In today's competitive landscape, businesses must adapt to new technologies to stay ahead. This is where business analysts come in, identifying necessary changes and crafting strategies to ensure success.
Business analysis involves identifying and addressing changing business needs through system development, management, and strategic planning. You can also go for a course providing Entry Certification in Business Analysis that can help prove your worth and fetch a great job.
In this article, we will explore the business analyst job description, crucial roles and responsibilities of a business analyst, key duties, offering insights into this promising career path.
Who Is a Business Analyst and What Does They Do?
A business analyst is a professional who determines the changes that an organization needs for growth. IIBA (International Institute for Business Analysis) typically calls these experts agents for change, who use data and statistics to boost organizational efficiency. They recommend technical advancements, policy upgrades, resource planning, and other things with a sole focus on revenue increase.
These experts find their role in every industry, irrespective of the domain. They analyze the key factors and curate a plan to change things that can bring a hike in the sales, revenue, efficiency, and reputation of an organization. Some of the things which come under the business analyst roles and responsibilities or what does a business analyst do? are:
- They help companies make better decisions and improve their overall efficiency.
- Only skilled professionals in this domain understand the use of SWOT analysis, mind mapping, and more that eventually help increase efficiency levels.
- They understand both the technical and management side of the business. So these experts can conveniently provide the best solutions.
- These professionals have an in-depth understanding of research methodologies and use reliable data sets to find better solutions.
Basically, these professionals do all the analysis work and check every aspect of the business to prepare plans for overall growth. So let us dig deeper to discuss the business analyst duties in detail to give you a clear picture of whether you want to start your career in this domain.
Business Analyst Job Description
Job Description of a Business Analyst (BA)
The Business Analyst job role focuses on improving the performance and increasing the competitiveness of a company in the market by providing foolproof system-based solutions to improve the efficiency level to the maximum and anticipating and fixing the problem areas within a company. The Business Analyst job responsibilities or business analyst job description can be summarized as follows:
- Ideating new and also challenging existing business ideas of a company to successfully execute its business plans to achieve the business goals.
- Understanding the customers’ needs and translating them into operational and applicational requirements by using strong analytical and product management skills.
- Compiling data and information from different sources for critical evaluation, reconciling conflicts and communicating high-level information to the management or stakeholders.
- Remain conversant with the latest technologies, processes and IT developments to automate and modernize the company’s systems.
- Efficiently communicating data-derived insights and plans to cross-functional team members and the management.
- Preparing meaningful reports out of the critical information gathered from meetings with various stakeholders.
- Effective liaising with clients, understanding their requirements, working closely with technicians and managerial staff.
- Rendering guidelines, training, coaching and providing leadership to junior staff.
- Proper resource allocation with efficient cost control.
- Providing data-driven solutions, prioritizing initiatives based on business needs and suggesting future avenues to meet the business requirements.
- Project management, developing project plans, monitoring performance and deliverables and ensuring timely completion of a project.
- Regular reviewing and evaluating of business processes, anticipating requirements, uncovering areas for improvement by developing optimization strategies and implementing solutions.
Business Analyst Levels
The business analysis goes through phases, and there are four levels that the analysts follow to get the best results. These levels are:
- Strategy Management: At this level, the business analyst plans and determines the strategies to analyze the business elements. It is the most significant factor as these strategies decide whether the final results are apt.
- Business Model Analysis: In this phase, the professionals analyze the existing business model, checking where the system is lacking.
- Process Designing: At this level, the analysts design the processes they need to introduce into the system to make necessary improvements.
- Technology Analysis: At this level, the business analyst responsibilities go through the technical analysis to ensure the feasibility of the change. It is another crucial aspect that you should thoroughly check.
Business Analyst Roles and Responsibilities
The BA roles and responsibilities are all about doing the tasks required to complete these levels. Some of the roles of these experts are listed below. Refer to the business analyst role description to get better clarity and plan your career accordingly.
1. Sorting Business Needs
The first BA role in agile practices is to sort the requirements. It would need a detailed analysis of the existing business model and the operations. Moreover, the expert should compare it with the market advancements to identify areas with scope for improvement.
2. Meeting stakeholders & development team
Another role of the business analyst working on a particular project is to meet the stakeholders and the development teams. First, they need to convey the ideas to the stakeholders, and once they get the nod, the next step is to transfer the changes to the development teams. All these tasks should be completed in a seamless manner to yield positive results.
3. Determining Feasibilities
Once the business analyst discusses the plans with the concerned teams, the task is determining the feasibilities. The developers and other concerned teams will discuss the feasibility, and if the need persists, the experts may have to change the plan.
4. Present the Plan
After the plan is ready to be implemented, the next thing is to present it to the staff and other people involved in the change. The team will gain familiarity with the changes and may need the training to adapt to them. It is again the role of a business analyst to present that plan and conduct essential pieces of training.
5. Project Implementation
Successful implementation is another role that business analysts have to fulfill. They assign tasks to teams concerned about infrastructural changes or technical advancements. The entire implementation process happens under these experts, whose strategies are under question.
6. Testing
The work does not end with the implementation phase. The analysts also have to stay put during the testing phase, ensuring that everything happens according to the expectations. If there is a technical advancement involved, the software testing team will generate reports to confirm that the result of these changes is working in favor.
7. Problem Solving
It is another role or responsibility that business analysts have to fulfill. They must identify the problem areas in a business process and find apt solutions. So, their analytics skill will help find the root cause behind the issue and the right way to solve them. Business analyst's roles and responsibilities in this context are crucial for continuous improvement and operational efficiency.
8. Maintenance
When the organizational processes and operations are on the right track and yielding the best results, the role left is to maintain that pace. The analysts will keep track of the tasks and operations to ensure no further changes are required. If they find bugs or defects in the system, they report it to the concerned team and get it fixed soon. Moreover, if there are any technological advancements that can provide more growth, they ensure that the organization adapts to them.
These are the fundamental roles of the experts working in the analysis domain. If you opt for the Business Management Certification. All these roles will be covered under the business analyst tasks.
Key Responsibilities of Business Analyst
Now you know all the roles of a business analyst. Let us understand the responsibilities that come on their shoulders. It will tell you what a business analyst does, and if you resonate with them, you can plan your career in this domain.
- Get all the information about the current processes that the business follows. The idea behind the process analysis is to identify areas that need improvement.
- Dig in depth and research the market thoroughly to understand what other people in a similar domain are doing. It will help you see where you are behind.
- Get up-to-date information and data related to the organization to create research-based plans for company growth. The idea is to ensure the strategies that you prepare are well-researched and fact-based.
- Creating a presentation, providing details about the required improvements and how to execute them. Moreover, the business analyst would present it in front of the board, staff, and every person directly involved with the change.
- Organize staff training to ensure everyone is ready to adapt to the changes and incorporate them into the system smoothly.
- They convince the stakeholders to nod yes to the changes and work with the senior management and other professionals.
- Test the changes to ensure that strategies work fine and give the expected results.
These are the business analysts roles and responsibilities that any expert in this domain should fulfill. To ensure that the experts stand tall on the expectations and yield positive results, one has to verify that the business analyst functions to the best of his ability. Hence, companies often hire experts who have done CCBA online courses or similar types, as it ensures the expertise level.
Business Analyst Skills
The primary reason behind hiring BA with a certified course in their portfolio is their skill level. These professionals require technical knowledge, domain understanding, and excellent interpersonal skills to efficiently play the role of a business analyst in a project. Some of the skills required for business analyst's roles and responsibilities are listed below.
- The primary skills required by a business analyst are excellent analytical skills. The professionals need the understanding to analyze essential factors and determine the areas that need change.
- These experts need to have a problem-solving approach, as they need to fix the defects and make necessary changes to help the organization move towards growth.
- The interpersonal skills of business analysts should be excellent as they need to collaborate with many professionals to bring about change.
- Understanding the business domain, management skills, and technical know-how is essential for every business analyst. They have to have knowledge of every aspect to support their decisions.
- Change is essential and mandatory, but budget is always a factor of consideration. Hence, business analysts should be able to do a proper cost-benefit analysis and make fair decisions.
- Understanding of tools and techniques that can help in business analysis and generate reports that can give the right direction towards growth.
These are the skills that a business analyst requires to handle the tasks well and come up with the best plans and strategies for company growth.
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Business Analyst Career Growth
Some of the most in-demand Business Analyst career paths are:
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Business Analyst Manager: Those who hire new Business Analyst team members, oversee the training of the new recruits, define best practices and also oversee the organizational goals.
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Data Business Analyst: These professionals usually keep busy working with huge data to derive meaningful insight out of them like identifying trends, developing charts and creating visual presentations to help in making business decisions.
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Information Security Analyst: With cybercrime the biggest threat of the modern world, cyber security professionals are in huge demand. The job of Information security analysts is to protect companies from cyber criminals by interpreting security data and monitoring IT networks and systems often by doing ethical hacking and more.
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Quantitative Analysts: They create, implement and present mathematical models to support financial decisions that influence investments, pricing structures and risk management.
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Data Analysis Scientist: This is the most challenging career path as such professionals need to be familiar with machine learning and statistics because they need to extract meaning from collected data, interpret, and convert it into actionable insights.
Average Business Analyst Salary
The average annual salary of a Business Analyst in India varies from company to company. For example, at Intuit, the average salary is $131,708 per annum.
The salary of a matured BA with 5-9 years of industry experience can earn around $87,264 a year while a senior professional with more than 15 years of experience may draw $103,729 a year.
In India, the role of a Business Analyst offers excellent opportunities. Brands like Fannie Mae, Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), EY, UBS, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Barclays offer huge salary packages. Here is a glimpse of the annual salary offered by these companies:
Fannie Mae: $119,022 per annum, Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E): $119,022 per annum , EY: $119,022 per annum ,UBS: $119,022 per annum , Thermo Fisher Scientific: $108,570 per annum and Barclays: $108,570 per annum.
As far as the international market is concerned, as per a survey mentioned, the probability of a BA ranges from USD 3,000 to USD 11,000 a month. Whereas Glassdoor reports the average salary of a Business Analyst in Canada as CA$64,715 per year. Bureau of Labor Statistics(BLS- (the federal agency that collects and circulates various data about the U.S. economy and labor market) reported an annual average salary for Business Analysts of $85,260 (in May 2019) with a growth projection of 11% growth between 2019 and 2029 with healthcare and IT sectors expected to experience the fastest growth.
What is Business Analysis?
Business analysis involves identifying and addressing changing business needs through system development, management, and strategic planning. A business analyst evaluates current operations, resources, and goals to design tailored solutions that drive organizational growth and efficiency.
You can also go for a course providing Entry Certification in Business Analysis that can help prove your worth and fetch a great job.
Conclusion
After reading this article, you might have understood everything about the business analyst's roles and responsibilities. You must also have understood the skills that a person needs to work in this domain and the challenges they might face. If you find them attractive enough to build a career in this domain, you can either go for CBAP Certification Training or other online courses relevant to this field. These courses will prepare you with the necessary interpersonal and technical skills to help you fetch the best job opportunities. Once you start exploring the job market, you will find that the business analyst job description and other professionals also requires all these skills.
This domain offers excellent salaries and secure jobs, and if the job roles also suit your potential, you should definitely consider it. Kickstart your career by taking up a course online, and you can start working as an analyst.
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