PMI–PBA (Project Management Institute – Professional in Business Analytics) is a certification program that certifies a candidate’s skill in implementing his/her BA (Business Analytics) skills and techniques to accentuate the success of a project. This certification is in great demand nowadays since the demand for BA professionals is increasing day-by-day in project management.

The PMI-PBA exam consists of MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions) and despite experience and academic brilliance, one has to prepare thoroughly for the exams in order to crack it.

These are some tips that might prove to be helpful for those who wish to succeed in clearing this exam:

Start preparing in advance

A PMI-PBA exam cannot be cracked with a crash course of one month or 15 days. Therefore, start preparing at least 4 to 5 months in advance if you really want to clear the exam in the first attempt.

Also, the PMIs provide the flexibility of choosing the exam date as the candidates are already working professionals. However, this can even make a candidate postpone the date many times due to a lack of preparation. Therefore, always make it a point to set a date beforehand and prepare accordingly.

Undertake PDU training

The PDU training which consists of 35 contact hours of practical training can help you a great deal as they are generally focused on all the aspects of the course and study materials. It also inspires a candidate to prepare for the training as one needs to read the preparation books thoroughly in order to get good feedback from the institute.

Go through the exam preparation guide

If you wish to clear the PMI-PBA certification exam, you will have to read the books which guide you through all the rules and regulations of the exams and also gives you deep theoretical knowledge on the key concepts.

After that, reading the BA for Practitioners: A Practice Guide is also important as it gives you key insights into the business analytics concepts. If you find these books time-consuming, boring and rigidly theoretical, you can refer to the training materials and reference materials that are easily available on the internet.

Mock tests

Mock tests condition your mind for the exam scenarios and help you to attempt maximum questions in the given time limit. Therefore, you can attempt numerous mock tests till your numbers improve and you are able to maintain satisfactory marks on a consistent basis.

Analyze your mock tests

If you just keep on attempting different mock tests and fail to analyze your shortcomings then it is of no use. One must always try to figure out the sections where he/she scores less and revise these sections until you manage to excel in them.

If some of your concepts are not clear and they are hampering your potential to perform better then you can refer to the study materials on the internet as well. There are various blogs written by experts, YouTube videos, tutorials and other reading material which might help you a great deal in resolving your queries and confusion.

These were some of the key tips that will help you prepare for the PMI-PBA certification. Reading the study materials thoroughly and attempting a sufficient number of mock tests will get you there but more importantly this exam is designed to identify your grasp and hold on the business analytics concepts.

Therefore, keep in mind that just solving the same types of questions might not help you as the questions can be completely different. As a result, focus on understanding the concepts and try implementing them in the real-life scenarios explained in the questions to pass the exam with flying colors!