Top Agile Business Analyst Certifications
The business analyst role has evolved tremendously with the widespread adoption of agile methodologies like Scrum, Kanban, and SAFe. Organisations now need business analysts who can thrive in an agile environment by collaborating closely with cross-functional teams to deliver frequent increments of valuable software.
If you’re looking to transition into or excel at the crucial agile BA role, getting certified can significantly boost your skills and credibility. In this article, we explore the most valuable agile business analyst certifications that can give you a competitive edge.
Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)
Offered by: Scrum Alliance
The Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) certification is arguably the most recognised and respected agile certification for any role. To earn it, you must attend a 2-day in-person CSM course and learn the principles and applications of Scrum directly from a Scrum Alliance-approved trainer.
The CSM assesses your understanding of Scrum theory, values, practices, and applications. It equips you with a strong foundation on the most widely adopted agile approach used by over 70% of agile organisations.
As a CSM, you will stand out as someone equipped with the knowledge to participate and collaborate effectively in Scrum projects. CSMs are highly sought after and this certification can boost your credibility as a skilled agile practitioner.
Professional Scrum Master (PSM)
Offered by: Scrum.org
Scrum.org offers the Professional Scrum Master (PSM) certification at three progressive levels of assessment and mastery of the Scrum framework – PSM I, PSM II, and PSM III.
The PSM I focuses on evaluating your fundamental understanding of Scrum – its principles, artifacts, events, and rules. To pass the PSM I, you must correctly answer 74% of the questions in a 60 minute, 80 question online assessment.
Earning the entry-level PSM I demonstrates a baseline level of knowledge that can help agile BAs communicate and operate effectively within Scrum teams. The PSM II and III offer opportunities to demonstrate more advanced Scrum mastery.
SAFe® 5 Agilist
Offered by: Scaled Agile Inc
The SAFe® 5 Agilist certification assesses your knowledge around scaling agile, especially in larger enterprises using the Scaled Agile Framework.
To gain this agile business analyst certification, you must attend a 2-day course on implementing agile practices across value streams and organisations. You must then pass a multiple choice exam demonstrating your skills on SAFe principles, organisation, teams, and delivery methods.
As many organisations scale agile, the SAFe Agilist certification can equip you with the knowledge crucial for business analysts to be influential in agile adoption and transformation across departments, value streams, and entities.
Professional Product Owner (PSPO)
Offered by: scrum.org
The Professional Product Owner (PSPO) certification is designed for agile product ownership, with an emphasis on stakeholder management, roadmapping, and maximising value.
To obtain the PSPO, you must pass a 2 hour, 75 question assessment to demonstrate proficiency in product ownership topics like visioning, value optimisation, and effective collaboration with development teams.
This certification can help experienced agile BAs validate their skills in translating business needs and stakeholder feedback into actionable inputs for engineering teams to build valuable solutions.
IC Agile Certified Professional
Offered by: International Consortium for Agile
The ICAgile Certified Professional (ICP) certification evaluates your competency across more than 100 agile practices for different roles including business analysis.
To gain the ICP-BA agile business analysis certification, you must demonstrate proficiency across agile requirements gathering, analysis, solution design, and validation testing through ICAgile’s learning objectives.
The ICP-BA can formally validate your knowledge and abilities in applying agile techniques to elicit requirements, craft user stories, evaluate prototypes, and work closely with teams to deliver working software.
Kanban Management Professional
Offered by: Lean Kanban University
The Kanban Management Professional (KMP) certification focuses on designing and improving Kanban systems to deliver results and handle flow. It covers principles like visualisation, limiting work-in-progress, managing flow, feedback loops, and improvement through evolutionary change.
The entry-level KMP I demonstrates basic proficiency in Kanban for knowledge work. Higher levels like the KMP II help develop advanced skills on enterprise scale Kanban adoption.
For agile BAs on teams using Kanban, the KMP can validate your expertise in building and enhancing Kanban systems to maximise flow and outcomes.
Other Useful Certifications
There are a few other agile business analyst certifications that can be valuable for agile business analysts:
- PMI-ACP (Agile Certified Practitioner) – Offered by PMI, covers a broad range of agile and lean principles across projects, programs, portfolios. Focuses on collaboration, team building, and stakeholder management.
- IREB Certified Professional for Requirements Engineering – From IREB, assesses proficiency in eliciting, analysing and validating requirements in agile contexts using techniques like user stories and backlogs.
- AgileBA Certification – From the Agile Business Consortium, evaluates skills needed to analyse and define needs, capabilities and acceptance criteria in agile environments.
- Business Analysis Agility Modeler (BAAM) – Awarded by Agile Business Analysis Consortium, assesses skills in transitioning from traditional to agile analysis with focus on user needs and collaboration.
- Certification of Competency in Business Analysis (CCBA) – From IIBA, validates understanding of agile business analysis processes, conceptual modeling and design definition.
- Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP) – From IIBA, assesses wider business analysis expertise including agile approaches. Highly respected in the BA field.
The choice depends on your focus – Scrum, lean-agile, requirements, transition to agile etc. I’d recommend checking if any are specifically valued by your employer or preferred in your geographic area/industry. The foundational CSM along with PMI-ACP, IREB, AgileBA or BAAM are great starting points for well-rounded knowledge.
Wrap Up
These leading agile business analyst certifications offer excellent ways for agile business analysts to demonstrate their knowledge, enhance their skills, and advance their agile careers. While certifications are optional, they can provide extensive training, credibility, and opportunities.
I recommend CSM and PSPO as starting points to establish fundamental agile BA expertise. Higher-level certifications like SAFe and KMP help at enterprise scale. PSM, ICP and CBAP can develop more specialised depth over time. Choose options aligned to your team’s chosen frameworks.
With the right certifications on your resume, you can confidently showcase your agile business analysis expertise to succeed in today’s agile-driven business landscape.