A friend of mine, Matt, recently blogged about accreditation in the web development sphere and that he has seen accreditation used to:
“define what we do, clarifying and differentiation the different roles within web development, and determining measures for what constitutes a good practitioner and a mediocre one. I’ve seen a lot of discussion about accreditation and certification that is purely academic — a search for identity amongst a wide range of other analyst fields. Some of it is political — the fight control for dominance amongst peers in the community’s space. I’ve also seen that a lot of it is about business and making money”.
Matt prompts us to view accreditation as part of a life long learning process rather than just the pursuit of a “piece of paper” stamped with “version3 “. This is an important point. Accreditation must involve the combination of recognising formal teritary studies as well as experience and relevant course work.
I wrote about accreditation recently so I thought I’d follow up with a comparison of the requirements for accreditation for the two groups I mentioned ABAA and IIBA.
The requirements for ABAA Base Competency Accreditation of “Qualified Business Analysis Practitioner” are as follows:
- A tertiary qualification from a recognised institution comprising at least four units of Business subjects, and one year of experience in undertaking business analysis tasks, as demonstrated by the candidate’s resume and supporting references or referees; OR
- Three years’ continuous experience in undertaking business analysis tasks as demonstrated by the candidate’s resume and supporting references or referees.
- Evidence submitted in support of the assessment request shall comprise the following credentials:
- A certified copy of the tertiary qualification claimed accompanied by an academic transcript, where assessment is sought through recognition of academic qualifications; and
- A detailed resume of the applicant including referee contact details for all roles claimed in support of the candidate’s business analysis experience; and
- Written references from at least two people with whom the applicant has worked (preferably supervisors) identifying their relationship with the candidate and vouching for the experience and tasks completed, as claimed in the candidate’s resume.
The IIBA – Certified Business Analysis Professional requirements for accreditation include:
- Five years (7,500 hours) business analysis work in the last ten years engaged in tasks specifically related to the knowledge areas as defined within the BABOKTM (Business Analyst Body of Knowledge).
- Demonstrate experience and expertise in at least four of the six knowledge areas in the BABOKTM.
- Minimum high school education.
- 21 hours of professional development in the last four years directly related to business analysis or the underlying fundamentals.
- Two references.
- Sit and pass the CBAP exam.
The IIBA requirements may be seen are far more stringent (due to the formal examination process and knowledge structure provided through defined areas in the BABOKTM) and may therefore be held in higher regard. The ABAA as an organisation is relatively new but is growing and is still worth considering as it may provide the local contact and regular forums to share ideas and build the profession.
Hi Maria,
as an IA and a consultant this accreditation stuff can seem like a bit of a pointless exercise sometimes. I’m disqualified for some jobs by virtue of the fact that I did not finish my degree, but I do not think that it ever cost me anything in the way of billing rate - this is based on what I can do rather than anything outside of myself. That said, I believe the degree (or any other form of external accreditation) can help to establish initial credibility, in the same way that the black suit and shiny shoes do.
Do you think that BAs should feel poorer for not being an ABAA or IIBA member? Does any form of accreditation intrinsically make them better at their tasks? Is there some special quality that is conveyed with the piece of paper? Or is it a prop that some need and others do not?
Cheers, Andrew
Adrian, you make a really good point. Yes, experience is very valuable and a piece of paper cannot intrinisically make someone better at a task.
It comes down to argumnet of “Books smarts” vs “street smarts” and I think you will find that the accreditation process does try to recognise both forms of learning in its process. Accreditation is not the end point, its just part of a learning journey and does not replace the experience gained along the way.
Maria
The distinction you’ve made here between ABAA and IIBA is a very interesting one. It suggests that ABBA say there’s a base-line requirements you should need before calling yourself a BA, whereas IIBA say do that, plus know our methodology, and pass our exam before you can call yourself a BA.
I this says much to me about the intent driving each.
M