What is A Business Analyst and What is the Role of a business analyst in a Company?
If you are wondering how significant is the key role of a business analyst in a company then you have come to the right place. In today’s blog post we will be defining the term business analyst and how the role of a business analyst in the company is very crucial for the businesses to run successfully.
Pretty much every company in the world has two departments i.e the business department which consists of business stakeholders who make the decisions and the I.T department which consists of developers and testers who help in building the project. Since the two departments do not communicate directly, the business analysts are the bridging gap between the two and ensure that whatever the stakeholders want to communicate, the business analyst can communicate to the IT team in an effective way and plan a process flow to get the work done.
Let’s suppose that there is a banking institution whose business stakeholders decide to update their software with new additional features like enhanced support for their customers to the existing application. So after they decide on what features they wish to upgrade, they discuss their requirements with the business analyst. The business analyst then, asks all the important questions to the stakeholders, to make sure they have captured all the details & gathers all the requirements. Then they prepare business requirement documents based on the discussion and share them with the IT department to get their work started.
The Need for Data Professionals
A lot has to happen to those 2.5 quintillion bytes of data before it can be useful to organizations, however. Individuals who work in analytics are responsible for taking the unstructured captured information we generate online and translating it into a format that the human brain can understand .
This process of generating, analyzing, and communicating data is carried out by various individuals in the field, each of whom takes ownership of a particular component of the work.
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do more technical work, including sifting through data, drawing conclusions, and effectively communicating that data through practices like data visualization and verbal storytelling with data .
- Business analysts evaluate past and current business data with the primary goal of improving decision-making processes within organizations. They work closely with stakeholders to identify goals, best practices, and other active methods for gathering and analyzing data as it relates to the needs of the specific organization. are similar to business analysts in that their primary focus is on the processes through which data is gathered for business use. However, unlike business analysts, data scientists focus on the technical aspect of these processes. They evaluate the acquisition, storage, and initial analysis of data, then apply data science methods to measure effectiveness.
While each of these roles plays a significant part in the overall use of data analytics in business, it is the work of a business analyst that makes the most direct impact on an organization. Read on to learn more about the responsibilities, necessary skills, and career outlook for the business analyst field.
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Related Reading: 3 Tips to Make Your Business Analysis Practice More Effective
Business analysis professionals inspect and comprehend business problems and propose solutions to business stakeholders. Business process modelling increases the value of projects by making sure that technical solutions meet business requirements. They are usually degree-educated, and many have related work experience and vocational skills, possibly as part of a combination course.
IIBA’s KnowledgeHub is also a good place to help support your career as a new business analyst or someone who may be looking to advance their career. The KnowledgeHub provides instant online access to the BABOK® Guide, plus community-driven content, such as relevant “how do I” scenarios, videos, tips, tools, and templates that can be applied to everyday business analysis practices. Take a tour of the KnowledgeHub in this overview video.
When you are ready to start looking for your first or next job IIBA’s career centre is a good place to find interesting articles, job postings, and other resources to help you get started. Other job sites include Indeed, Workopolis, networking on LinkedIn, WhatJobs, and many others.
Trends to Advance Your Career
Business analysis is a necessary part of developing a successful plan in an organization and will only grow with time. IIBA’s 2021 Global State of Business Analysis Report (GSBA) states “As organizations pivot to rethink, refocus, and re-strategize, the role of business analysis is shifting to more emphasis on strategy with 55% of respondents reporting they are now involved in the strategy process.” In larger organisations, this will involve Senior Business Analysts and Junior Business Analysts. Find trends to grow and advance your career in the 2021 GSBA.
About The Author:
Moriah is a savvy digital marketing communications professional with experience working in the private and public sectors. She’s well versed in marketing automation and analysis and is passionate about combining digital strategy and creative marketing. Moriah holds a bachelor’s degree focused in Communications and Political Science Joint Honours from the University of Ottawa.
Sources:
https://www.analyticsvidhya.com/blog/2021/06/what-is-a-business-analyst-and-what-is-the-role-of-a-business-analyst-in-a-company/
https://www.northeastern.edu/graduate/blog/what-does-a-business-analyst-do/
https://www.iiba.org/business-analysis-blogs/understanding-the-impactful-role-of-business-analysis-in-an-organization/
What is A Business Analyst and What is the Role of a business analyst in a Company?
What is A Business Analyst and What is the Role of a business analyst in a Company?
If you are wondering how significant is the key role of a business analyst in a company then you have come to the right place. In today’s blog post we will be defining the term business analyst and how the role of a business analyst in the company is very crucial for the businesses to run successfully.
Pretty much every company in the world has two departments i.e the business department which consists of business stakeholders who make the decisions and the I.T department which consists of developers and testers who help in building the project. Since the two departments do not communicate directly, the business analysts are the bridging gap between the two and ensure that whatever the stakeholders want to communicate, the business analyst can communicate to the IT team in an effective way and plan a process flow to get the work done.
Let’s suppose that there is a banking institution whose business stakeholders decide to update their software with new additional features like enhanced support for their customers to the existing application. So after they decide on what features they wish to upgrade, they discuss their requirements with the business analyst. The business analyst then, asks all the important questions to the stakeholders, to make sure they have captured all the details & gathers all the requirements. Then they prepare business requirement documents based on the discussion and share them with the IT department to get their work started.
How to Plan A Project?
A typical business analyst job description actually requires them to first gather the requirements from the stakeholders by first identifying their business needs. After the requirements have been gathered, the business analysts have to define the process flow and typically how much time they will require to complete the project. This step typically happens after the business analyst has captured the requirement and discussed it with the development team. After receiving important inputs from the development team they tend to discuss the matter further with the clients and ask the relevant questions to get their doubts cleared on building the project and set realistic expectations on completion of the project. Once the business analyst has conducted meetings with both the stakeholder and IT team, their next job is to define the process flow and breaking down the project into simpler steps so that with every new feature added they can discuss with stakeholder and take feedback to move further on to the completion of the project.
Business Analyst Responsibilities
Along the journey to becoming BAs, their responsibilities increase gradually. They are mainly responsible for increasing business efficiency. Many companies hire these professionals to solve problems, set new objectives or goals, and reach the expected results. Many others also rely on business analysts to carry out their responsibilities and effectively use their skills for gaining the best results. Some of the primary responsibilities are:
Business analysts help organizations improve their functions by identifying needs. They then provide solutions to add value and opportunity. This requires collaborating with many departments like finance and IT teams to develop data models that will drive business decisions. To perform all these functions, skills are required. They use a bunch of skills to complete their work. Some of them are mentioned below:
Technical Skills
Analytical Skills
Hard Skills
Hard Skills refer to job-specific skills, which mainly focus on practical knowledge of the subject. These include having a proper understanding of the industry, advanced statistical modeling, web development, etc.
Soft Skills
Soft skills are those which are essential for the functioning of an organization. These are not job-specific, but every business analyst must possess this. Some of them are communication, creative thinking, negotiation, etc.
Problem-Solving Skills
Problem-solving skills are not specific to any job, but one must necessarily have these skills. These skills make any business analyst choose the correct decision and the right path that enhances the organization’s proficiency. Creating new solutions to the organization’s problems, decision-making, etc., are included here.
Research Skills
With thorough research on the new processes and software, one can present effective results. Researching the data on the current trends of different companies, studying the method to improve its efficiency, etc., are all included here.
Skills required for becoming a business analyst
It is often a bridge between the IT team and business stakeholders. They have a great deal of value in today’s day and times, especially with complex challenges that companies have to face, especially on a regular basis. However, the role of a business analyst might differ in different organisations. While in some places they may have a technical role with little business knowledge, in other places they will be required to have good business knowledge with almost little or no knowledge about the IT systems and architecture. Some of the core skills required in any business analyst are the following:
A good business analyst must be communicative:
It must be very strong communicators, especially in the verbal sense. This means that they must be able to work in team and analyse their needs in a manner that can help them resolve conflicts and problems, both within and outside the company. While communication is extremely important face-to face, it must be able to communicate in a virtual setting like conference calls or web meetings in an effective fashion as well.
A good business analyst must have a range of problem solving skills:
Almost all companies will have at some point or the other have to deal with a whole lot of challenges and problems. At the highest level, it allows companies to have a clearer understanding of the challenges faced by the organisation and how best they can resolve it in a simple and easy manner. Business analyst have to be able to negotiate between multiple business or technical stakeholders so that they can resolve conflicts from all side and implement solution at every stage.
A good business analyst must be able to think on their feet, every single time:
Business analyst have a very important task of weighing in a lot of options before the final implementation of a plan or system. While the problem to a particular problem, might seem obvious, a good business analyst would not just listen to all the stakeholders but implement that solution which will help the company achieve its goals in a strategic manner. This is why critical thinking is extremely important for all business analyst as it can help them take the company on the path of profit and progress, without wasting resources in any manner.
A good business analyst will have strong documentation skills:
A good business analyst will learn how to document each of their project and learning. It is important that new business analyst note down everything that they learn from their projects as it will help them take better decisions in the future. Also if similar problems arise at a later stage, they can implement the same solution, thereby saving a lot of time and unwanted problems.
A good business analyst will have a strong visual understanding:
He must be capable of visualising the solutions to a particular problem in their mind. This is because for any situation, a business analyst will have to create a lot of specific models that can address that challenge. That is why it is important that the business analysts can clearly visualise solution to a particular problem, before its implementation so that the success rate of that particular project automatically increases.
A good business analysts has good knowledge about business skills:
Having a basic and good understanding of basic office tools like Word, Excel and PowerPoint is extremely important and must be sufficient to help you survive in the industry. Other technical skills that can help a business analysts go ahead in their career fields includes a knowledge of modeling tools like Visio or Enterprise Architect, requirements management tools like DOORS or Caliber as well as project and management tools. The good part is that most of skills are something that business analysts can learn on the job as well.
A good business analyst must be able to build good relationships both within and outside his own team:
Many business analysts will have to work with stakeholders across many platforms. That is why it is important that business analysts should have an open and clear communication with stakeholders both on the business and technical sides. While a team may have disagreements within itself, it is important that a business analysts listens to every side of the conversation before taking any important decision. This would mean that the business analyst must be ready to take on responsibilities at every stage and build trusts between the team members so that company can achieve goals with minimum difficulty and hurdles.
Becoming a business analyst is therefore not a simple task as it requires a wide range of skill sets. However, it is important to remember that the education and training requirements for business analysts vary depend on the employer and type of the industry. While most employers require some level of experience, a minimum Bachelors degree is required across all companies and organisations. That being said, many business analyst professionals even have a Master’s degree to strengthen their qualifications and experience. This is a good idea as it allows individuals to gain a more in-depth understanding of the particular industry that they would want to be a part of; making them more adept to work in that industry.
Sources:
https://www.analyticsvidhya.com/blog/2021/06/what-is-a-business-analyst-and-what-is-the-role-of-a-business-analyst-in-a-company/
https://www.invensislearning.com/blog/what-does-a-business-analyst-do/
https://www.educba.com/what-is-the-role-of-a-business-analyst/