IIBA-CBDA study guide
IIBA-CBDA · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Certification in Business Data Analytics (CBDA) is one of IIBA's specialized credentials, listed on iiba.org alongside the Agile Analysis Certification (AAC), Certificate in Cybersecurity Analysis (CCA) and Certificate in Product Ownership Analysis (CPOA). It sits in the specialized tier of a credential family that runs from the entry-level ECBA through CCBA to CBAP, so it is aimed at people who already do business analysis work and want to be recognized for the analytics side of it specifically: framing the research question, sourcing data, analyzing it, interpreting and reporting results, and using those results to guide business decisions. The IIBA-CBDA study guide has 5 sections and about 1,527 words.
01Identify the Research Questions
This domain tests whether you can convert a stakeholder's concern into a question that data can actually answer. Know the sequence: elicit the business need, state the problem in measurable terms, identify the decision the analysis will inform, then write research questions and, where appropriate, testable hypotheses.
308 words, about 2 min02Source Data
Once the question is set, you identify sources and judge fitness for purpose. Know the vocabulary: primary vs secondary data, internal vs external, structured vs unstructured, and the acquisition route (extract, API, survey, purchase).
310 words, about 2 min03Analyze Data
This domain covers exploratory analysis and the inferential and predictive techniques a business analyst must be able to interpret, even when a data scientist runs them. Know descriptive statistics (central tendency, spread, distribution shape), segmentation, correlation, hypothesis testing (null and alternative, p-value, confidence interval, Type I/II error), effect size, and the predictive family - regression, classification, clustering - plus validation through train/test splits and cross-validation.
283 words, about 1 min04Interpret and Report Results
Interpretation is where analysis becomes meaning. An observation is what the data shows; an insight explains why it matters and what should change.
312 words, about 2 min05Use Results to Guide Business Decisions
The final domain asks how findings change what the organization does. Know the elements of a defensible recommendation: the decision to be made, the options considered (including doing nothing), the evidence for each, cost-benefit and feasibility, risks and mitigations, and the success measure with a review date.
314 words, about 2 min