What Is a Business Analyst? Job Description & Skills Required

Unlock the potential of your business with a little help from the data wizards - that's what business analysts, or BAs, bring to the table. These experts are tasked with scouring through data to uncover insights that can help boost a company's efficiency and profitability. By analyzing everything from costs and processes to products, services, and software, BAs work to make sure the business is operating at peak performance.

The role of business analyst has skyrocketed in popularity as companies recognize the crucial impact that data analysis can have on their success. These data-driven professionals are becoming increasingly in demand by large and medium-sized organizations, so what exactly does it take to be a business analyst?

What Is Business Analyst

As the trailblazer in unifying IT and business, the business analyst is the essential strategist who leverages data analytics to optimize performance, cut costs, and elevate the value and profits of the company.

With a keen eye for detail, the business analyst steps up to the plate and takes the lead in communicating key findings and recommendations to the highest levels of management, making sure that the proposed changes align with the company's technology capabilities, budget, and practicality. Their ability to translate complex data into clear and actionable insights sets them apart, as they meticulously map out business processes, evaluating their interplay with technology to drive growth and success.

What Does Business Analyst Do

As the liaison between IT and business, business analysts act as the data-driven guide, bridging the gap to unlock opportunities for growth. With a keen eye for detail and a deep understanding of business processes, they work closely with key stakeholders to uncover hidden efficiencies and unlock the full potential of data-driven decision making.

With a focus on continuous improvement and maximizing the bottom line, business analysts lead the charge in transforming business processes, information systems and policies. They communicate their findings, drive change, and empower stakeholders to achieve their goals.

Professional business analysts play a major role in moving a company towards efficiency, productivity, and profitability. Here’s what they do on a day-to-day basis:

• Understand what business they’re in, the strategies, goals, requirements and how they can make it better, through business analytics 
• Identify, prioritize, and organize the company’s functional and technical needs and requirements
• Help the company to meet its objectives and reach their goals by improving and streamlining processes
• Support business information systems and provide solutions to a variety of business issues across multiple departments
• Identify, design, and analyze new features implementation to improve existing business processes
• Analyze large datasets using SQL
• Create data visualization by compiling charts, tables, etc
• Support business decisions by creating financial models including forecasting and budgeting

Business Analyst Skill

With a lot of the company’s needs resting on their shoulders, a business analyst must master at least these five BA basic skills.

• Technical skills: The technical know-how of a Business Analyst is crucial, especially if they are operating in the IT realm. A proficient understanding of IT systems, hardware, databases, networking, software development life cycle (SDLC) methodology, and operating systems are all essential components in the toolkit of a successful BA.
• Analytical skills: A Business Analyst must be an expert in breaking down complex data and business processes to uncover hidden opportunities for improvement. They wield an arsenal of analytical skills including business analysis, data analysis, workflow optimization, stakeholder engagement, and document management. With these skills, a BA can tackle any challenge and turn mountains of data into actionable insights and solutions.
• Research skills: As a business analyst, research skills are your secret weapon in uncovering hidden gems and turning data into game-changing insights. Your ability to delve deep and uncover valuable information can help your company make decisions and create solutions that are backed by solid evidence and research. Your research skills are what sets you apart and gives your company a competitive edge in a data-driven world.
• Communication skills: With the ability to articulate complex ideas with clarity and precision, the communication skills of a business analyst can mean the difference between successfully implementing a solution to a company's problems or struggling with miscommunication and missed opportunities. A BA with strong communication skills can confidently convey their research findings and recommendations to key stakeholders, ensuring that everyone is on the same page and working towards a common goal.
• Leadership skills: Business analysts often find themselves leading teams and guiding them through complex problem-solving processes. With multiple stakeholders to balance, exceptional leadership skills become paramount to orchestrate efficient collaboration and navigate the team to reach mutually beneficial solutions. A strong leader can turn chaos into clarity, bring harmony to discord and drive the team to success.

The Roles of Business Analyst

As a business analyst, the sector you work in can greatly influence your role and responsibilities. From data analysis to information security, the range of specialties within the business analyst field is vast. Business analysts are categorized into several types as follows:

• Data Analyst
• System Analyst
• Business Analyst
• IT Business Analyst
• Functional Architect
• Business Data Analyst
• Usability or UX Analyst
• Business System Analyst
• Business Process Analyst
• Computer Systems Analyst
• Information Security Analyst
• Operations Research Analyst

There may be other categories of business analyst roles, and some companies even created product manager positions that work with business analysts or a team of business analysts.

However, what they all share in common is the ability to help a business reach new heights through the use of data and technology. BAs are known to be the agile sherpas of the business world, bridging the gap between the technical and non-technical aspects of a company. They are able to effectively communicate and collaborate with executives and key stakeholders, bringing their recommendations to life through their understanding of what's technically feasible, financially sound, and functionally reasonable.

In agile projects, BAs are often seen as valuable members of the team, staying with the project from start to finish, ensuring that everything runs smoothly and efficiently. In other fast-paced environments, BAs may be seen jumping from one project to another, adapting and adjusting to the demands of each unique project.

Overall, the versatility of the business analyst role is what makes it so appealing to many companies. As long as a BA has the necessary skills and the right mindset, they can thrive and generate the desired outcome for their organization.

If you think you have the skills to become a competent business analyst, join us at Talentport now!