
There has been a lot of discussion lately about the impact of the Project Management Institute (PMI)® new Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)℠ certification on the business analysis profession and what it means to be CBAP and Certification of Competency in Business Analysis™ (CCBA®) offered by the International Institute of Business Analysis™ (IIBA®).
PMI entering the business analysis space is a good thing for business analysts. In this article, you’ll learn about a few of the differences between the PMI and IIBA® certifications, why the PMI-PBA℠ is good for business analysis, and then I’ll offer up some criteria you might use to choose the right certification as part of your near-term Professional development goal
First, let’s take a look at what the PMI-PBA is.
The PMI-PBA is explicitly for business analysts who work on projects and programs, as well as project and program managers who perform business analysis as part of their role. According to PMI, the certification spotlights your ability to work effectively with stakeholders related to project or business requirements, and ensure projects drive successful business outcomes.
To obtain a PMI-PBA, first you complete an application that verifies you meet the following requirements:
- Minimum of 3 years (4,500 hours) of business analysis experience within the past 8 consecutive years if you have a bachelor’s degree. (Or 5 years/7500 hours of experience if you do not.) (For comparison, the CBAP® requires 7,500 hours of experience and the CCBA® 3,750.)
- 2,000 hours working on project teams within the past eight consecutive years.
- 35 business analysis education (contact hours).
- Needs Assessment (18%)
- Planning (22%)
- Analysis (35%)
- Traceability and Monitoring (15%)
- Evaluation (10%)
Source: PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA)℠: Examination Content Outline
As of this writing (January 2015) the Handbook which will detail the above knowledge areas and tasks has not yet been published. Anyone preparing for the exam must work solely from the Examination Content Outline which explains each of the tasks and provides a healthy list of relevant techniques. One insight to take away is the the PMI-PBA is much smaller than scope than the CBAP® and even the CCBA®. The Examination Content Outline appears to be written around what the business analyst role looks like when the business analyst is working under the wing of a project manager on a discrete project. The IIBA® view of the business analyst role is much larger than this.
- The Needs Assessment in the PMI-PBA outline is much more limited in scope than the Enterprise Analysis Knowledge area of A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge® (BABOK® Guide), which includes many additional tasks to proactively determine the business needs, current capabilities, and define the business case, rather than to merely review and refine the existing business case or meet with stakeholders to understand their needs.
- In the PMI-PBA outline, Elicitation is wrapped up inside the Analysis knowledge area, rather than being a discrete Knowledge Area that applies to a wide-variety of different business analysis activities.
- The Planning task as defined by the PMI-PBA outline is confined to the Requirements Management space, rather than the broader view offered by the BABOK® Guide in the Business Analysis Planning & Monitoring Knowledge area. The IIBA® BABOK® Guide gives business analysts a role in identifying the best possible techniques, activities, and approach to the entire business analysis effort.

- If you are in a project-focused business analyst role right now, and happy to stay there, and your organization is engaged with PMI, the PMI-PBA could be a really good option to gain more internal credibility.
- If you are in a project-focused business analyst role, but discontent and want a bigger seat at the table (or a seat at all), look to the CBAP®. As a by-product of the certification process, you’ll expand your view of your own capabilities and discover ways to add even more value to your organization.
- If your organization already supports the CBAP /CCBA route or your certification process is underway, stay the course. You can always pick up the PMI-PBA later should it prove beneficial.
- If you are targeting project-focused business analyst roles, either the PMI-PBA or IIBA® CBAP® or CCBA® could help set you slightly ahead of the pack when it comes to your business analysis job search It’s too soon to tell if the PMI-PBA is going to significantly outstrip the CBAP® or CCBA® from the perspective of employers hiring business analysts.
- If you are happy where you are in your career or dislike certifications, then do what you would have done anyway and ignore them all!
Leave a Reply