EXIN BCS International Diploma in Business Analysis Oral Examination cheat sheet

Business Analysis Oral Examination

• The oral examination is the final assessment stage of the EXIN BCS International Diploma in Business Analysis; candidates must already hold the Diploma-level written/practical components before being admitted.

• The exam is delivered as a structured professional discussion with two examiners, typically lasting 50 minutes: roughly 10 minutes presenting a pre-prepared business analysis case and 40 minutes of questioning.

• Candidates prepare a case summary in advance from their own work or a supplied scenario; the presentation must state context, stakeholders, approach, techniques used, options considered, and outcomes.

• Assessment is against four core modules: Business Analysis Practice, Requirements Engineering, Commercial Awareness, and one Knowledge-Based Specialism (e.g., Business Change, IS Strategy, Process Modelling).

• Examiners probe for evidence of applied judgement, not recall: expect 'why did you choose that technique', 'what alternatives did you reject and why', and 'what would you do differently'.

• The pass standard requires demonstrating competence across all four modules; a weak area in one module cannot normally be offset by strength in another.

• Technique vocabulary that commonly appears in questioning: CATWOE, Rich Pictures, POPIT, SWOT, VMOST, MoSCoW, BAM, Business Event Analysis, and the Requirements Engineering framework.

• Candidates should be ready to justify stakeholder analysis outputs (power/interest grid, RACI) and to explain how requirements were elicited, analysed, validated, and managed through change control.

• Result is typically a pass/fail or pass/refer decision; a refer outcome may permit a re-sit of the oral after further evidence of experience is gathered.