What was the PMI-PBA Test

Really Like?
By Rob Snowden, CBAP, CSM,
PMI-PBA
I took it and passed it
 OMG
• Will the PMI-PBA devalue my CBAP?
• Will I now have to make a career-defining
decision on which certification to get?
• Will employers who are now requesting or
requiring a CBAP also request or require a PMI-
PBA, or will they request a PMI-PBA instead of a
CBAP?
• Why does the business analysis arena need two
certifications?
 Why Are They Doing This?
• This is not a new area for PMI. Defining requirements is
a longstanding area of focus at PMI
• PMI’s Pulse of the Profession illustrated for us that when
projects fail, inaccurate requirements gathering is often
the primary reason (32% of the time)
• Poor requirements management practices are the
second leading cause of project failure
• Requirements have always been a component of project
management
• In short: the business analysis arena is so large in scope
that multiple certifications may certainly be called for
 Benefits of Any Certification
• Demonstrate (not prove) a prescribed level of knowledge
and/or skill
• Separate the ‘amateurs,’ from ‘professionals’
• Demonstrate certain amounts of dedication
• Provide motivation to many to burn the midnight oil and
learning how to play the role better
• PMI’s Global Product Manager for the PBA, Ms. Simona
Fallavollita states, “the PMI-PBA recognizes and validates
the critical role that business analysis plays in programs
and projects.”
How Do They Mesh Together?
• The IIBA appears to be moving away from project
oriented business analysis and more toward a strategic
role
• PMI is more project-specific
• Kevin Brennan, Chief Business Analyst (CBA) and
Executive Vice President of the IIBA responds: “Is
business analysis equal to requirements management
and change control? No. Those are things that a
business analyst has to do but aren't the center of our
profession, although they appear to be very heavily
emphasized by the content of the PMI-PBA.”
How Do They Mesh Together?
• “The core purpose of business analysis is to identify and
define changes to an enterprise that deliver value to its
stakeholders.”
• “Business analysts should be focused on business
success, not project success. Project success is the
consequence of effective business analysis, not its
purpose.”
 PBA vs CBAP Process?
• This presentation will focus on the PBA
but include some comparisons to the
CBAP process.
The
1. Download the PMI-PBA Handbook
overall 2. Understand how to count project
PMI-PBA hours
3. Submit the application and $555 if
process:
non-member, $405 if member
4. Receive approval
5. Select the date and time you take
the test
6. If you fail, it is $375 non-member,
$275 member to retake it.
 PMI’s Definition of a BA
The PMI-PBA Role Delineation states that
candidates for the PMI-PBA credential:

• Perform their duties under general supervision

and are responsible for working with
stakeholders to define an organization’s
business requirements in order to shape the
output of projects and ensure they deliver the
expected business benefit.
.
• Spearhead the discovery, analysis and overall
management of the requirements for a project.

• Demonstrate sufficient knowledge and

experience to appropriately apply business
analysis tools and techniques to enable project
success.
Eligibility
 The Application
“You need a minimum of 2,000 hours of unique, non-overlapping experience accrued
within the last eight years. This means that each month you worked on multiple,
overlapping projects (projects that ran simultaneously) counts as one month toward the
total requirement.”
For each project, you enter the start and stop months, organizational details,
contacts (for audit purposes) and be very careful about overlapping projects.

The details for each project are pretty minimal.

 The Application
“Use the General Project Experience Worksheet in the application to record your
general project experience. This can include your business analysis experience, as long
as it was within the context of a project. Record each project you worked on
individually”
So, for the project below, this was the portion of the project that was pure PM work.

The details for each project are pretty minimal.

 The Application
But for the same project, I included the work that was pure BA in the separate
section for BA work.

These two activities wouldn’t count as BA work for the CBAP – “Coordinated
testing” might, maybe, squeak by but who knows?
 The Application
• In general, PMI-PBA application was easier/faster than the IIBA CBAP
application
• CBAP had check blocks for each Knowledge Area that was
peppered with things a BA should not actually be doing (See
“Tasks to Avoid on Application”)
• CBAP required at least 900 hours in 4 of the 6 Knowledge Areas
(See Excel spreadsheet) The PMI did not have that differentiation
concern.
• The PMI-PBA Handbook was very helpful in completing the application
• The approval of my application was very fast
• PMI staff was very helpful with my questions when I called
CBAP Calculations Template
 Preparing for the Test

• There is no equivalent of the BA Body of

Knowledge to study as prep for the CBAP
• When I took the test (July 25, 2014), there were
no prep courses or practice exams
• All that was available were the 11 textbooks from
which the test was derived
BA Work?
 Preparing for the Test
CBAP (Fall 2011)
• Read, re-read the BABOK - underline
• Memorize the glossary
• Take prep course or obtain prep
materials
• Use flashcards to test yourself
• Learn test taking strategies
(eliminating wrong answers, focus on
what they are asking, etc.)
• Take practice tests over and over
• Understand why you are missing
questions – make a list
• Stop connecting the test questions to
anything you’ve done on real projects
• Drink lots of coffee
• Try not to bite fingernails or acquire
other habits reflecting how stressed
you are about taking the test.
PMI-PBA (Summer 2014)
• Order the 11 textbooks
• Stare at the stack and experience
buyer’s remorse
• Realize there is no way you can
possibly remember what’s in those
books
• Review test taking strategies
• Become very relaxed about the test –
so what if you fail? It’s only $555!
And then you’ll know the kind of things
on it.
• Get a good night’s sleep.
• Be prepared to be treated like a
fugitive when you get to the testing
center.
 The Testing Center - Prometric
• Prometric provides testing for many disciplines
• Expect a waiting room of anxious test takers
• You are given a locker and all you can take into the testing
area is your driver’s license and locker key (and clothes you
are wearing)
• They use a wand over your entire body
• You need to turn your pockets out, pull up your pants to
verify no notes are stuck in your socks, roll up your sleeves
• You are given 4 pieces of vinyl “paper” and a pencil to write
what you want (you must turn it in at the end of the test)
• Once you finish the tutorial, the clock starts and you watch it
count down and track at which question you are at out of
200 (175 of which are scored)
• You have 4 hours to take the test
• You can take a break, but the clock runs, rescanned
• A camera above you is always on
 Taking The CBAP (150 Questions)
• At least most of it is based on the
BABOK
• If you have memorized the
glossary, and are very familiar with
the various terms and knowledge
areas, many questions are easy
• Flag the ones you are not sure of or
you are spending more than a
minute on to review at the end
• Through test taking strategies,
eliminate definitely wrong answers
– a made up term, something a BA
would never do (per the BABOK)
 Taking The CBAP (150 Questions)
• Be careful about what is being asked
– which is what you SHOULDN’T DO,
WHICH IS THE LEAST LIKELY. . .,
WHICH IS THE BEST ACTION TO
TAKE NEXT, etc.
• Never relate any question to a project
you worked on, there were more
factors involved than what is posed in
the question
• There are questions I had no idea
what the right answer was – so after
eliminating wrong answers, guess,
leaving it blank is always wrong.
 Taking The PMI-PBA (200 Questions)
• Since it is based on those 11
textbooks, you have no anchor to
eliminate things that aren’t in the
BABOK or eliminate answers that
have a BA doing testing, or design
work, for example.
• About10-15 questions of the 200 were
regarding testing situations. What
should BA do when this happens, that
happens, test passes acceptance
criteria but user says it doesn’t meet
business need.
• Probably 10 or so questions about
baselined situations – what to do if
you’re on the verge of getting signoff
and this happens, or just after signoff.
 Taking The PMI-PBA (200 Questions)
• Seemed to be 10 or so questions
that had something related to the
value of a requirements matrix.
More than that many questions
had requirements matrix as one of
the possible answers.
• Not many questions, it seemed, on
actual requirements writing.
• There were a couple of questions
about “which of these is a
functional requirement” – but the 4
choices were terribly written – can,
may, etc.
 Taking The PMI-PBA (200 Questions)
• When trying to eliminate wrong
answers, because of the
mishmash of terminology that isn’t
consistent with BABOK terms, you
couldn’t eliminate something
because of some term because
just maybe it’s actually in one of
those books – or is it a bogus
term? Who knows?
• Some questions had the BA doing
something they don’t do, like “The
BA has completed the design
document . . .. then this happens.
What should you do? Really?
Become a developer?
 Taking The PMI-PBA (200 Questions)
• Likert technique was the only
likely answer, so I thought, on
one question after eliminating
the other choices and I had no
idea what that was until I
looked it up back at home
• Some questions, maybe 20
were very simple and someone
who can’t spell BA could have
gotten, and I’d read it over 4
times to make sure I wasn’t
missing something. Then
others, no matter how many
times I read them, it just was
hard to comprehend what they
were getting at.
 Taking The PMI-PBA (200 Questions)
• Some questions had that “What’s the first thing a BA should do
when this happens” and I don’t know if there’s a list somewhere in
the universe that has an answer to some of those. So you pick
which one sounds right.
• Some of the possible, or seemingly most likely answers (i.e. what is
the best course of action), only work if you have super human
powers like “Suggest to the CEO to change the implementation date
based on new regulatory requirements.”
• A chunk of questions that were very much more the PM doing
something or what should the Architect or Engineer do in this
situation? Don’t ask me, I’m a BA.
• Occasional obscure terms popped up. PEST was one possible
answer whatever that is. Maybe I need to expand my knowledge of
things I’ve never used on a regular basis.
• It seems sometimes that the test was aimed at somebody who
dabbles a little bit here and there as a true BA, but is more of a PM
who does some testing too.
 General Observations

• I took the PMI-PBA during the pilot

period
• PMI has not released how many
people took it, or how many passed
• 6 ASPE BA Instructors took the test
and all passed
– Were they more lenient in the pilot period?
All who took it were either CBAPs or PMPs
• There are over 4500 CBAPs but this
took years for this to happen. As of
December, 2011, when I took the test,
there were 1500
 General Observations
• Now, there are various prep
courses and practice tests
available.
• ASPE’s course was the result of 3
instructors who passed the test
participating in the development of
the course and practice questions.
• Which was easier to prepare for?
Well, I didn’t prepare for the PBA
but definitely would have taken the
ASPE course if it had been
available.
• Which was easier to pass? Both
seemed about the same except I
couldn’t base my answers on what
the CBAP says for the PBA – I felt
more awash in an ocean of IT work
vs. a pool of BA work.
 Best of Luck!
• Thanks for your interest in this
topic
• Feel free to contact me if you
have any questions

• Rob Snowden, CBAP, PMI-PBA

• rob.snowden@mindspring.com