BABOK v3 - Got my copy!!

I'm very excited about this, as it happens; for the last three years, I have been getting pressure to become a CBAP (Certified Business Analyst Professional) through the IIBA, and I am more than a little resistant to the idea. Part of the pressure has been due to the fact becoming certified will slot me very firmly in the Senior Business Analyst category, which is good for both me and my consulting company, and the rest of the pressure is due to the fact that a new version of the BABOK was in the works, and "everyone should really get certified before it changes because it will be much more difficult afterwards" blah blah blah.

I get it, change is scary. And I should probably be more focused on the advancement of my career than I actually am.

At any rate, I renewed my IIBA membership yesterday, and downloaded my copy of the BABOK v3.0 today. All I have done is look through the table of contents and skim the "Summary of Changes from BABOK Guide v 2.0" and I am very excited.

Based on what I've read so far, this update has addressed a few key things that were missing (in my opinion) from the previous version, namely:

• How business analysts are involved in the design phase of an initiative
• Requirements Life Cycle Management, as opposed to just Requirements Analysis
• Strategy Analysis instead of Enterprise Analysis

There are a few others, but those are the ones I'm really excited about at first glance. 

In addition to those changes, there are updates to the underlying competencies that a business analyst should have, and some more very useful techniques have been described - for example:

• Backlog Management
• Business Case
• Prioritization
• Process Analysis
• Roles and Permissions Matrix

... I'm telling you, this is VERY exciting stuff!!!

And now you have a better glimpse of my geeky side. In case it was missing before.