As you might be aware that PMI is now also providing certification in Business Analysis. It is called: PMI-PBA (PMI Professional in Business Analysis). Many of us might wonder what's the difference between these two certifications?

Overall, the number of hours in experience, and application procedure, and exam procedure is more or less the same for both of these certifications (CBAP and PMI-PBA). However, where they differ is the course material. CBAP uses BABOK (Business Analysis Body of Knowledge) as course material; whereas PMI-PBA uses 'Business Analysis for Practitioners - A Practice Guide' as course material. 

So, the question now boils down to: What's the difference between BABOK and 'Business Analysis for Practitioners'? Actually these two are fundamentally different works, with different aims, yet covering the same topic: Business Analysis. 

Many BAs are familiar with BABOK, but very few have read (or even heard of) 'Business Analysis for Practitioners' (BAP). Many people have belief that BABOK has broader view of business analysis or is better than BAP. But these are all myths. The fact is different. In fact, BAP is a much easier to understand book than BABOK. And you can use BAP in your everyday life (which you can't do with BABOK). 

Recently I did a study of both of these books and made an extensive comparison of both of them. The results of my findings are summarized here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/iibas-babok-vs-pmis-business-analysis-practitioners-practice-ajani

I hope this would give you a quick overview of the differences between the two most significant and authoritative works in the area of Business Analysis.