All professional disciplines need to be supported by best practice guidance upon which standards, job definitions, estimates and certifications can be based. One of the key issues for business analysis when it first emerged was the absence of acknowledged best practice; gaining insights into relevant techniques and skills required a reading list running to several pages. However, over the last decade, guidance has been generated by the business analysis practitioner community and two key examples involve those published by IIBA and BCS.

BABoK 

IIBA offers the BA Body of Knowledge (BABoK) on which the CBAP/CCBA certifications are based and released version 3 of the Guide to the BABoK in 2015. BCS has a pair of publications that underpin the various individual modules that make up the BCS International Diploma in Business Analysis. The two BCS publications are:

• Business Analysis (3^rd edition, September 2014
• Business Analysis Techniques (2^ndedition, September 2014)

Sometimes, business analysts ask which approach they should use in order to learn their skills and develop their toolkit. However, we would argue that they both offer insights but from subtly different viewpoints. Interestingly, there is a key difference between these publications - IIBA provides a procedural-based reference volume whereas BCS set out to provide practical guidance, and takes a practitioner, rather than knowledge, point of view. Given this 'in practice' viewpoint, the BCS books could be said to provide a Body of Practice for BAs giving us practical tips and templates for use in our day-to-day work.

So, the business analysis community has developed not only a BABoK but also a BABoP! A good way to support and develop a profession such as business analysis, where it is essential to gain knowledge and understanding, and apply best practice, in order to adapt effectively to a range of situations.

Business analysis has come a long way since it first developed as a separate discipline in the early 1990s. Whether you are an experienced individual working within a mature well-established BA practice or are just starting out on your Business Analysis career, you will find the IIBA BABoK and the BCS BABoP, together offer a way to deliver the greatest value to your stakeholders while helping to establish Business Analysis as the key discipline of the future.

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