What is BABOK?
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BABoK is the acronym for Business Analysis Body of Knowledge. BABoK contains a description of generally accepted practices in the field of business analysis. It gives guidance on the skills and knowledge that business analysts must possess. It is published by the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA), Canada.
The contents of the BABoK guide have been verified thoroughly by practitioners. BABoK has undergone multiple revisions over its history. The current version of BABoK is V3. BABoK does not mandate that the practices described in it should be followed under all circumstances. Business Analysis practices MUST be tailored to specific conditions. All IIBA core business analysis certifications, CBAP, CCBA, and ECBA, are based on BABoK.
The core content of the BABOK Guide comprises 6 knowledge areas (KA) and 30 business analysis tasks. Knowledge areas comprise logically (but not sequentially) related tasks. The tasks under each KA help in accomplishing the purpose of the associated knowledge area.
BABoK 6 Knowledge Areas & 30 Tasks
| BA Planning and Monitoring | Plan BA approach |
| Plan stakeholder engagement | |
| Plan BA governance | |
| Plan BA information management. | |
| Identify BA performance improvements. | |
| Elicitation and Collaboration | Prepare for elicitation |
| Conduct elicitation | |
| Confirm elicitation results | |
| Communicate BA information | |
| Manage stakeholder collaboration | |
| Requirements Life Cycle Management | Trace requirements |
| Maintain requirements | |
| Prioritize requirements | |
| Assess requirements changes | |
| Approve requirements | |
| Strategy Analysis | Analyze current state |
| Define future state | |
| Assess risks | |
| Define change strategy | |
| Requirements Analysis and Design Definition | Specify and model requirements |
| Verify requirements | |
| Validate requirements | |
| Define requirements architecture | |
| Define design options | |
| Analyze potential value and recommend solution | |
| Solution Evaluation | Measure solution performance |
| Analyze performance measures | |
| Assess solution limitations | |
| Assess enterprise limitations | |
| Recommend actions to increase solution value |
50 Techniques of BABoK
| Acceptance and evaluation criteria | Document analysis | Process modeling |
| Backlog management | Estimation | Prototyping |
| Balanced scorecard | Financial analysis | Reviews |
| Benchmarking and market analysis | Focus groups | Risk analysis and management |
| Brainstorming | Functional decomposition | Roles and permissions matrix |
| Business capability analysis | Glossary | Root cause analysis |
| Business cases | Interface analysis | Scope modeling |
| Business model canvas | Interviews | Sequence diagrams |
| Business rules analysis | Item tracking | Stakeholder list, map, or personas |
| Collaborative games | Lessons learned | State modeling |
| Concept modeling | Metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) | Survey or questionnaire |
| Data dictionary | Mind mapping | SWOT analysis |
| Data flow diagrams | Non-functional requirements analysis | Use cases and scenarios |
| Data mining | Observation | User stories |
| Data modeling | Organizational modeling | Vendor assessment |
| Decision analysis | Prioritization | Workshops |
| Decision modeling | Process analysis |
A sound understanding of the BABOK can prove beneficial to you as a Business Analyst, as you may find the methodologies, techniques, or activities useful in performing your day-to-day job. This knowledge could ultimately help you to look at things from a different perspective and improve the way things are functioning at your workplace. Although the BABoK may appear overwhelming and voluminous with 500+ pages, a strategic approach to grasping the essence of BABoK will not only help you ace the IIBA certification examinations but will also make you a better and more efficient BA over time.
Adaptive’s BABoK-Based Study Guide has been vouched by thousands of certified Business Analysts as the best in the market.
Some of its key features are:
- Most compact BABoK Study guide (95% content in 20% volume)
- Contains 30 study tables
- Contains 2 key mind-maps
- All content as per BABoK V3
- Compatible on all devices
- Available as part of Adaptive's CBAP, CCBA, and ECBA training programs
