What makes good business analyst

The analytical skills form the basis of the BCS Diploma in Business Analysis and include analysis of the external and internal environment of an organisation, process and data modelling techniques, and approaches to choosing the right solution options for the business in line with its overall Mission and strategy.

However, a good Business Analyst will not allow the tools and process to override their empathy with the customer and user community, or to get in the way of communication. Requirements capture and management are at the heart of the Business Analyst's daily work. A good BA is in an unusual position of facilitator, guardian, champion, negotiator, but not owner, of the requirements. If the true customers and users do not feel ownership of the requirements, any solution based on them may not be fully accepted.

A good Business Analyst will recognise and capture requirements. They appreciate the right level of detail to record at different points in the lifecycle of a project or change. They capture requirements from the right people — everyone has an opinion, but the actual operative of a particular process rather than their manager knows best what they do day-to-day.

The empowered manager can then make a decision on what is acceptable. Some Business Analysts feel that they are expected to be technical authors who write down whatever the customer asks for and nothing more.

However, a good BA can do much more. They will work hard to understand the real requirement or need behind the customer's requests and they have techniques such as "5 Whys" and User Stories to help. This does not mean rejecting what the user asks for; often a requirement will first emerge as a solution, e. If we ask why, we might be told "so that I can focus on the top debtors, out of the s we have — it's a real problem how much debt we carry! The good Business Analyst not only asks for the report to be provided in the right sequence and level of detail, but also looks earlier in the process to see just why so much debt is being carried, and whether the cause of the problem can be removed.

It is often very difficult for individuals working in an organisation to maintain a perspective which spans across an organisation's activities. The BA is in a unique position to do this, and can present this to help individuals appreciate their effect on the value chain of the organisation or product from supplier to customer.

This helps in resolving conflicts and ensuring that when the solution is delivered, it is understood and owned by its stakeholders. Clarity does not mean getting sign-off on a requirements specification and then pointing customers back to it whenever they ask for change. And so they keep a close eye on value and feasibility and guide their stakeholders toward a set of requirements that can actually get implemented.

Interested in learning more about becoming a good, or even a great, BA? Then I highly suggest checking out these posts next:. Are You? By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy. This is the foundation…But then you must do a little more. They use active listening techniques to ensure stakeholders feel heard. Good business analysts are both professional and good to work with. That being said, good business analysts know how to manage within business analysis.

They are proactive and dependency aware. They manage themselves to commitments and deadlines. They get stakeholders involved at the right times and in the right ways and keep everything moving. Before you go, would you like to receive our absolutely FREE workshop?

Great business analysts rarely get stopped for long and can often work through challenging situations to come through to a solution. Great business analysts are not content to do the same things the same way every time. Gaining confidence to apply wide variety of business analysis techniques increases marketability and can make you more efficient. Great BA's select the right tool for the job instead of relying on their go-to tools and making it work for every situation. They create alignment and ownership around the solution.

But great business analysts do more and this means that you are in the middle of resolving conflicts and ensuring that when the solution is delivered, the business truly owns that this is what they wanted and is prepared to use it. Business analysts bring a unique blend of critically important soft skills and analysis skills. Together these two skill sets help the business analyst create clarity and clarity does not simply mean that you get sign-off on the spec.

They use analysis techniques to drill into details and ask relevant questions. They get buy-in, not just sign-off, during the verification and validation process and they get into the appropriate details to ensure true clarity emerges. Yes, developers and stakeholders like cookies.

Great business analysts are both professional and good to work with. Great BA's are not only not project managers but they understand with perfect clarity why they are not project managers.