Whether it’s the lucrative rewards, the dynamic nature of the work or the fact that you wish to use your domain knowledge in a different way, business analysis has the potential to (re)ignite your career and life.
Common questions for the pursuit of a career in business analysis tends to include:
- How do I start a business analyst career?
- Can anyone become a business analyst?
- Is it hard to become a business analyst?
- Is it hard to become a business analyst?
- What are the top skills for a business analyst?
This article should provide you with clarity on all of the above, plus more, so read on!
To become a business analyst, you must have the ability to think critically, possess business and data processing skills and have a genuine interest in software development processes and methodologies. A high performing business analyst is a bridge between two distinct teams, mainly business and technology respectively. A business analyst’s role therefore revolves around ensuring cohesion between the different business change channels.
If you’re new to this world, do not fret! These things might sound overwhelming at first, but once you start to break them down to their core characteristics, you’ll quickly see how things go together and how you can pick these skills up in a good period of time.
Business and the way we do business has been revolutionized over the last decade or so. There’s no doubt that the fusion of technological and digital systems in virtually every industry has transformed the way we communicate and conduct business.
As a result, the continual cohesion between business and technology has created a healthy and steady demand for professionals who sit and operate as a permanent conduit between the two, otherwise, disparate teams.
It is at the intersection of business and technology that you find business analysis. Business analysis could be viewed as an umbrella term as it tends to encompass a few job titles, roles often include:
- Business Analyst
- Data Analyst
- Process Analyst
- Configuration Analyst
- Business Process Analyst
- Requirements Engineer
- Management Consultant
- Scrum Master
- Product Manager
There are more roles, but this should give you an idea of what kind of roles are available and are usually associated with business analysis. Essentially, business analysts are change management professionals who manage both people and processes during business change.
Business change varies far and wide, with different industries, companies, departments and teams all facing unique challenges. As a result, the work business analysts perform tends to vary too. This is why the core set of skills a business analyst has is critical to success, especially if you are looking to transition from a different role into the rewarding and dynamic world of business analysis.
When you consider the fact that business analysts are usually responsible for sourcing information, performing some form of analysis, understanding and interpreting the information, then communicating and often presenting back to the business, information handling remains an essential part of the business analyst’s repertoire.
When you consider the fact that business analysts tend to be the individuals who critically examine business processes and organizational management, then embark upon providing technical solutions to the change predicament the business finds itself in, you can see that even on a departmental level, the work performed by business analysts carries significant weight in terms of responsibility, importance and accountability.
There aren’t many industries where high-quality business analysts are not in demand. From banking, to marketing, from insurance to FMCG, where technology and digital transformations are taking place, you’ll usually find business analysts. It is this range, dynamism and variety that is leading a surge in demand for business analysts in today’s job markets and this sees little to no sign of slowing down.
According to Google Trends, the search terms “business analyst” and “product owner” for example looks like this:
Here at Analyst Exchange we are solely focused on business analysis. We feel the most important steps to becoming a business analyst are:
- Learn the fundamentals of business analysis
- Develop good understanding of Software Development Life Cycle methodologies
- Learn data analytics
- Reformat your profile (CV/LinkedIn)
- Apply for relevant roles
Learn the fundamentals of business analysis
Naturally the first and most important step of any new journey or change is to learn the core basics. A tree can’t stand without strong roots, so your career won’t last very long if you don’t have a firm grasp on the fundamentals of business analysis. Everybody’s favorite entrepreneur Elon Musk made an excellent point when learning the basics when he said:
"One bit of advice: it is important to view knowledge as sort of a semantic tree -- make sure you understand the fundamental principles, i.e. the trunk and big branches, before you get into the leaves/details or there is nothing for them to hang on to."
The basic premise behind business analysis is actually simple: a business has identified a problem, they need to understand the implications of the problem and then they need to implement an efficient solution. It is your job to walk them through that journey end to end.
Now, depending on the size and complexity of the problem a business analyst will seldom be able to tackle it on their own, in fact, the coordination of stakeholders and business process management is more likely to be the task at hand for the business analyst.
The SMEs are the stakeholders on the ground who actually will facilitate the change by providing relevant information, testing the solution, signing the solution of, then eventually working with the new solution. Therefore, you need to firmly grasp these skills if you want to crack business analysis:
- Stakeholder management
- Identifying business problems
- Articulating and presenting business solutions
- Gathering, documenting and analyzing business requirements
- Working with and being comfortable with data
- Business process modeling
- Software development life cycle
How do you actually learn?
Most business analysts tend to have a bachelor’s degree, usually in subjects like economics, business administration, finance, accounting, computer science and so on - and business analysis core skills tend to be a logical and sequential next step from a learning perspective.
There’s no silver bullet, or one path you can choose. You could become a certified business analyst through bodies like the IIBA or the BCS, which would (in theory at least) give you a solid grounding.
You could also embark on the plethora of online courses that are taught by many business analysis professionals globally. Naturally, when there is a large supply of a good or service the quality doesn’t always follow, so proceed with caution on what online course you should take. But any business analysis course worth its salt should encompass the list above within their learning materials.
But remember, the list above should be incorporated into any business analysis fundamental course. If you don’t have a solid understanding of these traits then you won’t be an effective professional.
Develop a good understanding of software development methodologies
We’ve singled this step out because a firm understanding of methodologies such as Agile, Scrum, Kanban, Waterfall, V-Model, EXP and so on lies at the heart of technological change. Whilst businesses tend to focus on the core strategic direction the business should take, subsequently highlighting the need for business change in the first place, how this is implemented on a day-to-day basis is vital.
One of the reasons business analysis as a profession even came about was due to the fact that the disparity between software developers and business leaders used to be vast. Many technology driven solutions were delivered, yet businesses faced many challenges with accepting a solution they were not happy with. Despite large monetary outlays and time and resource devoted to requirements elicitation, solutions failed to meet expectations.
A conduit therefore was needed and this brought out the iterative software development methodology, the most famous and most prominent being Agile and the growth of business analysis as a necessary profession within business change projects. It is really important that aspiring business analysts understand the differences between the methodologies because if you don’t tweak your approach, you won’t be as effective in your service delivery.
Furthermore, you’ll also fail to impress or convince stakeholders due to your ineffectiveness and due to your lack of understanding of the approach a company wishes to take. For example, if you only understand Waterfall but the company you work for is adopting a Scrum/Agile approach, you will struggle to be effective.
Make sure you understand the difference between waterfall and agile for example and can advocate for which approach is best given the constraints and nuances every business has, the challenges they face and what approach you feel is best suited to get the best results.
Learn Data Analytics
Data driven decision making is more than a buzzword, ‘buzz-concept’ or fad. Analytical prowess is an essential part of modern business. The importance of data management and analysis within business analysis does vary from business to business however.
Some businesses don’t expect too much by way of analytics, whilst others naturally demand their business analysts to present a suite of beautifully crafted, visually pleasing data results and findings.
Data analysis in scope of a business analyst’s profession primarily focuses on furthering a businesses goals, so not necessarily emerging or correlating patterns with data, like a traditional data analyst would be expected to comment and report back on. So data analysis within business analysis usually helps drive core decision making during projects.
For example, tracking work items within sprints provides clarity for all stakeholders involved. Once that data has been assimilated, the business can add and reduce resource allocation, make more meticulous decisions or understand the pace and cadence of development implementation. Without tracking and analyzing the data gathered, this would have far less rigor.
Naturally, as digital and technology driven solutions have transformed businesses globally, a good understanding of analytics is expected, so if you’re not comfortable with data, take a course that takes you through analytics slowly and of course, practise, practise, practise!
Reformat Your Profile
Now you’ve equipped yourself with the core fundamentals of business analysis and data analytics you’ve got enough to start applying for roles right? Wrong! If you are inexperienced and are looking to transition to becoming a business analyst it would be really unfortunate to raise your skill set but be let down due to an improper resume (CV).
Essentially, by adding more skills to your profile, you’ve shown a potential employer that you have the willingness to invest in yourself. If that is not conveyed in a clear way however, it will almost feel like you wasted your time; don’t fall into this trap!
Because reformatting and redesigning your profile is so important, we’ve created a free eBook for you to use. The eBook contains everything you need to take your existing resume (CV) and reformat it so it’s ready for job applications. Click here to read more.
Apply for Relevant Roles
As mentioned within this article, business analysis as a concept is a business change function, whereby a business analyst provides cohesion between two disparate teams. As a result, business analysis tends to vary from business to business and industry to industry.
Broadly speaking, you’ll likely perform similar tasks, but when we dive deeper, we naturally become more focused on specific parts of business analysis. Therefore, various variations of the role become more prevalent, roles such as:
- Data Analyst
- Requirements Analyst
- Requirements Engineer
- Systems Analyst
- Configuration Analyst
- Enterprise Architect
- Business Process Analyst
- IT Strategist
- Management Consultant
- Product Manager
- Product Owner
- Process Architect
- Senior Business Analyst
- Chief Information Officer
The list above is not exhaustive, but it should provide you with the variants available to you should you apply for a business analysis role. Whilst you may not wish to “limit” yourself to traditional “business analyst” roles only, you should understand that these variants of the business analysis role encompass the core fundamentals of business analysis.
Business Analyst Qualifications
Whilst experience will always be the best teacher of any vocation or profession, obtaining qualifications provides a professional grounding that can complement existing education or boost your professional credentials.
The most prominent boards are the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) globally and The Chartered Institute of IT (BCS) in the UK. Both qualification boards offer a comprehensive curriculum of contemporary business analysis materials that are designed to equip the student with the essential skills required to perform in any business analysis environment.
Qualifications are an obvious sign to a potential or current employer that you’re serious about your profession, but do not let obtaining qualifications deter you from applying for roles. Qualifications for business analysis remain an option and there are many successful professionals who do not have any formal qualifications.
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