A couple of questions for the forum;

Have you read it? If so do you recommend it to others? Do you think it's useful? Are there (better) alternative knowledge sources out there? What's missing or wrong with it?

I ask these questions for two reasons;

(1) a draft version 2 of the BABOK is currently available for comment from practitioners at the IIBA's website, and

(2) I personally think the BOK approach is limiting for a profession, and while a good marketing tool has potential to focus people on the wrong things.

Love to hear your thoughts.

Craig Brown
Better Projects Blog

Yes,I've read the BABOK v1.6.  I've download and began to flip through version 2.0. And I agree with a lot of what larimar stated.

The business analysis profession is fairly young (unlike some other professions that have been around for thousands of years).  It's even younger when you refer to the IT business analysis profession.  In my opinion, our profession has been lacking a set of standards for far too long.  The BABOK is an attempt to solve this problem. 

Why is a standard helpful.  Well, it helps people understand what the business analysis discipline is all about.  It also is a great place to point new people trying to learn the art of business analysis.  Of course, there are a few things to keep in mind.

1. The BABOK is still in draft form, but will continue to evolve.
2. Even once complete, like any written work it is limited in the scope that it can reasonably cover.
3. Just because you have a standard doesn't mean you can't apply other methods that aren't covered by the standard, and sometimes there are reasons to decide not to apply a standard method.

Now I'm guessing that you have some unstated concerns about the BABOK that I would also agree with such as.

1. The BABOK is a very difficult read.
2. It needs a lot more diagrams and examples.
3. I don't necessarily agree with everything the BABOK says (but overall I think it's getting pretty good).

I've see quite an improvement from version 1.6 to 2.0, but there is still a long way to go.

I guess if time was not an issue, I would point a newbie to the BABOK first, so that they could understand the framework of business analysis. Then I would point them to some other sources that may ellaborate on certain topics, be easier to understand, and help them learn the profession more efficiently. By having them read the BABOK first they would have a certain amount of knowledge about the accepted standard.  Then when they read other books they could compare and contrast what they learn to this standard.

A business analyst needs to know how to use the right tool or method for the job.  I in no way see the BABOK to be a limiting factor on how I do my work.

jdog2u,

I completely agree and this is precisely the point I was trying to make.  It is a great tool for giving a foundation, and has lots of valuable information if you can hang in there and take the time to read and comprehend it.

Chris