A business analyst is one of those careers that are high in demand. People applying for this job need to have a degree in the required subject. But that’s not enough. Those aspiring to become business analysts must thoroughly know this profile’s role.
If you want to become a business analyst and pursue a career in the same, you must know whether a business analysis is a technical or non-technical job.
Here’s what I have found:
An individual aiming to become a business analyst helps the company analyze its services, products, and process. They use data insights and make profitable decisions to help the company improve its current processes.
Business analysts can either be technical or non-technical, depending on their skills and interest. Both technical and non-technical business analysts serve different purposes in the company.
What is a Business Analyst?
A business analyst is a business tech responsible for conducting market research, customer interaction, and business processes analysis. Successfully business analysts mainly focus on processing, analyzing, and collecting raw business data. They use the data to improve business strategy.
They are also known for examining the business models and integrating technology to obtain the best results. They can either work as consultants (where they get hired by different companies) or in-house (working for a company on different projects).
Business analysts take a business to new heights of success by improving processes, services, and products. They improve efficiency, bridge gaps, and straddle a company’s business operations and IT.
A successful business analyst is one who has a combination of analytical skills, IT skills, and soft skills. They work together with stakeholders and business leaders to bring an efficient system to the organization.
Business Analyst Responsibilities
As a business analyst, an individual is responsible for analyzing the systems, processes, products, and services. Business analysts are dedicated to enhancing the current process to become more profitable.
A business analyst is also known for examining the business models and their integration with technology to obtain the best results. They can either work as consultants (where they get hired by different companies) or in-house (working for a company on different projects).
The roles and responsibilities of a business analyst can vary as it depends on business goals, business operation cycle, job designation, and the employment industry.
Below are the basic responsibilities of a business analyst:
Identifying Business Issues
Business analysts are mainly responsible for finding business issues so they can be fixed on time. They communicate with the teams and analyze the process to identify any problem. Based on the obtained data, they plan proper improvement steps.
Data Collection and Recording
Along with identifying major business issues, their role also involves analyzing and collecting data. They work with customer experience management, business clients teams, and business workflow to collect data. The analyzed and collected data further turns out to be a valuable asset for the company.
Business Analysis
Business analysis remains the central job task of the business analyst. For this, they identify useful data findings, process data, and visualize data structures into graphical illustrations.
Business analysts also have to work with the product development and operations team to communicate solutions and data patterns.
Data Solution Evaluation
As a company that has a vast amount of data, it offers several data solutions. But the business flow might get disrupted if all the solutions are implemented. This is where business analysis comes to play.
They consider the business goals and requirements to evaluate the operations. It helps them in finding the best business strategy.
Present the Business Solutions
A business analyst’s role is to present the recorded and analyzed business data to the team leaders, clients, and superiors. A business analyst’s job requires the individual to have interpersonal skills and develop a good relationship with the team.
When business analysts convey solutions and data to their superiors and business clients, they must avoid using overpowering jargon.
Implementation of the Project
One of the most important roles in a business analyst’s profile is properly implementing whatever has been planned. Executing a plan can become difficult if the previous steps are not taken properly.
Functional and Non-functional Requirements
A skilled business analyst is required to take care of the business’s functional aspect. Taking care of functional aspects includes the ways to enhance the working of a project.
Additionally, a business analyst also looks after the non-functional requirements, including focusing on how a business or project is supposed to work.
Testing
The role of a business analyst does not end with the production of products. In fact, a business analyst needs to take part in testing to understand the quality and capacity of the prepared product.
A business analyst involves some clients and tests the prototype. They then record their experience based on the test description. They then start making changes to the model to enhance the quality depending on the feedback received from clients.
At last, they try to understand whether the developed prototype meets the project’s requirements or not using UAT (user acceptance test).
Decision Making and Problem Solving
A business analyst can solve issues and challenges if they ever get stuck in any situation by having better problem-solving skills. Strong problem-solving skills include identifying problems, developing solutions, and executing plans. It also includes access to the plan to know the progress of the plan.
Business analysts must calmly handle the situations, whether it’s related to clients, employees, or stakeholders. They are also expected to make better decisions even in harsh conditions.
Maintenance
Maintenance is one of the most important steps in developing a product. If the product is not taken care of properly, the entire hard work will be spoiled. In this case, the role of a business analyst is to maintain the clients or sales. In addition, they must make sure the quality of manufactured products meets the requirements.
Building a Team
Business analysts must have proper verbal communications skills and listening skills so they can build a strong team for work. They should make sure that the team is working as one. By communicating efficiently with the team members, business analysts can take the company to new heights of success.
Is Business Analyst Technical or Non-Technical
Business analysts can be either technical or non-technical.
Technical business analysts analyze and develop innovative integrated software solutions. It’s done by aligning business operations with information technology systems.
On the other hand, a non-technical business analyst works outside the IT department. They are more involved in the project’s improvement process. They refine the business operations.
It’s a non-technical business analyst’s role to work on strategy-based projects. In addition, they can also work skillfully on developing target operating models or business transformations. That means non-technical business analysts need to develop business-focused skills.
Non-technical business analysts have plenty of roles and areas to work on to improve their business analyst career path.
- Understand the business need
- Agree on how to meet the business need to achieve the best results for the business
- Ensure requirements are understood by business stakeholders, so they are complete and correct
- Ensure requirements are suitable to ensure delivery of a solution that meets the business need
- Ensure the business need and requirements will be met by the proposed solution
- Ensure any risks and issues that arise from the solution are understood and accepted by affected stakeholders
Conclusion
A business analyst is a professional that plays a vital role in an organization’s success. They are responsible for identifying and resolving issues that prevent businesses from achieving their goals. They play a vital role in ensuring that businesses can grow and succeed.
They determine how data-driven changes can influence services, hardware, and products. They consult with end-users and business leaders to bring value to the organization.
