The Accreditation Process for Business Change Professional Qualifications

The BPTGroup Approach

Our Objective – Achieving Recognition for Business Change Professionals

• 1. Operational Aspects of Accreditation
• 1.1 Accredited Professional Tracks
• 1.2 Paths to Accreditation
• 1.3 Meeting the Learning Outcomes Requirements
• 1.4 The Assignment Approach
• 1.5 The Assignment Registration and Submission Process
• 1.6 Experienced Analysts - Your Portfolio Option
• 1.7 Building to the Full Qualification

1. Operational Aspects of Accreditation – how it works for the business change professional

1.1 Accredited Professional Tracks

Attendance on, and successful completion of, a module in the professional development programme can be followed by the completion of a post-course assignment or submission of a portfolio of evidence for formal assessment and accreditation at a high professional standard. The four accredited BPTGroup tracks, derived from our business change professional programme, are

• Certified Business Analyst and Process Designer
• Certified Process Professional
• Certified Process Manager
• Certified Process Executive

Each can be taken as a stand alone module in its own right, or as part of the qualification process

1.2 Paths to Accreditation

The achievement of professional accreditation requires that the individual must demonstrate, through specified outcomes, the competencies and underpinning knowledge acquired on the course and their ability to apply them in practical form. The skills, knowledge and expertise referred to in various assessment criteria are demonstrated through a submission in the form of a Post Course Project or Portfolio of Evidence

These are undertaken/ assembled in the working environment, and will be designed to satisfy all the learning outcomes and assessment criteria specified for each module. The assignment/ portfolio material will include working documents structured in presentational report form.

Accreditation is achieved by making a choice between 3 alternative routes:

1.3 Meeting the Learning Outcomes Requirements

Each module involves candidates in a choice of competence-proving activities as the basis of the Assessment Process. The assessors have to be able to satisfy both themselves and the Certificating body that

1. the training experience has been successfully translated into post-course practical achievement in their own organisation by the individual candidate, or
2. that the individual’s cumulative relevant experience has been comprehensively demonstrated through a portfolio of evidence.

In both cases the Learning Outcomes of the specific module form the basis of the assessment process. Assessment Criteria Guidelines are used by the assessors when checking through the projects and portfolios of evidence. These are provided to delegates for use during preparation and as a checklist to help the candidate verify that their project/ portfolio meets requirements prior to submission for formal assessment.

1.4 The Assignment Approach

Each candidate should select a project/ assignment on which they are engaged within their employer organisation to illustrate the key issues addressed on the course. This should ideally be submitted to the course tutor 4 to 8 months after the course was completed but it is understood that some projects can take much longer to complete. This assignment should:

• be selected to benefit your organisation as well as meet assignment requirements
• represent a maximum of 15 hours additional work to prepare it for assessment over and above that actually spent on the business project itself
• when complete, be submitted to the course tutor between 4 to 8 months after the course was completed

1.5 The Assignment Registration and Submission Process

1. The project should be selected to demonstrate the individual’s ability to deliver against the specific outcomes specified for the module in question
2. Complete the Registration Document and Project Terms of Reference document
3. Send to the nominated assessor for verification and registration. Any required amendments will be discussed with the candidate.
4. Having completed the project and presented to the business client, forward the report, with their comments, to the nominated assessor.
5. The Certificating body require, for audit reasons, a letter of confirmation to authenticate the work as that of the candidate concerned. The candidate may submit a joint project together with a covering letter specifying which aspects of the project were undertaken by themselves.
6. The project will be assessed on a pass/ refer basis. All assessment criteria have to be met in order for the unit to be achieved. A candidate will be failed if they are unable or unwilling to satisfy the assessors requirements during the given referral period.
7. If, in the opinion of the assessor, the work presented needs verification a viva voce will be conducted.

1.6 Experienced Analysts - Your Portfolio Option

If you are an experienced business process practitioner and

1. have a track record of projects that you believe clearly illustrate your competence in business process transformation, and/ or
2. have prior training and/ or qualifications that in whole or in part provide valid exemption as against a particular/ or several outcomes

… you may submit a portfolio of evidence to illustrate your overall competency in respect of this module.

Submissions under Exemption by Prior Achievement and Accreditation of Prior Learning are greatly assisted by use of the template system developed to structure the process. Candidates wishing to go down this route will be provided with the appropriate template and completion information.

1.7 Building to the Full Qualification

Each module is a discreet, separately assessed, separately certificated entity and so sponsors can use elements of the programme to satisfy individual training needs without committing to the qualification. Alternatively "clusters" of modules can serve as a short development programme to equip individuals with essential skills to operate effectively as a business analyst while career analysts can pursue the complete qualification programme.

Each module has a Credit Value. To achieve the three levels of the qualification requires the candidate to accumulate the minimum of credits as specified in the diagram. Credits and Certificates are awarded on the "satisfactory completion" of each module.