Requirements life cycle management

• KA Intro
• Techniques for Req. LCM
• Req. LCM Tasks
• Trace requirements
• Maintain requirements
• Prioritize requirements
• Assess requirements changes
• Approve requirements

• Knowledge based questions
• Techniques overview for Strategy Analysis and Soln. Eval
• Application Filing - PD Hours Discussion

• Concept clarification and questions discussion with faculty

Technology today offers tremendous opportunities to improve businesses. Business Analyst is a role where one can contribute to the organization's strategy, its offerings, its revenue, and its margin. It offers great opportunity to interact with many stakeholders, develop innovative solutions and improving existing solutions. Business Analysts are the bridge between Business stakeholders and Technology Architects. The demand for Business Analysts is at an all-time high and the benefits are worth taking-up business analysis as a career choice.
As a Business Analyst, one will always have a challenging and a new job role or project in hand due to the uniqueness of each problem in varied companies. The ECBA certification from IIBA is a popular certification for jump-starting a career as a Business Analyst. Some of the benefits of getting ECBA certified are:

Here are some concrete benefits of ECBA Certification:

1. Gives you a great overview of the business analysis career, skills needed to start your BA career
2. Gets your competency/skills benchmarked against a global certification
3. Gets an independent validation of your skills
4. Gets your resume shortlisted
5. Proof of your proactive attitude

For  more details on Benefits of ECBA read here - Why Should I Invest in ECBA 

• ECBA is framed rightly to suit the needs of an entry level Business analyst focusing on requirements analysis, modelling, requirements life cycle management with good amount of emphasis on modeling concepts and tools. According to the 2021 IIBA Salary Survey Report, professionals with ECBA Certification earn an average salary of $82K per annum.
• ECBA is an established credential and makes a business analyst's competence known and recognized globally by peers and management.
• It provides better career growth and job opportunities
• The knowledge and skills acquired through the ECBA certification enables one to become an effective and efficient BA.
• It demonstrates continuous dedication to the profession to prospective employers.
• It helps BAs achieve reliable, quality results with enhanced efficiency and consistency.
• Business Analysis is one of the highest growing occupations, with 14% growth projected between 2014-2024 *Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• It also gives a positive feeling and enhanced confidence about achieving a milestone in one's BA career.

The ECBA certification is for:
• Individuals entering the business analysis profession
• Professionals who want to build  a career in the Business Analysis profession
• Students enrolled in business analysis academic programs
• New graduates
• Professionals transitioning careers
• Functional managers who are not business analysts but manage them.

ECBA Exam Pattern is as follows -

Business Analysis Knowledge - 30%

Knowledge Area - 70%

The ECBA exam blueprint is aligned with the BABOK®v3.0 Guide.

Business Analysis Knowledge

• Business Analysis & the BA Professional - 2.5%
• Underlying Competencies - 5%
• Business Analysis Key Concepts - 5%
• Techniques - 17.5%

Knowledge Area

• Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring - 5%
• Elicitation and Collaboration - 20%
• Requirements Life Cycle Management - 20%
• Requirements Analysis and Design Definition - 25%

ECBA Exam Pattern:

• 1-hour remote online proctored exam.
• 50 multiple choice 
• In order to clear the ECBA certification exam, IIBA checks for success in each knowledge area and overall success.
• It is knowledge-based and aligned with v3.0 of the BABOK® Guide.

ECBA Certification cost is as below:

For IIBA Members

• Region 1  - $334 USD
• Region 2 - $284 USD 
• Region 3 - $250 USD

For Non IIBA Members - $305 USD

ECBA Certification exam cost comprises of the below part:

• IIBA Membership fees as per the country of residence
  • Region 1 - $139 USD
  • Region 2 - $89 USD
  • Region 3 - $55 USD

• ECBA application cost - $45 USD
• ECBA exam fees - $150 USD for IIBA members and $305 for non IIBA member

The ECBA certification is provided by the IIBA.

You will get 21 IIBA PD hours/21 IIBA PDUs and 21 IIBA CDU credits upon completion of the course. 21 IIBA PD hours/21 IIBA PDUs can be claimed by participants who wish to write the ECBA Certification exam, as it is one of the eligibility criterions stated by IIBA to appear for the exam. 21 IIBA CDUs can be claimed by participants who are already certified by IIBA® (either CBAP or CCBA) and need to accumulate 60 CDUs every 3 years to renew their certification.

We recommend 60-80 hours of preparation effort after attending the ECBA training session. Follow the below steps to become an ECBA certified professional:

• Prepare ECBA preparation plan
• Prepare a schedule and stick to the schedule (Grab your FREE copy of the week wise ECBA exam preparation plan from Adaptive's Learning Portal - Thinkific > Exam Prep Help section & learn how to pass the ECBA exam in 8 weeks!)
• Start your preparation with the Adaptive ECBA study guide
• Take up one chapter at a time from the Adaptive US ECBA Study guide and test your understanding with the chapter end knowledge-based questions
• Complete the IIBA application filing with Adaptive US ECBA application simulator that we provide as part of the ECBA training deliverable
• Revise the concepts by reading the Adaptive US ECBA Study guide 2/3 times and BABoK Study guide 2/3 times
• Attempt the 6 Adaptive US ECBA simulations comprising of 50 questions and review incorrect answers. In total, Adaptive provides 1000+ ECBA model questions to test your preparation
• Once you score about 85%+ in the ECBA model questions, you are ready to appear for the ECBA exam
• Book your exam dates 3 or 4 weeks later, preferably on a Monday
• Take the exam and become a proud holder of the ECBA credential

Although IIBA® allows one to take the ECBA exam without any classroom training, it will be really hard to understand BABoK v3.0 without the help of an expert instructor. BABoK V3 is 500+ pages long and quite complex to follow. An expert instructor can help you to understand BABoK v3.0 very quickly. In addition, instructor led sessions give good insight on how to prepare for the exam, clarify doubts, provide practical tips and tricks based on exam experience, provide access to BA tools

ECBA self-study is not recommended for the following reasons:

• You need 21 PD hours for the IIBA application process.
• Questions are knowledge based and requires good understanding of concepts, tasks and techniques, which comes only with the guidance, and mentoring of experienced coaches and study materials.
• Time management can be a challenge for those who are not well versed with the subject and the exam prep tricks and tips from our coaches helps our participants to sail through this challenge.

The ECBA exam candidates will be notified immediately on screen once they submit their computer-based exam. For those who fail the exam, they will be provided with additional information, specifically the Knowledge Areas that require their attention.

You may take the exam up to 3 times within the 1-year application expiry period. There is no wait time between exam sittings. If you take the exam all 3 times and do not pass, you must wait until your application expires before you can reapply.

The ECBA opens doors to a rewarding and successful career in business analysis. It gives greater confidence and fulfillment at work. For those who wish to advance their career in the BA field, this course and the ECBA credential that comes with it is totally worth it in comparison to the investment that has to be made into it. It also gives you an opportunity to become part of an elite group of professionals who are known for their dedication and commitment to the field of business analysis.

Feeling Stuck As a BA?

Read on to move ahead in your BA career.

Yes, you have been a Business Analyst, done and lived the analyst role, been through all this, now it doesn't seem so interesting anymore.

Is this something you have been as a Senior BA and BA Managers been through?

So what next?

Here is a very broad guideline for the career progression of a BA.

Four common career paths BAs can pursue are:

1. Business analysis

2. Product management

3. Project management

4. Consulting

However having said that it depends on the person's interest, domain/technical knowledge, interest to learn new concepts and risk-taking ability which determines largely the career progress.

If you are risk-taking and open to learn new concepts/domain you can change your domain and move to a new field and establish yourself to be a good player in the field. This gives you good exposure and makes your career prospects broader. That makes you a good candidate for a senior executive position.

If you love what you are good at and aim to become an expert in the same without changing gears then you can master your domain including getting into other areas in the same domain. This can include having a good hold on the tools and products prevalent in the domain. This can make you a great specialist and unique in the field, which is invaluable for your career.

You can make yourself a great consultant in a particular field and can think of working with multiple clients to give them a part of your time and expert guidance. In return, this gives you the flexibility and the rich experience of working with multiple clients.

There is no better time than now to start something good.

Go and Kiss the world as per your taste and interest, the world is all yours if you can make it and believe in yourself.