Top 26 Business Analyst Skills Needed to Excel in 2024

Introduction

The field of business analytics is expanding in the modern day. Professionals in business analysis are becoming more and more in demand worldwide. To work as a business analyst, you need to have a certain set of business analyst skills. Possessing the necessary abilities will enable you to take on new challenges and advance as a productive business analyst.

A career as a Business Analyst offers a unique combination of technical skills, communication skills, and business acumen, making it an ideal choice for those looking to build a successful and rewarding career. In this blog, we will explore the top 10 business analysis skills as well as technical skills of a business analyst, what are the requirements for a business analyst, and many more.

Lastly, we will see the top five  reasons why you should consider learning Business Analyst skills and how they can help you achieve your professional goals. 

So, whether you're a recent graduate, a seasoned professional, or just looking to make a change, this blog will help you understand why Business Analyst skills are in such high demand and how they can benefit you.

Who is a Business Analyst?

A Business Analyst is a professional who helps organizations improve their processes and systems by analyzing data, identifying problems and opportunities, and developing solutions. 

They serve as the bridge between an organization's technical and non-technical aspects, communicating requirements and recommendations to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. 

Business Analysts may work in various industries, including finance, healthcare, technology, and consulting, among others. They may be responsible for tasks such as gathering and documenting business requirements, performing data analysis, developing solutions, testing software, and managing projects. 

By understanding business challenges and offering solutions that will optimize the organization's value to its stakeholders, a business analyst facilitates transformation inside the company. They are involved in every little detail of the company, from enterprise architecture creation to strategy formulation. Now that you have a better idea of what a business analyst is, let's look at the business analyst key skills to help you become one.

Apart from these technical skills for business analysts, if you would like to be trained by experts in this technology, you can opt for JanBask Business Analyst Online certification.

The role requires a combination of technical, analytical, and communication skills, making it a challenging and rewarding career option for those with a passion for problem-solving and improving business processes.

The role of business analysts depends from company to company and it is the most fast-paced and ever-evolving job profile one can ever be in.

What Business Analysts do?

• Business Analysts’ typical role is to evaluate business processes, goals, and structures to identify reasons linking to business gaps and determine information-infused solutions to fill those gaps. 
• Effective Business Analysts help to identify the profitable direction in which businesses can move to fulfill their bottom line.
• They act as a translator between management and IT to resort to the actions equating inefficiencies in processes, software product quality, and services delivered to end customers.
• They help to simplify the technical jargon for the management and the non-technical stakeholders - so that everybody stays aware of the technical tasks deployed.

Generally, there are 4 types of analysis a BA generally does:

• Business model analysis - To define policies and market approaches
• Strategic planning - To identify the changing needs of the company
• System Analysis - To interpret requirements for the IT staff
• Process design - To standardize the workflows

Business Analyst delivers solutions in a lot of diverse types as data models, business plans, strategic plans, flowcharts, etc.

Let’s understand the Business analyst's role with a real-time example:

Suppose there is a bank called “XYZ” that wants to buy loan management software from a software firm. The Business Analyst of the software firm would liaise with the bank team and his company’s technical team to help the bank get a thorough knowledge about the loan management software they are interested in integrating with their business system.

The BA would extract the loan processing requirements of the bank and would ensure that his company’s product is meeting the bank’s bottom line. If not, he would look into the gaps and create information-based technical solutions right along with IT staff to fill in those gaps and unsatisfied experiences of the business customer XYZ Bank.

Typical Job Responsibilities of Business Analysts

To acquire the best business analyst skills, it's crucial to possess knowledge of processes. In a technical product/services-based firm, a Business Analyst is responsible for collecting, understanding, analyzing, and documenting the business customer’s software requirements through strong business acumen.

Apart from these technical skills for business analysts, if you would like to be trained by experts in this technology, you can opt for the JanBask Online BA Training job description.

The activities of BAs fluctuate from company to company and project to project. However, there are a few general obligations that he/she performs:

• They assess business needs by taking sheer communication between management and IT staff, or by conducting workshops, meetings, and surveys with stakeholders.
• They know how technological solutions need to be implemented and thus, create a plan that utilizes those solutions to help businesses meet their end goals.
• They define business requirements, do detailed business analysis, and trace out problems and solutions for the technical and operational changes.
• They work in collaboration with project heads and communicate the progress of the projects to the management and the stakeholders, and business customers.
• They work in cohesion with the development team to guide them about the required product development and support the business development team in pre-sales activities.
• Being technically flared, they even conduct software testing to check the product’s durability and performance traits before its final rollout.

So, these are a few responsibilities of a business analyst. In the following section, we will identify the key business analyst skills required to become a successful professional in this profession. 

Apart from these business analyst skills, if you would like to be trained by experts in this technology, you can opt for JanBask Business Analyst Online certification.

Business Analyst Basic Skills

Apart from soft and hard skills, Business Analysts should possess a plethora of resources to completely identify the business processes and assist the organizations with better productivity, efficiency, and profitability.

Business Analyst Skills list in Business Analysis	Details
Requirement Elicitation	Elicitation means to extract, in a company, BAs are required to identify, collect, and extract information and requirements from management, stakeholders, and clients. Thus, BAs must be able to facilitate an effective discussion via meetings, workshops, and scrum to extract the exact operational to technical requirements of the project for further completion.
Decision Making	BA should be quick and attentive in taking decisions. Because a BA is expected to take rapid decisions such as controlling changes, deciding the viability of a project/product, extending the scope, taking management decisions, and so on. They are also looked up for making decisions around requirement prioritization discussion, selecting and finalization of approaches, processes, and standards, planning meetings, and so on.
Documentation	The BA job role involves creating unambiguous, consistent, complete, and updated documents timely. Business requirement documents (BRD) are one of the important documents that a BA should know how to draft end-to-end.
Analytical	To be effective at meeting the needs of customers, a BA should have a quick-witted and analytical mind that could help with the effective identification of problems and gathering the right resources to support to bring the best solutions for them. To do this, a BA should have an investigative approach, problem-solving, logical & critical thinking, and smooth interpersonal skills.
Creativity	Since not all problems in an organization will be of the same intensity, a BA needs to be creative, he needs to have an ability to think of out-of-box and novel solutions. This comes among the business analyst's key skills. He should have a creative outlook & approaches while suggesting inputs on wireframes, prototypes, or whiteboard drawings.
Prototyping	Business analysts work more like a visual illustration of the system and processes. It becomes quite easy for them to relate and make an assumption when stakeholders see the prototype of the system. The Prototype also helps in eliminating misunderstandings and miscommunications during the development process and also reduces the time and money due to minimum or no changes in the system during delivery.

So, these are the business analyst core skills that one must have to grow in this profession. 

Now, we have a quick sketch of the Business Analyst profile, let’s take you around the reasons why you should think of learning the Business Analysts skills around the actual work industry requirements.

Top 26 Business Analyst Skills

Learning the Business Analyst Basic skills are crucial as they play a significant role in bridging the gap between technology and business. To be successful, a business analyst should possess a combination of technical, analytical, and soft skills.

Technical Business Analyst Skills

To properly assess and resolve business challenges, business analysts need to possess a specific set of technical abilities. The following are essential technical competencies that are beneficial to business analysts:

1. Data analysis

There should be competence with statistical analysis software (e.g., R, Python), Excel, Tableau, Power BI, and SQL (Structured Query Language), among other data analysis tools and methodologies. These abilities support business analysts in deriving conclusions from huge datasets and in formulating suggestions based on data.

Apart from these business analyst skills, if you would like to be trained by experts in this technology, you can opt for JanBask Business Analyst Online certification.

2. Process modeling and analysis

It is required to have familiarity with process analysis tools like ARIS or Visio, as well as process modeling methodologies like BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation). These abilities are used by business analysts to map, evaluate, and suggest changes to business processes.

3. Business Intelligence Tools (BI)

There should be knowledge of business intelligence products such as Microsoft Power BI, IBM Cognos, and SAP BusinessObjects. With the use of these tools, business analysts can produce interactive visualizations, dashboards, and reports that give stakeholders insightful information.

Apart from these technical skills for business analysts, if you would like to be trained by experts in this technology, you can opt for the JanBask Online BA Training job description.

4. Requirement management

Proficiency in requirement management is Critical, which includes competence with tools such as IBM Rational DOORS, Confluence, or JIRA. Throughout the project lifecycle, these technologies support business analysts in gathering, recording, monitoring, and managing requirements.

5. Agile Project management

Knowledge of Agile project management technologies such as JIRA or Trello, as well as experience with Agile approaches such as Scrum or Kanban. Agile-trained business analysts are capable of facilitating sprint planning, working with development teams, and taking part in Agile ceremonies.

Apart from these technical skills for business analysts, if you would like to be trained by experts in this technology, you can opt for JanBask Business Analyst Online certification.

6. System Analysis

Understanding system requirements, use cases, and workflows through the analysis and documentation of systems using methods such as UML (Unified Modeling Language).

7. Prototyping and Wireframing

Proficiency in creating interactive prototypes, wireframes, and mock-ups using programs like Axure RP, Balsamiq, or Sketch. With the help of these abilities, business analysts may verify solutions with stakeholders and graphically express needs.

8. Knowledge of ERP and CRM systems

Knowledge of customer relationship management (CRM) platforms like Salesforce and enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms like SAP or Oracle. Business analysts can better gather requirements, assess integration needs, and support implementation projects by having a thorough understanding of these systems.

9. Software Development Life Cycle

To collaborate with development teams and guarantee seamless project execution, business analysts must be conversant with all of the stages of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC).

It's crucial to remember that the precise technical abilities needed for a business analyst position can change based on the project specifications, organization, and sector.

10. Programming Languages

Expertise in programming is essential for business analysts to conduct more efficient and effective data analysis. Proficiency in R and Python is very advantageous. Effective code can be written to solve complex challenges. Numerous libraries and packages for data wrangling, data manipulation, data visualization, and analytics are included in R and Python. It's also advised to have a solid understanding of statistical tools, such as SAS and SPSS. The aforementioned programming languages enable the fine analysis and visualization of large amounts of data. Furthermore, business forecasts can be produced using business models. Business Analyst Skills are the foundation stone to a successful career in the said lines.

11. Reports and Dashboards

The generation of reports and dashboards is the next essential competency we possess. In order to create reports and dashboards, business analysts need to be adept at using a variety of business intelligence technologies. Business analysts provide dashboards and general reports to address issues with decision-making. A solid understanding of Tableau, QlikView, and Power BI is required in order to create various reports according to the needs of the organization.

12. SQL and Database

Understanding databases and SQL is the next ability needed by a business analyst. Structured data is what business analysts work with most frequently. They should be well-versed in relational databases, such as Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, Oracle, and NoSQL databases, in order to store and handle this volume of data. Each and every business analyst needs to have practical SQL experience. They can access, retrieve, manipulate, and analyze data more easily as a result. Data definition and manipulation commands, such as create, delete, select, update, and insert, are required to be written by them. These come under Business Analyst Basic skills.

13. Microsoft Excel

This is an essential ability that each and every business analyst should possess. Business analysts utilize Excel, one of the most robust and established analytics and reporting tools, to analyze data, run various computations, and examine budgets in order to identify patterns in the company. They use pivot tables to create data summaries. They use Excel to create various charts that produce dynamic reports pertaining to a business issue.

Excel is used to establish an editorial calendar, list product expenses, make revenue growth models for new goods based on previous customer projections, and build charts that illustrate how near each product is to the budget. Excel is used by business analysts to compute client discounts based on monthly purchase volume broken down by product. To identify areas where deeper customer interactions are required, they even break down client revenue by product.

14. Documentation and Presentation

A business analyst should meticulously, succinctly, and clearly record the lessons learned from their projects. They ought to address the stakeholders and clients with assurance when they convey the results and findings of their project. Having well-organized documentation makes it easier for business analysts to explain technical concepts to non-technical staff members. 

15. Agile Methodologies

Agile methodologies are increasingly used in business analysis, and knowledge of Agile practices is one of the valuable business analyst skills. 

Agile methodologies, such as Scrum and Kanban, emphasize collaboration, flexibility, and continuous improvement and are designed to support the delivery of high-quality products and solutions. 

The business analyst must have a good understanding of Agile principles and practices and be able to work effectively within an Agile framework. They must be able to participate in Agile ceremonies, such as sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and retrospectives, and to support the team in delivering work according to the Agile process.

Non-Technical Business Analyst Skills

1. Clear understanding of Business processes and its objectives

A business analyst needs to be able to understand the objectives and issues of an organization. They must identify business issues and provide the best possible solution. Possessing domain expertise in the organization they work for is beneficial for business analysts. They will be better able to meet the deadlines thanks to this. Business analysts typically seek to facilitate change in order to boost revenue streams, increase sales, scale up production, etc. This is one of the essential skills of a business analyst.

2. Communication and Interpersonal Skills

You should be able to explain the needs to clients and stakeholders in a clear and simple manner. A business analyst collaborates with stakeholders, gathers requirements, launches projects, validates final solutions, and so on. These are just a few of the times when they employ their interpersonal and communication abilities. Business analysts communicate with stakeholders verbally and in writing in order to share ideas, information, and viewpoints. A business analyst with strong interpersonal and communication skills will feel more confident when leading meetings.

3. Critical thinking backed by a strong analytical power

Though it may seem simple, thinking is a really valuable skill. One of the fundamental abilities of a business analyst is analytical and critical thinking. The needs of the client must be clearly analyzed and translated by a business analyst. Before reaching the desired solution, a business analyst can evaluate several choices with the aid of critical thinking. Business analysts concentrate on learning about and fulfilling the needs of their clients. They are able to rank the needs of the firm by using critical thinking. Even in situations where resources are limited, and conditions are less than ideal, a business analyst with a strong analytical bent of mind can nevertheless accomplish the stated objectives.

4. Decision-making Skills

The business of the company is impacted by the judgments made by business analysts both directly and indirectly. They should therefore consider all the options before making a choice. A business analyst analyzes the issue and looks for potential business solutions before making a choice. After testing each potential strategy, they decide what to do depending on their evaluation of it. This is certainly one of the basic business analyst skills.

5. Cost-Benefit Analysis

Business analysts bargain during all stages of a project. Negotiation skills are utilized in the early stages of a project to determine what needs to be included in the project's vision. After that, business analysts employ their negotiating abilities to ascertain which requests become requirements and at what priority. Negotiation abilities become increasingly important as the project goes forward in determining the functional design that satisfies the criteria. Technical decision-making also involves the application of negotiating abilities. To evaluate the projected costs and benefits of a project, business analysts perform a cost-benefit analysis. Business analysts utilize cost-benefit analysis to determine if firms should take on new projects and if they should proceed at all.

6. Teamwork is the strength

It is common for business analysts to participate in cross-functional teams. It's essential to be able to cooperate and work well as a team.

7. Adaptability

As project demands and requirements evolve, business analysts must be flexible and willing to modify their strategy as necessary.

8. Negotiating Ability

Strong negotiating abilities are frequently required when business analysts must resolve disputes between parties with conflicting interests.

9. Sense of Time Management

As handling several projects and deadlines is a typical part of the job, effective time management is crucial to meeting obligations.

10. Having Empathy as well as Intelligence

Empathy and emotional intelligence are necessary for comprehending the requirements and viewpoints of stakeholders, which promotes the development of solid bonds and trust.

11. A good business acumen

For their research to be in line with the organization's overarching objectives, business analysts need to possess a solid grasp of business principles and strategy.

A competent business analyst is able to drive projects forward, facilitate good communication, and contribute to the overall success of the firm because they possess a combination of soft skills and technical ability. Let's see how Simplilearn may assist you in being a good business analyst after you have learned about the essential skills for business analysts. 

Now, we have a quick sketch of the Business Analyst profile, let’s take you around the reasons why you should think of learning the Business Analysts skills around the actual work industry requirements.

5 Reasons Why You Should Learn Business Analyst Skills in 2024

Following are the reasons why you should learn business analyst skills in 2023:

1. Business Analysts are paid great

According to data from Indeed, the BAs with the right skills & knowledge can expect to earn an average salary between $79,273 to $131,315 per year.

• The BAs are paid the highest in San Francisco (where the average salary is 28% higher than the national salary).
• New York comes at second number after SF (where the average salary is 18% higher than the national average).
• Boston comes in 3rd position with a 7% higher average salary.

Here are the few job titles and their average annual salary that falls under Business Analysis only - data compiled from PayScale - have a look!

Job Profiles	Average Salary
Senior IT business analyst	$1,29,551
Business analyst III	$105,766
Systems business analyst	$108,617
Business solutions analyst	$108,999
IT business analyst	$93,502
Agile business analyst	$119,073
Technical business analyst	$86,465
ITSM business analyst	$88,569
Business intelligence analyst	$95,001
Application business analyst	$84,502
Junior IT business analyst	$66,160
Business analyst II	$80,403
Business performance analyst	$82,240
Business management analyst	$93,497

2. Business Analysts are in high demand

Every year, businesses are contemplating the importance of Business Analysts and are creating positions for skilled & trained professionals. The business Analyst job market is expected to grow at 19% by the next decade. Around 8,80,000  jobs are expected to be created for BA professionals by 2026.

With that type of growth, it is the best time to learn Business Analyst skills and make a career in it, with leading entities.

3. BAs get great independence and flexibility

While it is not mandatory for gaining business analyst basic skills, this step will help you to add an advanced level skill set. After earning the certifications, start looking for some industry projects or internships as this will help to add to your knowledge base. Once you have the right knowledge and skills as a business analyst with real industry work exposure, apply that scored knowledge to fill in the full-time job applications. Also, check out these BA Interview questions to prepare yourself interview-ready! 

Hopefully, you are clear now on how to become a business analyst and gain the required skill set. 

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4. BAs are needed in diverse work industries

Business Analysts skills and knowledge are required in diverse work industries like Finance, insurance, healthcare, software, hardware, telecom, government, eCommerce, supply chain, and many others. This means you get a great option to decide the type of work industry where you want to work and explore your career.

5. Brands are hiring skilled & certified Business Analysts

The top magnets like Microsoft, FedEx, American Express, Apple, Accenture, XPO logistics, Netflix, Ford, Amazon, and many others are incessantly looking for business analysts to meet their operational and technical efficiencies.

So these are the reasons why you should sit and learn Business Analyst skills.

Now wondering how to learn business analyst skills, next we are going to discuss the same.

Final Thoughts on Why Learn Business Analyst skills!

Business Analyst is a great profile to explore and make a splendid career in, why?... Why not?

• The pay is great
• New jobs are cropping up every year
• Almost every work sector needs a Business Analyst
• BAs get great motivation to work as they work in solace
• And most importantly, the business analyst’s role is fun, challenging, and exciting at the same time

From every inch, being a Business Analyst looks like cracking a steal deal. A profile that offers a stable career and an avalanche of career options - we don’t think these all reasons are less to narrate the benefits of learning business analyst skills, getting certified, and making a solid career as a Business Analyst with leading enterprises.

Still, battling with the “learn” or “not to learn” or the “Business Analyst Skills list” question? How would a quick career counseling sound to you?

How to Become a Business Analyst & Learn Business Analyst Skills?

Just 3 steps on how to learn Business Analyst skills from business analyst basic skills to advanced level:

1. Join an accredited Business Analyst Training Platform

Take the training knowledge to qualify and earn the Business Analysts certifications which are dominating in the job market. 

The Business Analyst Certification Online you can consider approaching is:

• IIBA Certification of Competency in Business Analysis (CCBA)
• IIBA Entry Certificate in Business Analysis (ECBA)
• IIBA Agile Analysis Certification (AAC)
• IQBBA Certified Foundation Level Business Analyst (CFLBA)
• IIBA Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP)
• IREB Certified Professional for Requirements Engineering (CPRE)
• PMI-Professional in Business Analysis (PBA) Certification

This kind of  Online Business Analyst Certification will assist in validating your knowledge and skills from the comfort of your home. If you are in the initial phase, it is better to go for the business analyst certification for beginners. 

2. Get Certified

Take the training knowledge to qualify and earn the Business Analysts certifications which are dominating in the job market. 

The Business Analyst Certifications you can consider approaching are:

• IIBA Certification of Competency in Business Analysis (CCBA)
• IIBA Entry Certificate in Business Analysis (ECBA)
• IIBA Agile Analysis Certification (AAC)
• IQBBA Certified Foundation Level Business Analyst (CFLBA)
• IIBA Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP)
• IREB Certified Professional for Requirements Engineering (CPRE)
• PMI-Professional in Business Analysis (PBA) Certification

Certifications will help in validating your knowledge and skills.

3. Work-on real industry projects & internships

After earning the certifications, start looking for some industry-projects or internships as this will help to add to your knowledge base. Once you have the right skills and knowledge with real industry work exposure, apply that scored knowledge to fill in the full-time job applications. 

Apart from these business analysis skills, if you would like to be trained by experts in this technology, you can opt for JanBask  Business Analyst Training.

FAQ

1. What certifications are best for a business analyst?

Following are the best Business Analyst certifications:

• IIBA Certification of Competency in Business Analysis (CCBA)
• IIBA Entry Certificate in Business Analysis (ECBA)
• IIBA Agile Analysis Certification (AAC)
• IQBBA Certified Foundation Level Business Analyst (CFLBA)
• IIBA Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP)
• IREB Certified Professional for Requirements Engineering (CPRE)
• PMI-Professional in Business Analysis (PBA) Certification

2. Are business analyst certifications worth it?

Yes, our Business Analyst certification course provides key industry-requested credentials such as:

1. Requirements gathering and analysis
2. Data analysis and modeling
3. Business process improvement
4. Stakeholder management
5. Communication and collaboration skills
6. Project management
7. Technology and software proficiency
8. Agile methodology
9. Problem-solving and critical thinking.

3. Is it worth doing business analyst certification?

Whether a business analyst certification is worth it depends on the individual's career goals and job market. 

A certification can demonstrate expertise and increase credibility, potentially leading to improved job prospects and advancement opportunities. 

However, it is important to weigh the cost, time commitment, and relevance of the certification in the job market before deciding to pursue it. Ultimately, the worthiness of a certification should be evaluated based on the individual's specific situation and needs.

4. Is coding required for a business analyst?

While it can be useful, learning how to write code is not one of  the business analyst basic skills. It is anticipated that they will be familiar with statistical applications, including Excel, SAS, Sage, Mathematica, and SPSS.

5. What are three most important skills of a business analyst?

The comprehension of the business aim, analytical and critical thinking, and communication abilities are the three most crucial abilities for a business analyst.

6. Is a business analyst an IT job?

Unless they decide to pursue a career in information technology, a business analyst is not an IT employee. An IT business analyst would then be their official title.

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