam came out for BABOK\u00ae Guide v3 <\/em>in September 2016, there wasn\u2019t much information on how the exam would change. We now have tips for you directly from people who recently took the CBAP exam and passed.<\/p>\n


\nGlobal Observations about the CBAP Exam:<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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  1. Feedback from our students found the exam harder than they expected.<\/li>\n
  2. The CBAP exam isn\u2019t a memorization exam as much as it\u2019s an application exam, based on the BABOK. (Note: the ECBA\u2122 certification exam is more of a memorization, definition, and knowledge-based exam).<\/li>\n
  3. About 40 of the questions were study cases, based on 1-2 A4-sized pages of text with 3-4 questions each. The remaining questions were scenario-based.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n


    \nHow They Prepared for the CBAP Exam:<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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    1. Most of our students said they dedicated over 150 – 200 hours of time studying for the exam.<\/li>\n
    2. They read the BABOK Guide v3<\/em> at least 2, if not 3, times before the exam.<\/li>\n
    3. They took lots of practice tests. Watermark Learning has over 1,200 scenario- and case study-based questions in their CBAP Online Study Exam<\/a> question bank.<\/li>\n
    4. They found it helpful to take a CBAP certification preparation class<\/a> or to read Watermark\u2019s CBAP Certification Study Guide<\/a> to help better understand the concepts found in the BABOK.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n


      \nWhat to Study:<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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      1. Know your techniques. <\/strong>Our students mentioned that there were a lot of questions around techniques, such as how to read them and when to use them. Although IIBA\u2019s exam blueprint<\/a> states NA on the techniques, we tell our students that the exam incorporates the technique questions into the Knowledge Area (KA) questions. It is important to really understand the core techniques and models for the exam.<\/li>\n
      2. Review the estimating and financial calculations<\/strong> in detail and practice how to do them. There are numerous calculation questions in the exam, which are basically math word problems. There are some ROI calculations, as well as broader, more general calculations. Watermark has added calculations to their online simulation exam database and their CBAP prep materials.<\/li>\n
      3. Know all the tasks in each KA. <\/strong>Watermark uses mnemonics throughout its study guide and in its prep class to help you memorize the tasks in each KA.<\/li>\n
      4. There are numerous questions on, \u201cWhat would you do next in this situation?\u201d Watermark helps students connect-the-dots<\/strong> in their prep materials.<\/li>\n
      5. You may also get a few questions about stakeholders, input\/outputs, and perspectives<\/strong>, which is interesting because IIBA said perspective questions would probably not be on the exam. Reviewing Watermark\u2019s study guide and BABOK 3.0 Study Tables<\/a> will help you understand which stakeholders are involved in each task, the inputs and outputs of each task, and a high-level review of perspectives.<\/li>\n
      6. Final tip: it not only takes time to adjust to the terms used in BABOK, when you are used to the terms used in your organization, but the exam may use totally different wordings. So, instead of just answering questions, you may have to figure out the essence of the question<\/strong>, compare it to the BABOK terms and concepts, and then look at the four possible answers to find the one closest to being the right answer.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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