ECBA Exam FAQ

Let us now look at the most frequently asked ECBA FAQ

Why do we have three levels in the ECBA Core BA Certification program?

The three levels of the certification program identify the globally-recognized levels of maturity of the BA profession.

This core BA certification progression will encourage BA professionals to grow and develop in their profession and be recognized for growth and development from the start of their career through to retirement.

What is the significance of IIBA certification programs being competency-based?

Individuals’ skills will improve and develop as they proceed through their careers. The individual will have acquired or achieved a new degree of proficiency that may be recognized at each important milestone, allowing for a clear distinction between certification levels. BA professionals’ certification level motivates them to pursue advancement through particular learning and development to help them reach the desired level. IIBA certification programs will examine and measure an individual’s abilities at each level, ensuring that the BA professional and company are aware of the expectations at each level.

What is the difference between a Professional Certification and a Certificate?

Professional certification is a distinction given to someone who has proved a certain degree of knowledge, experience, and expertise in their industry. Level 2 – CCBA®, and Level 3 – CBAP® are regarded as professional certifications since they each need a specific amount of work experience to be qualified, and the exam assesses their application of the abilities necessary at each level. Because it does not need work experience and simply requires professional development hours, Level 1 – ECBATM is a certificate.

Do I need to be a member of IIBA to apply for certification or to recertify?

No, you don’t have to be a member of the IIBA to apply for certification.

Core BA Certification Program (ECBA) – Application Process

For my professional development classes, I do not have contact information such as a contact name, phone number, or email address. What is the best way for me to enter this information into my application?

In the event that your application is audited by IIBA, you must provide the contact information of someone who can verify that you took a course. If the course is online, you may have registered through your company’s HR department, in which case you may enter the HR person’s contact information instead.

How long will it take for me to find out if I’m approved to take the exam once I submit my application?

Applications are evaluated right away after they are submitted. You won’t be able to submit an application unless you meet all of the qualifying criteria. You will be able to submit your application after your online application confirms that all requirements have been satisfied. Moreover, you will receive an email indicating that you have been authorised OR that you have been approved awaiting audit. If you are authorized, you will receive an e-mail with details on how to pay the exam money and schedule the exam.

What if I am selected for an audit?

Random application audits are performed for all levels of the core business analysis certification program. Audits include validating the work experience, professional development and references submitted in your application.
If your application notice is “approved pending audit”, this means your application will be audited within one month.
Applicants and certification recipients may receive a request on behalf of the IIBA Certification Body to validate any information on their application form and/or recertification application. It is the applicant’s or recipient’s responsibility to obtain and provide verification of any statements made within an application form and/or recertification application.
If your audit is not passed, the reason will be communicated to you via email and your application will not be approved. All fees paid will be forfeited. You may reapply only after you have remedied the reasons for the audit not passing. You may also appeal the Certification Body’s decision to fail the audit of the application by e-mailing [email protected].

What is an extenuating circumstance?

An extenuating circumstance is an event or hardship that would lead you to request an application extension, to reschedule or cancel an exam at no extra charge, or to request an extension to your recertification cycle. More details here.

Since my current application has expired and I have not yet taken the exam, am I able to transfer my paid exam fee to another application?

Unfortunately, you will not be able to transfer your paid exam or exam rewriting money to your next application. As a result, you have 12 months to request a refund from the day IIBA received your exam money. You will lose your exam or exam rewriting money if you do not pay within that time frame. Please send an email to [email protected] to seek a refund of your exam or exam rewriting cost. Please explain why you’re requesting a refund.

How can I include work experience in the application that involves sensitive or company proprietary information?

Indicate that the project contains confidential corporate information in the project description area, and then offer only as much information as feasible without invading privacy.

If I have my ECBA™ and would like to pursue the CCBA® designation similarly, if I have the CCBA® designation and would like to pursue the CBAP® designation, can I reuse previously entered work experience and/or professional development hours?

You will be able to reuse the work experience and professional development from your past certification application provided they meet the eligibility requirements for the next level.

Eligibility Requirements

Are Professional Development hours (or Contact Hours in the application), the same as Professional Development Units (PDUs)?

Professional Development Units (PDUs) are not used or referred to by the IIBA; instead, we use the term Professional Development hours (or PD hours). In the Contact Hours box of the online application, you input your professional development hours. Please keep in mind: 1 Contact Hour Equals 1 hour of Professional Development.

Will IIBA verify professional development or work experience?

Applicants and grantees may be audited at random to verify job experience, professional development, and other information supplied when applying and/or recertifying.

For ECBA, what qualifies towards the Professional Development requirement?

ECBA professional development can consist of any of the following activities:

Classroom and online courses (e.g. EEP endorsed courses )
Webinars – live or recorded (e.g. IIBA Webinars)
Conference track sessions, tutorials, keynotes & workshops
Chapter events (i.e. presentations, study groups, workshops, conference days)
Self -directed learning (i.e. reading/reviewing the BABOK® Guide v3.0)

Important Note: The content of these professional development activities must be aligned with the BABOK® Guide v3.0.

Do online courses hold as much weight as classroom courses to meet the professional development requirement?

For the Professional Development (PD) requirement, online courses carry the same weight as classroom courses. All courses, whether in a classroom or online, must match the handbook’s professional development standards for the certification level, and you must be prepared to give proof of completion in the event that your application is randomly audited.

How many references do I need, and what conditions do they need to meet?

You must provide two references: a career manager, a client (internal or external), or a CBAP® recipient, in order to complete the application. If your application is chosen for a random audit, IIBA will merely seek for endorsement from your references. If your application is chosen for a random audit, it is the applicant’s obligation to follow up with the references and ensure that they respond to IIBA in a timely manner.

These references must meet the following conditions:

At least one of the references must be a current contact.
All references must have known the applicant for at least six months.
A career manager is defined by IIBA as the person who is responsible for providing and preparing the applicant’s annual performance review.
Project managers cannot be references unless they are also the applicant’s career manager. The reference form must clearly indicate they fill both roles or the reference will not qualify.

General – Fees

What methods are available to pay the application and/or exam fee for certification?

The available payment methods are as follows:

By PayPal or credit card (Mastercard, Visa, Amex) via the shopping cart on our website
By mailing in a cheque or international money order. Please include a copy of your invoice and mail it in with your payment.

How do I request a refund of my exam or exam rewrite fee?

You have 12 months from the day IIBA received your exam payment to request a refund. After such time, your exam or exam rewrite fee payment will become non-refundable and you will forfeit the payment. To request a refund of your exam or exam rewrite fee, please e-mail [email protected].
Any fees required to cancel your exam still apply. In some situations, the Exam Cancellation/Reschedule/Missed or Late policy may supersede this policy.
To request a refund of your exam or exam rewrite fee payment, you must first cancel your scheduled exam with PSI, and then e-mail your refund request to the Certification team at [email protected]. Please include a reason for your refund request.
Please note: The application fee for our core BA certifications is non-refundable.

Exam

How much time is needed to prepare for the exams and how does one best prepare for the exams?

It really depends on the individual. The following, however, are some exam preparation tips:

Study the BABOK® Guide for the Core BA certifications or the Agile Extension for the Agile Analysis Certification (and their referenced sources).
Reviews sample exam questions.
Review the Core BA certifications’ competencies or ebook guide for the Agile Analysis Certification.
Attend training courses by IIBA Endorsed Education Providers (EEP™) in those areas you feel that additional knowledge would help benefit your study efforts.
Use online resources.
Using practice exams online as this simulates the environment in which you’ll be tested.
Use Study Prep books, which are widely available.
Discuss chapters with study partners when studying. Use plenty of examples to provide context where needed.
Attend events hosted and/or study groups held by an IIBA Chapter in your area. This may not always be possible, but they may be very helpful with study preparation. Study groups can help with your understanding by leveraging other’s experience to provide context.
For IIBA®-AAC, IIBA®-CBDA, CCBA and CBAP: Rely on your work experience if applicable to get you through it. Don’t simply memorize definitions, content, or the BABOK® Guide. You need to partner the BABOK® Guide or Agile Extension with your experience to be successful.

We are currently reviewing providers to provide training support for our staff seeking certification. Would you have any suggestions on such training providers?

IIBA is a not a training provider although we do provide the certification exams. We have Endorsed Education Providers (EEPs™) which are training providers whose courses have been assessed and validated by IIBA to ensure they meet the professional development criteria for certification. Visit the our Education and Training page to find an endorsed provider and/or course that meets your needs. IIBA does not provide EEP and/or endorsed course recommendations

Where can I find information on scheduling the remote online proctored exam (i.e. ECBA™ , Agile Analysis)?

Please review our Exam Preparation section.

This includes information on verifying system compatibility, exam registration, identification verification procedures, exam rules, cancellation/rescheduling policy and much more.

How do I sign up for an exam?

You start by paying the exam fee in order to be eligible to schedule the exam. Immediately upon paying the exam fee online, you will receive an email confirming payment with instructions and a link to schedule your exam.
The single sign on link provided will direct you to PSI, where at that point you can proceed to schedule your exam.
For the ECBA™, CCBA®, CBAP® exams you need to pay the application fee first, once the application fee is approved you then proceed to paying the exam fee.

How and when are exams offered?

The ECBA™, CCBA®, CBAP®, IIBA®-AAC and IIBA®-CBDA exams are offered via remote online proctoring through PSI so you take it from your own computer.
The CCBA®, CBAP® exams will also be available at PSI test centres. This option is available through the PSI website, both options are made available when scheduling these exams.

How do I request for a special accommodation for the exam?

Please review our policy within our Exam Preparation website.

How do I reschedule my exam?

Please review our exam cancellation and rescheduling policy within our Exam Preparation website.

How can I schedule my rewrite of an exam?

You must wait for IIBA to receive your exam result from the testing provider and upload it to your IIBA profile before you can pay and schedule your rewrite exam. This may take up to 24 hours from your exam day. As soon as your score is uploaded into your IIBA profile account, you will receive an e-mail from IIBA instructing you on your next steps to pay the exam rewrite fee and to schedule your rewrite of the exam. To schedule your rewrite, you are required to pay the rewrite fee to IIBA first.

I passed my exam. When will my profile be updated?

From your exam date, it can take up to 1 business day for IIBA to process your result from the testing provider. Once this is done, you will receive a confirmation e-mail from IIBA.

Once I am registered to take an exam from a test center, how do I find out about the exam logistics, including location, room, directions, time, etc.?

After scheduling your exam at a test center, you will receive a confirmation notice via email with the exam logistics almost immediately. In addition, you will receive an appointment reminder via email two days prior to the exam date.

I can’t schedule my exam because I am getting an error message, what do I do?

If you experience an error while trying to schedule your exam, please contact [email protected].

Within my exam confirmation e-mail from the testing administrator, my address is incorrect. Will this affect admission into my exam?

No, it will not affect your admission into the exam.

When will I receive my exam results?

You will see your exam results immediately after you submit your exam. Confirmation of your exam result will also be emailed to you by IIBA within 2 business days.

What happens if I miss the exam or arrive late to the exam?

If you miss the exam date without cancelling or rescheduling in advance and paying the necessary fee, you will be considered a no-show and will have to forfeit the exam fee or rewrite fee you already paid, unless there is an extenuating circumstance.

Please review our exam cancellation/reschedule/missed or late policy within our Exam Preparation website.

Does IIBA provide translators?

No, IIBA does not accommodate for translators. For any given language that an IIBA exam is delivered, the expectation is that the candidate is fluent in that language.

Recertification

What happens if I am off work due to illness, parental leave, etc. during my recertification period?

These would be considered as extenuating circumstances warranting an extension to recertify, and therefore would be treated as such. Find out more about other applicable extenuating circumstances and the process for requesting an extension.