Introduction to Business Analysis

Who is a Business Analyst?

Business Analysts have emerged to have a key role in recent business scenarios. Some people think that the role of a Business Analyst is to make money for the organization, which may not be true in direct context. But indirectly, the action and decision taken by Business Analysts do leave an impact on the financial prospects of the organization.

A primary job responsibility of Business Analyst is to communicate with all stakeholders & to elicit, analyze and validate the requirements for changes to business processes, information systems, and policies.

A professional business analyst plays a big role in moving an organization toward efficiency, productivity, and profitability.

Before we jump into the tutorial, we will see some basic perspective of a Business Analyst to help the organization succeed. The foremost priority for any business analyst will be to try understanding following things

• Understand what business does and how it does
• Determine how to improve existing business processes
• Identify the steps or tasks to support the implementation of new features
• Design the new features to implement
• Analyze the impact of implementing new features
• Implement the new features

Different Business Analyst Role

Business Analyst can be from any sector, and the role differs based on the sector. Business Analyst are classified into various categories like

• Business Analyst
• Business Process Analyst
• IT Business Analyst
• Business System Analyst
• System Analyst
• Data Analyst
• Functional Architect
• Usability or UX Analyst

Characteristics of a good Business Analyst

Basically, a good business analyst is judged on these four attributes

Typical Qualities of a Good Business Analyst:

• Analytical skills- An outstanding analytical skills will separate out a good business analyst. A good part of BA role includes analyzing data, workflow, user or stakeholders inputs, documents, etc.
• Leadership skills- directing team members, forecasting budget, helping team members with the problem, etc.
• Business process and planning- Planning the project scope, understanding and implementing requirement of project, identifying resources required for the project and so on
• Technical skill- If a business analyst is in the IT sector, few technical aspect are expected to know like operating systems, hardware capabilities, database concepts, networking, SDLC methodology, etc.

Tools of the Trade

To make their work easier, the business analyst often depends on tools like

• TopTeam Analyst: This tool helps in providing a complete solution for requirements gathering and management
• SmartDraw: It is a graphic diagramming tool that use stencils for organizational charts, swim lanes, data flow diagram, etc.
• Blueprint: This tool produces a blue print of the project artifacts like development models, test scenarios, use cases, flow charts, etc. to ensure that everything is falling in line and as per expectation
• Survey Monkey: It allows you to send survey to stakeholders, capture their feedback, rank and prioritize their view and turn them into requirements

There are many other tools like iServer, Meetingsense,Ravenflow,AnalystPro, which could be used by Business Analyst during the project.

Certifications

As per the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA), CBAP (Certified Business Analysis Professional) certification is a recognized certificate for a professional Business Analyst. They provide two types of certifications. The certification exam is computer based and consists of multiple choice questions.

• Certification of Competency in Business Analysis: Pre-requisite for this certification is atleast 3750 hours of work experience
• Certified Business Analysis Profession (senior level): Pre-requisite for this certification is atleast 7500 hours of work experience

For off-shore students, they can appear certification exam online. For more information, you can visit thewebsite.

Jobs

Job prospectus for Business Analyst rises every year, especially for the IT sector. The average salary of business analyst is estimated around $80,000 - $130, 000, even at entry level.

International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) is growing exponentially indicating increasing demand of Business Analyst. Business Analyst always remain an organization priority since they have to work in a close proximity to top executives, clients, and stakeholders.

According to U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, the BA job are predicted to increase by 19% between 2012 and 2022.

Conclusion:

The business analyst role is promising and has to deal with different layers of an organization. Business analyst are classified into various categories like Business Process Analyst, IT Business Analyst and so on.

• A good business analyst should encompass skills like
  • Analytical skills
  • Leadership skills
  • Business process and Planning
  • Technical Skills
• Various tools that can help Business Analyst are TopTeam Analyst, SmartDraw, Blueprint, etc.
• Online certification course for BA available by recognized institute IIBA
• According to U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, the BA job are predicted to increase by 19% between 2012 and 2022.