From: JOHN C. WERNER [mailto:johnwerner381@hotmail.com] 
Sent: Monday, August 29, 2016 8:54 AM
Subject: RE: BABOK Study Groups

Harlan,

Yes, this sounds interesting. Many hands make light work. We are restraining ourselves and the value we provide to our membership by self-imposing chapter fences around our initiatives. Recently we had a member from the Arizona chapter join a NJ event because he had an interest in the subject matter. Virtual community boundary should be in terms of IIBA member / non-member with chapter membership in 1 location being recognized by a different chapter. Cost should be very nominal or free to members. These study group promote significant value to the Members especially with the additional certifications becoming available. This also enables re-use and expands the network and reach. Beyond the event, each chapter also has independent knowledge repositories that represents potential value that should be shared and made available to the community. 

Proposal for the study groups, anticipation would we would pick a theme, e.g. The BABOK knowledge area and develop supplemental learning content for it. Divide and conquer mentality to make the guide more digestible and better apply mastery of the subject through practicum experience/use case scenario’s that demonstrate and elaborate on the content. If any chapter has an interests in this, the NJ chapter would like to work with you. Please advise.

Best Regards,

John Werner

John Werner
President
IIBA New Jersey Chapter
events@newjersey.iiba.org

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From: Harlan Bennett [mailto:president@iibadc.org] 
Sent: Monday, August 29, 2016 8:26 AM
Subject: Re: BABOK Study Groups

Hello All,

What are your thoughts on holding joint chapter study group sessions through some type of conference program like WebEx, join.me, GoToMeeting? The general idea would be one locale "hosts" the event, meaning they would run all sessions from beginning to end. They hold it in whatever format they are used to running, such as CBAP facilitated, participant driven, vendor provided curriculum, etc.They would be guaranteed a set number of seats at the session, which could be used as a means of chapter awareness or revenue generation. 
Additional IIBA chapters can "buy in" to participate for a minimal cost of something like $10 ($5 to cover the cost of the conference program and maybe another $5 to the hosting chapter). That would get the chapter some number of seats (like 10). They would still have to cover cost for vendor provided study guides or have their local participants pay that cost if participating in that type of session. 

The most difficult part would be managing who gets seats and when. We could probably track by some type of form stored in the Eastern Region folder. 

Thoughts, comments, questions?
Harlan

On Tue, Aug 23, 2016 at 8:25 PM, Siewert, Cynthia <csiewert@impactmakers.com> wrote:
I am enjoying this thread as well. We (Central VA) don’t currently have a study group but are considering it. Hearing everyone’s experiences is helpful. We don’t have a large population who are perusing certification. I would be interested to hear if there are any other examples of study groups that are geared more toward sharing best practices or honing everyday skills. 

Thanks all. 

Cynthia Siewert
Lead Consultant 
C: 860-415-3722

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From: Harold Arsenault [mailto:harold.arsenault@dti.ulaval.ca] 
Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2016 9:24 AM
Subject: RE: BABOK Study Groups

Good morning Jay,

Thank you for your feedback. Again, I see that it is really geared towards preparing for the certification. I detect a certain trend with all the replies I have received so far. Indeed, this is helping me in preparing the next BABOK study group in January 2017. Much appreciated,


Best regards,
Harold
_____________________________________________________________________________ 

From : President@raleigh.iiba.org [mailto:president@raleigh.iiba.org] 
Date: August 22, 2016 22:15
Subject : RE: BABOK Study Groups

Harold,

Raleigh NC (RTP) Chapter has been running study groups for the past two years. The objective of the group is to help members for the CBAP exam.

Last year it was informal. The Group was led by me and VP Education. The group met for couple of hours depending on their availability and sometimes virtual. It was a small group of seven members. The format is discussion geared toward passing the exam. Members sharing their preparation methods and the instructors presented their own material. It was free of charge. Four out the seven members got CBAP certifications after the study.

This year we took a different approach. Very similar to the one offered by Boston chapter. We had a formal group led six volunteer CBAPs leading the discussions each week. They regularly met on Saturdays for 3 hours in a class room. At end of the seven weeks they were eligible for 21 PDUs. We charged a nominal fee of $150.00 . We had 11 members. Since it was fee based and they were required to attend each week to earn the PDUs. We rarely had absentees. It was very successful.

In both groups we used Watermark study guide and the instructors had their own slides and other materials. We find this model is not competing with any Exam prep boot camp. Rather helps those members whose companies do not reimburse boot camp fees and they have to pay from their pocket.

Hope this helps.

Jey Subbiah
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From: "Harold Arsenault" <harold.arsenault@dti.ulaval.ca>
Sent: Monday, August 22, 2016 9:36 PM
Subject: RE: BABOK Study Groups 

Good morning Ken,

Thank you for your feedback. The more feedback I get, the easier it will be to decide where our local chapter is heading on BABOK Study Groups.

Have a great week!
Harold

Harold Arsenault
Président 
IIBA Région de Québec
(418) 569-9588
_____________________________________________________________________________ 

From: Ken Fulmer [mailto:kenfulmer2@msn.com]
Date: Saturday, August 20, 2016 12:06
Subject: Re: BABOK Study Groups

Harold and Judy. In Philadelphia we run a virtual study group very much aimed at exam prep. It is not intended to replace a commercial boot camp. We offer it annually for no cost to chapter members. It is lead by a team of 3 volunteers who are already CBAPs. We limit group size to 25 and have no problem filling it. It is 12 weeks long and we use Go to Meeting session. Drop out rate is high and only about 15 finish and go on to apply for exam. Hope that is food for thought for all. 
Ken Fulmer 

Sent from my iPhone 
Ken Fulmer 
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From: "Harold Arsenault" <harold.arsenault@dti.ulaval.ca>
Sent: August 19, 2016 3:19 PM
Subject: RE: BABOK Study Groups 

Good morning Judy,

Thank you so much for your answers. I see that your curriculum is really geared towards preparing to write the certification exam. Is this what most chapters are doing? In our case, after surveying potential participants, not too many were aiming at certification. Rather, it was a “discussion group” on business analysis introducing the BABOK as a reference so that each participant can take away the BABOK approach to business analysis back to their work environment. 

As a secondary objective, it was intended as starting point for considering certification. Consequently, we did cover the certification process and application but we didn’t focus on preparing the participants for the exam. It was my understanding the EEPs provide this “boot camp” training. Maybe our understanding of BABOK Study Groups is incorrect. What are other chapters doing?

Best regards,
Harold
_____________________________________________________________________________ 

From: Judy Alter [mailto:Judy.Alter@iiba.org]
Date: August 17, 2016 22:13
Subject: Re: BABOK Study Groups

Hi Harold, I am from the Heartland Chapter in Nebraska and our chapter held successful study groups in 2015 and 2016. In that time frame we more than doubled our number of CBAP's. I was in the group in 2015 and every attendee printed out the BABOK. The group was lead by two of our current CBAP's. They used a book from B2T training which had a chapter for each knowledge area and then separate ones for competencies. Each session covered one chapter and the group would go through the key concepts and the practice test together. It was helpful to be in a group setting which generated a lot of conversation. We went into why were the other answers not correct. We also held a session on tips of how to complete the application. Our group really helped each other and all of us did use additional training materials to make the final push to pass the test. There are some study group materials on the BABOK V3 on the Chapters Resource Page. Here's a link: 
https://www.iiba.org/Chapters/Chapters/v3-chapter-toolkit.aspx

I hope this helps you. I don't know what the chapter's plan is for a BABOK V3 study group. The CBAP's who would lead it would have to do some studying before holding it. 

Thanks,
Judy Alter, CBAP®, ACS, FLMI, HIA, PCS
Regional Director - Americas Central

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From: Harold Arsenault <harold.arsenault@dti.ulaval.ca>
Sent: Wednesday, August 17, 2016 9:29 AM
Subject: BABOK Study Groups 

Good morning dear colleagues,

After two years overseeing our BABOK study groups in the Quebec City Region, I am wondering what is the optimal approach. Here is what we have done last Winter:

· About 30 participants for 12 weekly 2 hours sessions (5:30-7:30PM every Tuesday)
· We break down the group in teams of 2-3 participants to present the content of a BABOK chapter
· We allow time during the presentation for discussions on relevant experience sharing
· We conclude with 15 minutes of open and multiple choice questions
· For the last 3 sessions, we provide a case study with questions for the teams to present

The feedback from the participants is that the first 9 sessions are not as effective. In fact after 2-3 sessions, the participants who are not presenting don’t bother reading the chapter before the session. As well, depending on the presenting skills of the team presenting, it sometimes become a slide reading exercise. Consequently, the overall suggestion for our next study group is to use case studies only.

Here is my dilemma: we currently have no official EEP in the Quebec City Region. Our VP Professional Development is also an employee of a local firm providing training services. This firm has developed some training on the BABOK v3 where the approach is based solely on case studies. So my questions to you are:

1. How should BABOK training be split between IIBA Chapters, private sector training firms and EEPs?
2. What are you currently using as curriculum for your local BABOK study groups?

Thank you in advance for sharing your thoughts.

Best regards,
Harold

Harold Arsenault
Président 
IIBA Région de Québec
(418) 569-9588