Andy Lytle is a Senior Business Analyst at Susco Solutions, a leading provider of software consulting solutions with a nationwide client base in the property claims management space. His adventure with Susco started in 2022. Susco is based in the New Orleans, Louisiana area, but Andy enjoys working remotely from Lexington, Kentucky, and loves making a difference in people’s lives through excellent software...
Prior to Susco, Andy enjoyed business analysis opportunities with EdgeCo Holdings (formerly Unified Trust Company), the Commonwealth of Kentucky and Conduent.
His journey toward the CBAP certification began back in 2017. He’d been a BA for 5 years, but wanted his resume to show that he was serious about business analysis. After working through two rounds of BABOK study groups with the Bluegrass IIBA Chapter, he passed the CCBA exam on the first attempt in 2018. Fast forward to 2023…with 6 more years of BA experience, it was definitely time to upgrade to the CBAP. He dusted off his BABOK notes and dove back in. He passed his exam on August 20, 2024!
Looking back over the past several years, Andy sees the immense dividends that the IIBA certifications have paid in his career, and highly recommends it for others. The BABOK is definitely no joke to learn, but the IIBA Bluegrass Chapter’s study group can be a great place to start. Beyond that, what worked for Andy was blocking off 2-3 hours per week to study and staying at it. Then, he took an entire day to review and take practice tests the day before the exam. The CBAP exam had longer scenario-based questions than the CCBA exam, but there were fewer total questions, plus 30 additional minutes. Andy didn’t think it was really any harder overall than the CCBA, and was very glad to have taken this one from the comfort of home, rather than in the testing center.
Everyone’s learning styles are different. What worked for Andy may not work for everyone, but he wants to encourage everyone who is considering an IIBA certification - it’s hard work, but it’s worth it in the end!
