CBAP vs. AAC: Which One to Pursue?

2 min read

5/5/20 12:00 AM

Which One to Pursue

Business analysis professional qualifications help business analysts in many ways. It proves their competence on the subject. It helps organizations to ensure their business analysts are rightly skilled in the business analysis process. However, there is some confusion in the business analyst’s minds as to which business analysis certification they should pursue.

IIBA certifications have been the most popular and sought-after certification among business analysts globally. Both CBAP Training and AAC certification come from the International Institute of Business Analysis™ (IIBA). IIBA® has been doing amazing work on making the business analysis profession more recognized among the professional field and in the corporate segment.

CBAP – Certified Business Analysis Professional – is primarily targeted towards senior-level business analysis professionals who have served at least 7500 hours (roughly about 5 years) as business analysts in the industry performing BA-approved tasks as per IIBA®.

AAC – Agile Analysis Certified - is primarily targeted towards mid-level business analysis professionals who have 2+ years experience in an agile environment

Here is a short comparison of both the certification:

High-Level Overview of Comparison

Standard	CBAP	AAC
Brand value	Very High	Low
# of certified professionals	~10,000	~1000
Targeted at	Senior Business analysis professionals	Mid-level Business analysis professionals
Curriculum	BABoK 3.0 – 500+ Pages	Agile Extension Guide – 200 Pages
Eligibility criteria – Work Experience	Minimum 7500 hours of BA work experience aligned with the BABOK Guide in the last 10 years	No such requirement, although 2 years of agile experience expected
Eligibility criteria –Knowledge Area Expertise	Minimum 900 hours completed in four of the six knowledge areas	No
Eligibility criteria – Training/PD Hours	Minimum of 35 hours of Professional Development Training in the past four years	Not required
Eligibility criteria – Reference Requirement	Two references from a career manager, client, or CBAP® recipient	Not required
Exam mode and pattern	Online exam with PSI Online	Online exam with PSI Online
Exam Fees	Membership Fee: $55 - $139 depending on the region	Membership Fee: $55 - $139 depending on the region
Application Fees	Application Fee – $145	Application Fee – $0
Certification Fees	Certification Fee – $350 (for members)	Certification Fee – $250 (For members)
Exam Duration	3.5 hours	2 hours
Type of Questions	120 multiple-choice questions. Questions are longer cases (1 to 1.5 pages of information).	85 multiple-choice questions. Short sentence questions
Case Questions	Multiple questions about the case.	No case questions. Questions are scenario-based.
Study aids availability	High	Low
Training availability	High	Low
Difficulty Level	High	Medium

If you are a senior BA professional, CBAP Training is much more recommended as it carries significant brand recall. BABoK is far more exhaustive than Agile Extension. If you are not eligible for CBAP, AAC is a good option. If you are an existing CBAP, AAC proves your credentials for agile-based projects.

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