The business analyst position is one of the most promising career options in the age of data science. Any company that relies on progressive technology uses tons of data to make operational decisions that’ll be profitable for the business. The internet is flooded with business analyst courses given the widespread demand for business analyst professionals by businesses. So what does a data analyst do? Well, from a broader perspective the role involves churning tons of data to analyse the industry trend and market situation and make suggestions regarding the business operations. Let’s delve deeper into what the role encompasses and what are the key skills required for the job.
Role of a Business Analyst
The role of a business analyst is very dynamic and holds an array of responsibilities. A business analyst is responsible to bridge the gap between the IT and non-IT departments using data analytics. They work in close conjunction with the IT and Finance department to build a data-backed model which will help to improve business processes and minimize the cost incurred on such expeditions.
A typical job description for a business analyst might include tasks like budgeting and forecasting, price optimisation, variance analysis, doing a SWOT analysis, identifying new profitable avenues for the business, communicating with key stakeholders for a comprehensive analysis, etc. The job is multidimensional and requires very skilled professionals who have honed both their soft skills and technical skills to perfection. Let’s peep into some of the key skills required by business analyst professionals in the field.
Skills Required To Become Business Analyst
The job of a business analyst has multiple aspects to it and requires a mixture of balanced technical and soft skills, let’ learn about some of the key skills that help the business analyst in their professional life.
- Technical skills: Technical skills are the most crucial ones as a lot depends on the competency of a business analyst to carry out details business analysis by factoring in multiple variables that might affect the business. Most of the software developments take place only after the business analyst’s recommendations post analysis. Understanding the technical applications and its relevance to the business is utmost important. In addition to this, a BA should also be able to analyse market trends and predict future trends based on historical data.
- Research skills: Given the enormous amount of information present in the age of data science, it is imperative to find relevant contextual information that’ll help the business. Research skills are the key to finding reliable information that is relevant to a particular business or industry. Using data analytics on irrelevant data won’t get the best results for a corporation.
- Critical thinking: Being good at research will not suffice. What you draw out from the research data is crucial to your success. This requires thinking critically with all that information present at hand after doing the research. When you obtain valuable insights from the data you can apply it to grow the business further. A lot of contemplation goes into drawing out conclusions from the data.
- Communication skills: When you can’t express all that you have understood about the business, it won’t be easier for people around you to comprehend your thinking and motive. An effective communicator needs to put forth their own opinion so that other parties can understand the data-based insights obtained. Being a good communicator means you should be as good a listener as you are a speaker. Listening to various stakeholders is the key to effective communication.
- Interpersonal skills: When you are working as a business analyst in a company, it requires you to communicate and understand the needs of various stakeholders. This requires you to have good interpersonal skills so that you can get along with the key stakeholders. The key here is to understand the motivation, objectives and inspirations of different parties to reach an understanding outcome.
- Negotiation skills: When you have to manage multiple stakeholders to the business you won’t be able to satisfy all the parties. The best outcome for one party will not necessarily produce the same for the other party. This needs an effective negotiator to balance the scales and settle the difference. Managing the conflict of opinions is the key to negotiating here.
