Thinking of switching careers? What about rounding out your current skill sets? Making yourself more marketable?
What do Business Analysts do?
According to the International Institute of Business Analysis, “a business analyst works as a liaison among stakeholders in order to elicit, analyze, communicate and validate requirements for changes to business processes, policies and information systems.” The business analyst (BA) understands specific business issues and can recommend solutions that help the organization reach their goal. BA’s can work in a number of roles including:
- Eliciting requirements
- Documentation
- Process re-engineering
- Systems Analysis
What types of skill sets do Business Analysts need?
General Business Skills. A good BA should have an analytical approach to problem solving. Additionally, qualified Business Analysts have a good working knowledge of:
- Applicable business processes and specific business models,
- GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles),
- Qualitative and quantitative analysis techniques,
- Process analysis and design, and most importantly,
- Communication Skills.
- Information Technology Skills
- In the realm of technology, qualified Business Analysts should be capable of:
- Business and system requirements gathering,
- Gap analysis,
- Technology specific constraints,
- UML modeling,
- Spreadsheets, modeling software, and
- Technical writing.
Still interested in Business Analysis training? There are many organizations that offer quality business analysis training. Local colleges and universities offer classes and there are online classes as well:
You may want to look at becoming a Certified Business Analyst through the International Institute of Business Analysis. Similar in structure to the Project Management Institute, IIBA offers lists of registered education providers, requires rigorous testing and continuing education.