Be Positive | Friday, 5 October 2012 |
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Business Analysis Certification:
To be or not to be certified;
that is the question.
At our inaugural IIBA
Scotland meeting held on 16 February 2012, ‘Business Analysis Certification’
was the most popular topic raised by Business Analysts, Business Analyst
Practice Managers, Change Mangers, etc.
So, on September 20, 2012,
the Who‘s Who of Scottish Business Analysis community congregated in a lovely
and warm conference room of Lloyds Banking Group office in Edinburgh to elicit,
analyse and evaluate - ‘Business Analysis: Skills & Certification’. At the
beginning of the event there was around 20-30 minutes for networking. We had number
of Business Analysts attending the events along with Business Analysis Practice
Mangers and IT/Business Analysis Recruiters.
At 6:30PM, Vicky kicked off the session by introducing herself and handing self-introduction process to panellists. In our panel, we had training provider, someone questioning the value of certification and the other two panellists had neutral views. I must say the panel selection was very well thought out and really fit our purpose. This was followed by panellists and attendees’ expectations from the event. In particular, ‘value for money’ spending on training and certification was the heart of what Business Analysts practice.
Debra Paul then started with her short presentation on ‘Business Analysis: Skills & Certification‘.Personally, I found Bloom’s taxonomy quite insightful. Debra explained how the learning skills and validating learned skills are mapped with Bloom’s level of assessment. For more details you could check Wikipedia for Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Debra along with other panellists stressed on Business Analyst’s personal traits and skills along with Business Analysis professional skills such as Business Domain knowledge, Business Process Modelling, Organisational Context, etc. She highlighted that personal skills such as communication, interpersonal, influencing, negotiating, engaging, strategic thinking, etc are critical for Business Analysts to succeed and add value to Organisations.
Debra, briefly, touched upon different kinds of Business Analysis Certification
available across the world today. Where do IIBA and BCS BA Certification
differ? How do they differ in evaluation process? What are common features
between IIBA and BCS? What is BCS doing in order to enter into international
market?
After Debra’s short presentation, Vicky started the panel discussion. Since our panellists came from different but complimentary backgrounds associated with Business Analysis, the whole panel discussion covered all-round aspects of BA Certification, Training and Skills. In fact, we had Business Analysis Training and Certification provider stressing the need for a Business Analysis training/certification and how it adds value to Employer and Business Analysts.
We had Business Analysis Practice Manager and some in audience questioning the value Business Analysis Certification brings to table. Is it really worth the money spent? Finally, we have IT/Business Analyst recruiters who are suggesting Certification do add weightage to Business Analysts profile, but, Business Analysts really need to communicate their experience and evidence. Finally, experienced Business Analysts suggest that certification would be very useful for Career Development and it also shows your commitment to Business Analysis.
In the end, it was quite an eventful night, with lots of agreeable
disagreement. Despite the disagreement on whether Business Analyst
certification adds value to Business Analyst and Employer, which certification
(IIBA or ISEB or lesser known IREB, CIMA) is the best Certification and why? The
panel seemed to agree that certification is not the deciding factor whether to
employ or consider for employment, but, certification could be help new BA or jr.
BA in starting their Business Analysis odyssey.
In terms of getting the maximum value of Business Analysis training, the panel preferred hybrid (face to face / class room and online) was a good approach. Since personal skills are an integral part of BA skill sets, face to face training would provide a safe environment for a BA to practice what is being taught.
Last but not the least, recruiters (indeed, employers) are looking for BAs with excellent communication skills, ability to influence and negotiate, to manage stakeholders and conflicts, industry knowledge and above all the ability to demonstrate the experience of Business Analysis.
Why? (The objectives of the event)
In terms of getting the maximum value of Business Analysis training, the panel preferred hybrid (face to face / class room and online) was a good approach. Since personal skills are an integral part of BA skill sets, face to face training would provide a safe environment for a BA to practice what is being taught.
Last but not the least, recruiters (indeed, employers) are looking for BAs with excellent communication skills, ability to influence and negotiate, to manage stakeholders and conflicts, industry knowledge and above all the ability to demonstrate the experience of Business Analysis.
Why? (The objectives of the event)
To help you (Business
Analyst) in making the right decision on Business Analysis Certification – ‘To
be or not to be Certified’ by sharing and analysing with you the different
views and opinions from the different key stakeholders’ perspective.
The Panel – Who’s Who?
The Panel – Who’s Who?
Vicky Di Ciacca – Co-founder and co-director, Be Positive Analysis Solutions Ltd
Debra Paul - Managing Director, Assist Knowledge Development
Kate
McClorey - Director, Hudson, IT Division
Susan Quinn - BA Practice Manager, Lloyds
Banking Group
Hillary
Stocks - Senior Analyst, AEGON UK plc
