The Business Analyst Blueprint® Certification Program
Frequently Asked Questions

The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program is our most comprehensive program which runs for 5 months and includes the following modules:

  • Business Process Analysis,
  • Use Cases and Wireframes,
  • Data Modeling for Business Analysts, and
  • BA Essentials Master Class.

The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program is an interactive session, it also includes live webinar sessions and Instructor Hours calls to help with project selection and to get your questions answered in real-time.

We are currently registering participants for the Fall 2023 session which starts on July 20, 2023, and runs through December 10, 2023.

Please check out the replay of our Virtual Open House from our Spring 2023 Session – where you can meet your instructors, learn all about the learning model, and the requirements for earning your Applied Certification in Business Analysis™ (ACBA).

Click here to watch the Virtual Open House

Yes, we do! While the majority of our certification program participants fund their own investment, we do have participants whose employer funds their investment – either by investing with us directly or reimbursing their investment.

When you join The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program, start earning your Applied Certification in Business Analysis™ (ACBA), and invest time and energy applying the techniques in the program on the job, your employer will receive immense benefits in terms of your increased effectiveness. Often, projects start to go smoother – and generate an increased ROI. And, at times, expensive outside project consulting fees can even be reduced.

Prepare a case that demonstrates the potential ROI of your employer’s investment in the program that takes into account your organization’s current goals and opportunities. And then share the program handout as backup.

The program handout contains the program syllabus, full schedule, and investment level. Please note that program fees are required before the program start date. If you are looking to secure funding from your employer, be sure to start that process as soon as possible.

Click here to download the program handout

This is ALWAYS the first question people ask. We’re not going to answer it here because it is covered in the program handout and also on the registration page.

And, quite honestly, we want you to appreciate the full value of what’s included in the program, and what that investment can help you achieve, and not make a decision just based on cost alone.

It’s also important to consider this as an investment and think of this as tuition. What will the investment you make now in up-leveling your skills and capabilities mean to your life-long career and salary potential?

  • For me, getting into a BA career created a 40% salary jump.
  • For Amelia McHenry, it meant an additional $20K/year.

When you multiple increases like these over the next several years of your work life, what feels like a big cost can be re-framed as a super-smart investment, even before you start considering less tangible benefits like experiencing more fulfillment and confidence in your work, which often has a spillover effect on your health and relationships.

Here’s a bit of my backstory – When I founded Bridging the Gap back in 2008, I didn’t set out to create a training company and definitely not a certification program. I was actually starting a consulting practice and so I started blogging about what I did as a business analyst.

I kept receiving questions from well-educated, talented professionals on how to get started in business analysis – professionals with MBAs, industry certifications, and even business analysis training from other providers. I realized that because of the importance of on-the-job, real-world experience in success as a business analyst, the traditional way of training in a classroom setting wasn’t working.

So I set out to literally bridge the gap – and create a program that would help professionals build real-world experience, gain career momentum, and step into more true confidence. I launched my first skill-based training course back in 2011 by teaching a short Business Process Analysis course.

Since that time we’ve continued to evolve our offerings and programs to serve mid-career professionals looking to start and succeed in business analysis careers at the best and highest level. We launched the first session of The Business Analyst Blueprint® program in 2017, and the results were so fantastic that we’ve continued to offer this unique program twice each year ever since as our flagship offering.

And because we realized that the depth of work we do with our participants to upgrade and validate their skills deserves to be honored with a credential, we upgraded the offering into a certification program. As of our Spring 2021 session, participants who successfully completed The Business Analyst Blueprint® earned the Applied Certification in Business Analysis™ (ACBA).

The Applied Certification in Business Analysis™ (ACBA) designation certifies that an individual has applied the foundational business analysis techniques and planning by leveraging industry standards. Certified individuals have successfully completed and applied 12 analysis and collaboration techniques in business process analysis, software requirements modeling, and data modeling, as well as planned a project using the Bridging the Gap business analysis process framework. All of their deliverables have been instructor assessed to meet rigorous standards.

An ACBA certified professional is ready to make effective contributions to improve an organization’s processes by leveraging software, ensure that business and technology professionals have shared expectations about the implementation, and support the discovery, analysis, and validation of business objectives and requirements from initial concept to the development of metrics to assess the return on investment.

The Applied Certification in Business Analysis™ is a new certification designation. Bridging the Gap has developed this certification to recognize the successful outcomes of our hundreds of participants in the time-tested program, The Business Analyst Blueprint®.

Successfully completing The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program, requires the following components:
  1. Learn the key foundational business analysis techniques and processes by leveraging our comprehensive online learning materials.
  2. Apply what you learn to create real-world work samples. Work samples are submitted for instructor review as a completed workbook in the timing provided by the program. and build up your experience.
  3. Your workbook is reviewed by an instructor to confirm it meets industry and program standards. In the event that the first workbook does not pass, you’ll have the opportunity to submit a second and final revision. Either way, you’ll receive feedback to validate and improve your skillset.
  4. Upon successfully passing all 4 modules, you’ll receive your certification badge and documentation which you can use to update your resume and LinkedIn profile.
  5. You’ll also be listed in the public Registry of ACBA Recipients (optional), where employers can discover you, your geographic location, and areas of expertise and contact you for potential opportunities.
You’ll also leave the program with work samples you can share with employers and validated business analyst work experience you can add to your resume and share with employers in job interviews. What's more, you'll earn 60 PDs/CDUs for certification or re-certification with the International Institute of Business Analysis™ (IIBA®).

There is no additional certification fee. There is no separate exam or additional fees to earn your ACBA. Once your workbooks for each of the 4 modules of The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program pass instructor review, you'll earn your ACBA certification.

The BA Essentials Master Class is one module of The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program.

In the BA Essentials Master Class, you learn how to apply the BA framework and the 8-step process to approach any software or business process change project.

In The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program, you’ll also learn the complete set of business analysis techniques, covered in each of the following 3 additional modules:

  • Business Process Analysis
  • Use Cases and Wireframes
  • Data Modeling for Business Analysts

These are the specific techniques you use to discover, analyze, and validate the requirements.

You'll also receive instructor support as you complete the planning process outlined in the BA Essentials Master Class, so you'll translate your knowledge into real-world application, which gives you confidence.

We've had many, many participants go through both programs with us.

  • With the BA Essentials Master Class, you learned best practices for structuring your business analysis process, and how to navigate real-world project challenges.
  • With The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program, you’ll learn and apply industry-standard techniques to discover, analyze, and validate the requirements, all throughout the process. You'll also apply the full 8-step business analysis process to plan a project as a business analyst.

What’s more, in The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program, you are part of a live program, with several other active participants, and receive the benefits of live webinar sessions and additional instructor hours for group coaching, in addition to earning your Applied Certification in Business Analysis™ (ACBA) when you meet the program requirements.

The successful completion of a module within the last 3 years (as of the program start date) can be applied towards your ACBA certification requirements for this session.

We can also provide a courtesy discount for each module you are applying. Please email us at info@bridging-the-gap.com to confirm your applicable requirements and discount.

The biggest difference is that while IIBA® certifications are exam-based, the ACBA is application-based, meaning you earn your ACBA based on submitting your real-world work samples and having them reviewed and validated by a Bridging the Gap instructor.

Since the ACBA certifies your on-the-job BA experience (even if you aren't in a full BA role), I would consider it a more senior-level credential than the ECBA™, which is an entry-level certificate appropriate for entry-level professionals.

The ACBA is a great stepping stone to the CCBA® or CBAP® for those who do not yet meet the work experience requirements required to apply for those certifications or feel ready to absorb the entire BABOK® Guide and sit for the exam, but still want a credential that to give them professional stature and credibility within the business analysis profession.

The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program is worth 60 professional credits, and that is about the amount of time you should expect to invest. Since the course is spaced out over 5 months, a time commitment of 3-5 hours/week will ensure you stay on track and complete the program.

What's more, as some of this time is creating various business analysis deliverables, the time you invest in the course may be part of the work you are doing anyway.

Typically, they are Tuesday afternoons at 3 PM Eastern (New York) Time, and our program kick-off webinar is on Thursday, July 20, at 3 PM Eastern. Replays are available if you can't attend live. You can also submit your questions for a direct email response from one of our instructors, so there are many ways to receive instructor support during this program.

What's more, multiple Instructor Hours calls for small group coaching will be scheduled during this live session, and those vary as to days and times. Some are during the afternoon (in Eastern Time), many are in the evening Eastern Time, which provides an opportunity for our Australia and New Zealand participants to participate at a more convenient time, and some are on Saturday mornings Eastern Time.

There is a lot of flexibility built into the program – you can go through the online course materials at any time and replays are available for all of the live sessions – and this makes it possible to complete the course when and how it works for you.

However, there are also specific deadlines for completing your work for each module, and meeting these deadlines is an important part of successfully completing the course, staying on track, and getting the most value out of the program.

A program schedule of important dates can be viewed here. 

If you have any concerns, please contact us directly with your specific time away, and we'll help you determine if there is a workaround plan for this particular session.

We do not have a shorter option that goes through the full curriculum of The Business Analyst Blueprint® and enables you to earn your Applied Certification in Business Analysis™. Since it's an application-based certification program, most of our participants appreciate the extra time to complete their assignments and work through the learning material, and this also enables us to provide intensive instructor support along the way.

If getting back into the workforce is a priority, I would encourage you to start your job search alongside your program participation. We've had participants leverage their learning even from just the first module to get into BA roles, so there is no reason to wait until the entire program is complete to start looking for your next opportunity.

We'll also be issuing certificates of completion as you complete each module of the program, so this will give you an early credential that you can share on LinkedIn and use as evidence of your coursework and experience.

Yes, a certificate will be issued for the successful completion of each module of the program, and each module is worth 15 PDs/CDUs (for a total of 60) – more than what you need to apply for the CBAP® or other IIBA® certifications.

PDs/CDUs are professional credits needed toward certification or re-certification requirements for IIBA® designations such as the CBAP®, CCBA®, or ECBA™. The CDU credits are Category 2 credits with IIBA®.

Check out this article for more information: https://www.bridging-the-gap.com/pds-cdus-and-pdus-difference/

And be sure to check out the IIBA® website for more details on each certification, the associated requirements, and how long the professional credits are valid.

The Project Management Institute (PMI) has retired its Registered Education Provider (REP) program, of which Bridging the Gap had been a participant since 2015, allowing us to guarantee PDUs and Contact Hours towards the PMP and PMI-PBA certification and re-certification.

We did not apply for their new program and our Registered Education Provider status expired at the end of 2020.

However, as someone who already has their certification from PMI, you can still elect to submit your participation in The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program as part of your re-certification requirements, you may just need to provide additional documentation to support your claim. Be sure to check your re-certification guidelines for these details.

There are many variations of the business analyst role and many uses (and misuses) of the job title "Business Analyst."

The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program trains business analysts to be effective on business change projects that have a significant software component. You'll learn how to analyze and improve a business process, support the improvement of that process through software enhancements, model the data that needs to be managed in that software or through the business process or transferred/migrated between software systems, and leverage the 8-step business analysis process framework to plan your project approach.

This course is not a course in "how to code." We will not teach you how to write SQL, how to configure business applications, or program software applications. Nor do you need to have these skills to be successful in the program. (Although it's fine if you do.)

We teach you the analytical thinking skills that help you be extremely specific about what the software needs to do (i.e., the requirements) to ask powerful, detailed questions that clarify what your business stakeholders want and enable technical professionals to build the solutions that serve those needs.

To a professional with a business background, this training might actually seem quite technical, because you may have never truly considered software requirements to the level of detail you need to clearly describe those requirements to those who build the software. And learning to communicate clearly in this way, even when you don't know how to code, will give you the conversation constructs to have productive conversations with technical professionals as well.

To a professional with a technical background, this training will help you better communicate with business stakeholders and leverage your technical expertise to solve real business problems. It will give you language and constructs to help them get specific about what they want, without you frustrating them with "technical jargon."

While we don't teach or provide templates for BRDs or FRSs specifically because we find that many organizations are moving away from longer documentation, even if they aren't fully going agile, the techniques you'll learn in The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program will help you put together a typical business requirements document or functional / software specification.

And because you apply these techniques in your real-world case studies, you'll be building hands-on experience.

Here's how each module will help you with these more traditional requirements deliverables:

  • Business Process Analysis – For the business process information that would go into a BRD.
  • Use Cases and Wireframes – Use cases and wireframes are powerful analytical tools that help you identify the functional/software requirements to go into an FRD or SRS.
  • Data Modeling for Business Analysts – The data modeling techniques covered here, like Entity Relationship Diagrams and Data Mapping, are often a necessary accompaniment to successfully completing an FRD or SRS.
  • BA Essentials Master Class – Covers how to gain alignment on business objectives for a project, which would typically go into a BRD.

Bridging the Gap is an Endorsed Education Provider™ with the International Institute of Business Analysis™ (IIBA®) and our training courses qualify for professional credits (PDs/CDUs) needed for certification requirements. However, we do not offer any specific exam preparation or simulators.

Our training programs are consistent with the content covered in the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK® Guide), but not a comprehensive overview of everything included in the exam.

Many participants choose a skill-focused, practical learning program like The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program to earn the credits they need to apply for an IIBA® certification because they find this learning is more beneficial in cultivating their business analysis capabilities than a pure exam preparation course. Also, by learning and applying the industry-standard business analysis techniques as you do in The Blueprint, your exam preparation tends to be easier, as you can draw from your experience as you absorb the information in the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK® Guide) and prepare for your certification exam.

For more information on pursuing BA certifications, check out our resource page: 5 Steps to Becoming a CBAP.

When you invest in the CBAP® with IIBA®, you are investing in having your application reviewed and taking an exam. To even apply for the CBAP®, you need a minimum of 36 professional credits in business analysis, so there will be an additional investment in training with a qualified provider unless you already meet this requirement.

The investment you are making in The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program includes a comprehensive, instructor-supported training program at the end of which you can earn your Applied Certification in Business Analysis™. You will also have the professional credits you need to apply for the CBAP® in the future, should you wish to do so.

If the timing doesn't work for the Fall 2023 session because, say, you’ve got a big window of vacation coming up and you won’t have access for a few weeks or more, be thinking about planning for the following session which will start in January 2024.

We do provide samples of each technique we teach so you can see what the end product should look like, but we do not provide a case study sample for you to work through. When you join The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program, you create your own case study and apply the course materials in your real-world work, even if you aren’t formally in a business analyst position.

We do this because this is how we see participants achieve significant career transformations, often while they are in the course or soon after, and take their careers to the next level. This also means that you get to leverage our instructor support on your real-world project work for the full 6 months of the program.

While you may be concerned that your current work will not provide an opportunity, we've helped many participants uncover opportunities when they go through the program. We provide lots of guidance and example projects in the course materials and host a bonus webinar at the beginning of each module specifically to help participants select the best project for that module.

If you are not currently employed, often the best opportunities are to volunteer for a non-profit or local business to complete the program. When you do this, you gain immediate experience you can add to the work experience section of your resume. And we've also seen participants leverage this strategy to land paying contract work and job offers.

Here are just a few examples:

  • Becky Goll – Was unemployed during the COVID-19 shutdown. She volunteered to help bring her roommate's CPA business online and secured part-time, contract work in the middle of shelter-at-home orders. View Becky's case study
  • Amelia McHenry – Was actually employed under the “Business Analyst” title but didn’t have the opportunity to do much if any business analysis work. She was frustrated with her lack of opportunity at work so she volunteered to help her husband’s organization analyze their disaster recovery process. She was able to speak to this example in an interview, and leverage it into a contract BA role, where she had more opportunity to apply her BA skills. View Amelia's case study
  • Todd Fleming – Was in-between positions, so he offered to do pro bono work for his previous employer. He analyzed an invoicing process for his previous employer and found gaps in communication when an invoice was rejected. This led to paying contract work. View Todd Fleming's case study
  • Perry McGuire – Was also in-between positions. He volunteered and helped a non-profit analyze their ‘Apply for Financial Assistance’ process and resolved some governance issues they were facing. This gave him a recent experience to speak to in a job interview, and he landed a new BA job soon after finishing The Business Analyst Blueprint® program. View Perry McGuire's case study

In the event you cannot find a suitable "real world" case study, we do also provide examples you can use to analyze business processes at home and software requirements for readily available third-party software systems. We've had participants analyze the order process at Amazon and recruiting features at LinkedIn.

So there is always a way to complete the program successfully.

When you are looking for a suitable volunteer experience, you want to find a business process you can analyze and improve, ideally one that is supported (or could be supported) by some kind of software application. (Just about any organization should have several opportunities like this.)

It's not required that the business process improvements and software changes are actually implemented during the duration of the program, only that you discover, analyze, and validate them with 1 (or more) stakeholders so you can submit your work deliverables for instructor review.

The most important criterion to consider is that there are one or more engaged stakeholders who are willing to work with you in at least a few (virtual or in-person) meetings throughout the program. Additional factors to consider are the additional opportunities available in the organization (i.e., there are other changes, which could mean additional paying work for you) and your passion for the organization.

The best place to start is with any organizations you support or are involved with, either as a donor, volunteer, customer, or benefactor. Also, be sure to reach out to your personal and professional contacts.

The course materials include examples from two basic case studies – an online job board and an online banking system.

You'll also have the opportunity to learn from the other participants in the course and their examples (sharing your examples is optional and not required for participation). Throughout the live webinar sessions and instructor hours, we encourage participants to share their project selections, sample work, and real-life examples for instructor feedback and critique. This enhances everyone's learning as you get exposed to a variety of different industries and domains throughout the program.

While we do provide guidance inside the programs on choosing a fictitious project to complete the course, you'll receive the most benefit from the program when you use your active project work. What's more, this means the work you do to complete the course is part of the work you are doing anyway. Many participants experience immediate wins when they use their active project work, as their current project work improves and gets noticed by managers, stakeholders, and clients.

Rest assured that all work submitted for individual instructor review is kept confidential between you and your instructor. And if you still have concerns, you can edit aspects of your documents to blur out any private information.

We have had professionals without much exposure to business analysis benefit from The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program, as well as more experienced business analyst professionals who are looking for practical training that helps them improve their skills. Often more senior professionals join The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program as part of preparing for their CBAP® certification.

Here are some examples for more experienced professionals, and how they benefited from the program:

Here are some examples of less experienced professionals, and how they benefited from the program:

Yes, most certainly! Many of our participants are employed full-time in either business analyst roles, or in non-BA roles where they are looking to take on more BA responsibilities.

Successful completion of the program requires a time investment of approximately 3-5 hours each week. Outside of the live webinars and instructor hours (which are all optional), you get to decide what days and times to invest in your program work. This means you can choose to do your program work on evenings or weekends or your lunch hour, if that's what works best for you.

What's more, because this is a real-world application program, it may work out that you can use your active project work as part of your program work.

You have two options:

  • Volunteer at a local non-profit or charity to help them improve their organization. (This is what Perry McGuire did, and he delayed completing his BCS certification to gain this practical, on-the-job experience that helped him land 2 job offers.)
  • Reach out to a past employer or other business and offer your services. (This is what Todd Fleming did, which led to paying contract work with a recent employer, and an opportunity to demonstrate his expanded skill set and capabilities.)
What's more, with either option, you are building real-world work experience that you can add to your resume and speak to confidently in job interviews and earning the ACBA credential, which you can add to your resume and LinkedIn profile. This can make a tremendous difference in the opportunities that open up for you.

When these scenarios do not work out, we do have alternate suggestions to apply the techniques in your personal life or using publicly available systems, so there is still a way to successfully complete the program.

As a bonus for your participation in The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program, you'll also be part of kick-off webinars for each module where the exclusive focus is helping you choose the best project to help them move their career forward.

No. We do not offer the modules as separate courses on a routine basis.

Participating in The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program is the only way to go through our Business Process Analysis, Use Cases and Wireframes, and Data Modeling for Business Analysts modules, and to receive instructor support on the BA Essentials Master Class.

We do not require you to use any specific software tools to complete The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program, so you can leverage what you already have, or what your company provides for you.

Here are the software applications you will want to have available:

  • Microsoft Word, or Google docs (all workbooks must be submitted in Microsoft Word format or PDF, and you can export from Google docs).
  • Microsoft Excel, or Google sheets.
  • A visual modeling tool such as Visio, LucidCharts, or Gliffy (if you don't have such a tool, we suggest free trials to complete the program).
  • A wireframing tool such as Balsamiq (which has a free trial you can use to complete the program). An alternative is PowerPoint.
  • A current web browser to access our web-based online learning platform.
  • Access to Zoom for live, interactive webinars (replays available), and instructor hours.

The training content in The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program does not cover test cases specifically, as testing isn't an aspect of an "official" business analyst role. (However, many BAs also participate in or lead the testing process on a software project.)

In terms of skills, many BAs who also do testing find that use cases and use case thinking (which we do cover in The Blueprint) help them create test cases, particularly business-focused test cases and test plans.

We do cover the BA role in the testing phase, in terms of guiding User Acceptance Testing and supporting the Quality Assurance Team in our BA Essentials Master Class.

The course materials include everything you need to complete the coursework – including lessons, samples, and templates. However, the other template toolkits that we offer are separate stand-alone products and are substantially different than the certification program. There is very little overlap between the two – only a few of the templates from the BTG Template Bundle are also provided in The Blueprint.

Success in obtaining a business analyst position is dependent on many factors – your career experience, your transferable skills, your local job market, how you craft your resume, and how confidently you show up in the interview. For these reasons, and out of integrity, we do not guarantee job placement.

We can tell you that we see many participants go on from our programs to secure business analyst positions. The most successful participants are able to apply the course materials on-the-job or through volunteering, even if they are not in a business analyst role, and so they build up transferable work experience they can put on their resume and speak to in job interviews while in our training programs.

Specifically, check out the following success stories as examples:

While the success rate varies from session to session, the average success rate of participants who submit workbooks for instructor review averages between 90% and 95%.

The program provides the structure, accountability, and support to help you be successful. Successful participants take ownership of their learning and development process.

We find our most successful participants:

  • Dedicate time to keep pace with the program, going through the materials and creating their work samples, with incremental and consistent and consistent effort each week.
  • Take advantage of the instructor support, especially the Instructor Hours, to ask questions and receive early feedback on their work.
  • Prioritize their effort in the program, and create contingency plans for what challenges might pop up, and how to handle them.

I think it's great that you are evaluating several programs before making a decision. This is what a great business analyst does!

No training provider is exactly alike, and there is not an apples-to-apples comparison to be made between programs.

I stand in the value of The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program, the level of support we offer from expert instructors, the results of our participants, and the investment level for the program. Out of integrity, I cannot compare our program to another program from another provider, because there's no way I can have the same level of detailed knowledge of their program as I do our own.

I can tell you what sets our program apart is the practical approach to real-world training, the application, the expert instructor support.

I invite you to consider our participant's success stories and determine if you see in their experience something you want for you and your career. I invite you to get clear on what type of learning experience will best serve you and where you want to go in your career. I invite you to review all the details on this page, on the course registration page, and email us any other specific questions you have about our program as you make your decision, so you can make the best possible apples-to-oranges comparison before you make your investment.

Yes, we do have many non-native English speakers participate. One thing that is beneficial with the online courses is that you have access to the training materials (video, audio, plus full-text transcripts) to go through again and again, and the multiple learning modalities can help with absorbing the content.

Instructor support is provided through email and our live sessions – you are welcome to engage in both mediums or just leverage email and chat if that is more comfortable. The live webinars are scheduled for 3 PM Eastern – which is evening time in Europe. And then we schedule Instructor Hours for smaller group coaching at various days and times throughout the program to accommodate multiple schedules and time zones.

Yes! A typical program session has English-speaking participants from across the globe, including North America, Europe, Asia, Australia/Oceana, and occasionally South America and Africa as well.

One of the extra benefits you receive in this program is exposure to how business analysis happens throughout the world, and participants are often surprised to discover how much more is the same than different when it comes to doing business analysis work, regardless of their geographical location, or even industry and domain.

And, we do foresee the Applied Certification in Business Analysis™ being a globally relevant certification, as the foundational skills we teach and certify against are relevant across the globe. The registry will be online and so accessible to employers anywhere.

In the event that one or more of your workbooks does not meet the program and industry standards, or you are not able to meet the program deadlines, you will have the option to join a future session of The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program at a discount.

You will also receive an individual certificate of completion for any of the individual modules you successfully complete during the program.

We appreciate your feeling, especially in our current economic climate. The offer we are making for The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification represents our best deal. We are not offering any additional discounts or scholarships at this time.

We're all looking for the best value for our money. We have found that the financial investment for our courses represents an equitable number for participants and for us. What's more, we've seen a link between making the full financial investment and successful completion of the course and realization of all the benefits of having done so.

If now is not the right time for you to make this investment, we completely understand. We run this session twice each year. Come back when it's the right time. And in the meantime, please benefit from all the free resources we provide on Bridging the Gap.

We offer a 5-month payment plan option available to help you spread out the cost over the 5-month duration of the program. Payments are processed automatically every 30 days. This is the only payment plan option we offer.

Yes! We understand that this is a significant investment that could be challenging.

Because problems are opportunities in disguise, here are 5 different opportunities as to where the financing could possibly come from. Perhaps one of these – or a combination of them – will open up an opportunity for you.

  1. Side projects – We've had participants leverage The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program into profitable side projects and paying contract gigs. How could you take on side work or a side project?
  2. PayPal financing – In addition to all major credit cards, we do accept payments via PayPal and PayPal offers financing options. Once you set up access to PayPal Credit, you can choose to pay by “PayPal” on our order form.
  3. Use multiple credit cards – We sometimes find participants have the credit but need to break up the payment. We’re happy to help you split the full course investment between 2 different cards. Email us at info@bridging-the-gap.com with the details about your specific situation, and our customer support team will do what they can to make the logistics work out.
  4. Sell something – It’s a great time to declutter. What could you let go of, repurpose, or sell? For example, one of our members funded his investment by selling old racing gear on eBay that he hadn’t used in years.
  5. Employer funding – It never hurts to ask if your employer could fund a training opportunity. Your participation in The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program will provide your employer with an immediate ROI in terms of increased efficiencies and project opportunities.

If you are seeking employer funding, prepare a case that demonstrates the potential ROI of your employer's investment in the program that takes into account your organization's current goals and opportunities. And then share the program handout as a backup.

The program handout contains the program syllabus, full schedule, and investment level. Please note that program fees are required before the program start date. If you are looking to secure funding from your employer, be sure to start that process as soon as possible.

Click here to download the program handout

Bridging the Gap is an Endorsed Education Provider™ with the International Institute of Business Analysis™ (IIBA®) and you will receive documentation for the Applied Certification in Business Analysis™ (ACBA) upon successfully completing the requirements of the program.

While we are not an accredited college or university, we have seen other participants make a case and be granted an exception. Our program is a lot like a college course, which is extremely practical in nature, and employers tend to experience immediate ROI in terms of their employee's work performance.

As we serve business analysts all over the globe in an online, instructor-supported capacity, we prioritize our relationships with organizations that have a broad geographical reach and also appreciate the learning opportunities afforded by the online environment. We have found that many funding programs have requirements linked to dated learning models and traditional classroom settings, as well as intensive application processes that we are not able to support. We currently do not have any active relationships with veterans, local unemployment, or other funding institutions.

However, we have had participants make private arrangements with local funding institutions and then be reimbursed for their investments with us. We are happy to provide an invoice or quote, provide payment documentation, and provide basic course and company information (such as our course handout and W-9).

If you have a specific institution you think would enable us to benefit you as well as other potential participants, we'd be happy to review the requirements for your specific funding program to see if we can pursue it. And if you are able to connect us directly to someone who can help facilitate the process, that would increase our chances of success.  Just be aware that these relationships often take a significant amount of time to solidify, and so would not likely be completed for the session we are currently enrolling for.

It's great you are interested in The Business Analyst Blueprint® certification program and taking your career to the next level. People find this article, with 42 reasons to start a business analyst career, really helpful in deciding if this is the career for them or not.

Click here to read the 42 reasons to start a BA career

We are a virtual organization with team members in various geographical areas within the United States, working in multiple time zones, and we offer customer and instructor support via email, online communication tools, and pre-scheduled webinar sessions.

Because we care about our participant's success, we find the best way to communicate with customers prior to making a purchasing decision is using these same tools. If you have a specific question about our training programs that is not answered on this page, please email us at info@bridging-the-gap.com and we’ll reply as soon as we possibly can.

Most certainly! Please email us at info@bridging-the-gap.com with your organization's documentation needs, and we'll do our best to support you.

Bridging the Gap accepts purchase orders and can invoice you for your registrations. Contact us with your company’s purchasing requirements. Invoices can be paid by credit card, check, ACH, or wire transfer.

Proof of payment, or soon-to-be-pending payment, is required to start the program. Once payment is received, registration confirmation details will be sent to the course participant(s).

(If you are obtaining approval and need a bit more time, we will do our best to work with your unique situation and allow you to start the program on time. Please email us with all the detail you can so we can work out a custom plan together.)

This session is scheduled to start on July 20, 2023, and run through December 10, 2023. If now truly isn’t the right time because, say, you’ve got a big window of vacation coming up and you won’t have access for a few weeks or more, be thinking about planning for the following session in January 2024.

However, I challenge you to consider whether you are using “timing” as a nice way of referring to “procrastination.” When we start thinking about going to the next level in our careers (or any area of our life), our subconscious mind can have a field day coming up with all kinds of reasons why this isn’t right now.

There will always be big projects to focus on at work and family commitments to be present for. Part of the decision you are making when you join a program like this is to make the investment in yourself and your career a priority.

We’re on the other side, ready to help hold you accountable to more success now and making the most of this investment in yourself.

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