Business Analysis Certification

Business Analyst is our new corporate colleague who is helping organizations

in three unique ways that no one else is capable of doing. She is (1) helping

organizations to visualize a to-be-solution without actually building the solution (2)

achieving that objective at a minimal cost and (3) providing a road-map to the project

manager. Information technology is the first industry that introduced business

analysis position at a large scale to bridge the gap between the business owners and

the developers in multi-million dollar projects. But subsequently, after witnessing the

contribution of business analysts, other industries followed suit. Today business

analysts are very common in industries such as Banking, Finance, Insurance,

Healthcare, Hospitality, Automotive, Aviation, Supply Chain, Retail etc.

Till today, there are no graduate or post-graduate business analysis programs offered

in universities (except a few in North-America). On the other hand, companies in

various industries have a huge demand for trained business analysts. In the absence

of trained manpower, the best bet for these companies is to go for candidates who have

decent business knowledge with analytical and communication skills.

Though the academic system is not very responsive to this industry need, few

not-for-profit associations came up to provide a structure to this emerging profession.

The pioneer among them is International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA),
 Canada established in the year 2003. IIBA through its Business Analysis Body

of Knowledge (BABOK) first gave a framework to this profession. It conducts

examinations such as CCBA and CBAP to certify professionals in business analysis.

Business Analysis Body of Knowledge Version 2.0 consists of nine chapters. I would

group them into two categories. One is foundation chapters and the other is knowledge

areas. The foundation chapters are Introduction, Underlying Competencies and

Techniques. The knowledge areas are Business Analysis Planning & Monitoring,

Elicitation, Enterprise Analysis, Requirements Analysis, Requirements Management

& Communication and Solution Assessment & Validation. By mastering these nine

chapters one can claim that he or she has a thorough understanding of business

analysis framework and can effectively perform the business analysis role to a

perfection.

Till 2009, academic credential or certification was not a necessary one to

become a successful business analyst. But subsequently with the popularity of CCBA

and CBAP certifications, the depth of knowledge and value exhibited by those certified,

companies started looking for candidates with these certifications. This trend is

increasing year-after-year as we started seeing more and more companies are asking

for CBAP certifications in their job descriptions.

Why to go for Certification?

1. Certification gives a framework of knowledge to the business analyst and adds an

academic credential that provides immense confidence while performing business

analysis.

2. Certification demonstrates that the individual has undergone a rigorous assessment

and acts as a benchmark in recruitment and client relationship.

3. It connects the certified to a worldwide community to keep abreast with the latest

trends in the profession.

 About Author
Mr. Venkadesh Narayanan is the Principal Consultant at Fhyzics Business
Consultants Private Limited. He is a Mechanical Engineer and an MBA with over 20
years of experience in Consulting, Business Analysis and Process Improvement. Mr.
Narayanan is a former member of Indian Civil Services [IRAS 2000 Batch] and served
at Indian Railways, Larsen & Toubro – ECC, Siemens (USA), Euro-Pro LLC (USA) and
Latex International (USA) prior to joining Fhyzics. LinkedIn Profile:
http://in.linkedin.com/in/venkadesh

He is also a member of several professional bodies and holds the below certifications:
Certified Business Analysis ProfessionalTM (CBAP®), IIBA®, Canada
Certified PMI - Professional in Business AnalysisSM (PMI-PBA®), USA
Certified Professional in Requirements Engineering (CPRE-FL), IREB®, Germany
Certified Business Process Professional, ABPMP, USA
Certified in Lean from Society of Manufacturing Engineers, USA
Certified in Six Sigma from Motorola University, USA

About Fhyzics:
Fhyzics is a leader in providing business analysis services and business analysis training.
Fhyzics helps organizations to establish Business Analysis Centre of Excellence (BACoE) and
to build business analysis capability. We are an Endorsed Education ProviderTM of
International Institute of Business AnalysisTM (IIBA®), Canada and Registered Education
Provider of International Requirements Engineering Board (IREB®), Germany.