What Business Analyst skills are Important for a new job?

Key takeaways:

• Business analysts identify scope of improvement in order to increase efficiency and strengthen processes.

• As a business analyst, your primary responsibility is to understand business strategies, goals, and requirements for better decision-making.

• Organizations are increasingly relying on business analysts’ skills to survive, expand, and stay one step ahead of their competition.

Business analysts help companies improve their products, processes, software, and services. These adaptable employees operate in business and IT sectors to bridge the gap and boost productivity. They are in charge of developing new models that support business decisions by working collectively with the financial and IT departments to design projects and plans.

In today’s fiercely competitive business environment, business analysis skills have become essential for the development and survival of businesses.  

Who is a business analyst?

Both technical and soft skills are necessary to become a business analyst by profession. Business analysts must gather, examine, and report data patterns, communicate this information with others, and use it to conduct business. A business analyst’s basic understanding of products, systems, and tools may not necessarily need experience in IT. 

Skills for a business analyst

Core skills	Soft skills
Understanding of business objectives Cost-benefit analysis  Documentation Programming languages Usage of Spreadsheet Database management & SQL	Excellent communication skills Perfect Listening Skills Decision-making skills Time Management

Are you looking to work as a business analyst and unsure if you possess the necessary experience and skills? Here is a comprehensive business analysis skills –

Core business analytics skills

Along with basic skill sets, one must have the following core business analysis skills. 

• Understanding of business objectives

The scope of the business is usually defined first by business analysts. However, this may lead to complications. Before defining the project’s scope, it is more beneficial to ascertain the primary business objectives as mentioned below –

• Determining the expectations of the key stakeholders.
• Combining opposing expectations. 
• Ensuring that the company’s goals are specific and reachable.
• Making sure that the business goals serve as the foundation for determining a scope

• Cost-benefit analysis 

It is a method that business analysts employ to carry out an analysis of the project’s benefits and expenses. The cost-benefit analysis includes adding up all expenses associated with a project or decision and deducting that sum from all anticipated benefits.

• Documentation

A business analyst must produce multiple documentation throughout the project’s life cycle. Even though a business analyst occasionally needs to create various business documents, the templates can differ from one organization to another. The domain, business analysis method, project complexity, project life cycle model, etc., are other factors that influence the document list. 

Depending on the situation, the business analyst must coordinate with the relevant project managers, stakeholders, and implementation team. There are review sessions at every level, which make it possible to assess the process more practically and update the documentation as needed.

Here is a list of documents that are frequently requested across industries-

• Business plan
• Business analysis plan
• Business prerequisite documents
• Plan for managing stakeholder 
• System requirement and specification plan
• Process/functional document

• Programming languages

Business analysts should be skilled programmers and be able to analyze data more efficiently and swiftly. They should be proficient with prog languages such as R and Python. By writing effective codes, complex issues can be resolved. Several tools and packages for data wrangling, data manipulation, data visualization, and analytics are available in R and Python. 

Furthermore, proficiency with statistical programs like SAS and SPSS is advised. Massive data can be finely analyzed and visualized with these computer languages. Additionally, various programming languages can be used to build business models for forecasting company outcomes. 

• Usage of spreadsheet

Expertise in Microsoft Excel is required for business analysts. Every business analyst should be proficient with the use of spreadsheets. Business analysts undertake several computations, data analysis, and budget analysis using Excel, one of the most established and powerful analytics and reporting applications. They produce pivot tables to summarize the data and create dynamic reports.

Excel is used to organize an editorial calendar, list expenses for items, produce charts to indicate how near the product is to budget across each category, and construct revenue growth models for new products. 

Based on monthly purchase volume by product, business analysts utilize Excel to determine consumer discounts. To identify areas where it is necessary to develop deeper customer interactions, they even summarize client revenue by product.

• Database management & SQL

Knowledge of databases and SQL is the next skill every business analyst needs to possess. They should be well-versed in relational databases like Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, Oracle DB, and NoSQL databases to store and process this large amount of data. 

They can access, retrieve, manipulate, and analyze data using this. They must also create, delete, select, update, insert, and other data definition and data manipulation commands.

Soft skills for business analysts

A business analyst must execute several tasks. Hence they must have a solid skill set with both technical and non-technical skills. Below are some soft or non-technical skills required for a business analyst.

• Excellent communication skills

Being understood is just as important as understanding. Clients and stakeholders should easily understand the needs of the business. A business analyst needs interpersonal and communication skills at various stages in a project, such as when it is being launched, gathering requirements, coordinating with the stakeholders, validating the final solution, and so forth.

They communicate with stakeholders verbally and in writing to share various business ideas, information, and viewpoints. Additionally, a business analyst with strong communication and interpersonal skills will be more confident while leading meetings.

• Perfect listening skills

A business analyst’s role is to examine things, circumstances, people, and possibilities and use everything to advance the organization. Therefore, they must constantly exercise caution and observation to ensure no opportunity is lost. A business analyst’s excellent listening ability is a valuable quality. 

They are not merely passive listeners. They pay attention to comprehend and learn important facts and details from what they hear or are told. 

Additionally, they comprehend the context, tone, and body language to convey the message. So, start honing your listening abilities if you intend to pursue a career as a Business analyst.

• Decision-making skills

A direct and indirect effect on the company’s operations results from the judgments made by a business analyst. As a result, they should consider all the factors before making their selection. A business analyst analyzes the problems and identifies potential business strategies before making a choice. They then put each alternative strategy to the test and decide based on their observations. 

Finally, they implement the solution that has been decided. They also make the final determination as to whether or not a specific technological design complies with the discussed business requirements.

• Time management

Another skill required for the business analyst is the ability to manage their time is an essential personality trait. It helps improve efficiency and allows you to deliver greater customer satisfaction. For an individual, time value is highly significant. Making a daily schedule can help you avoid wasting time.

How to become an in-demand Business Analyst

MAHE, through Online Manipal, offers a two-year Master of Science program to prepare students for success in business analyst roles across industries. This multidisciplinary curriculum combines business domain and analytics knowledge at the postgraduate level.

Another course in the fast-growing field of business analytics is the Postgraduate Certificate Program, which is meant for professionals who want to make their mark in it. The curriculum lasts 12 months. The training will teach students how to use data to formulate corporate strategies, address organizational issues, and give customers accurate and data-driven responses.

Candidates with considerable years of experience can choose an online MBA with Business Analytics specialization from MAHE. It covers all the core subjects and equip candidates for managerial or leadership roles in the transforming domain.

Manipal Academy of Higher Education collaborates with over 250 institutions and is a globally recognized university. Additionally, it holds the moniker “Institution of Eminence,” thanks to the Indian Ministry of Education. 

Through MAHE, students can now enroll in higher education programs online. The online programs provided by MAHE are equal to those provided on-campus, and the university has received both UGC approval and NAAC A++ recognition. Governmental agencies, corporations, and educational institutions accept the online degrees and certifications that MAHE offers for usage in higher education and the workplace.

Wrapping up

Business analysts conduct in-depth analyses of both current and historical business data with the primary goal of improving organizational decision-making processes. It is reasonable to say that those seeking a desirable job can choose the potential career path of business analysis. A business analyst must be well-prepared and acquire subject-matter expertise to excel in the position. Additionally, concentrate on developing the above business analysis skills to succeed in this field and acquire secure and financially rewarding work.

Choosing the right course to get your desired degree is a big decision, yet it cannot be easy at times. Visit Online Manipal and enroll in a business analyst course to gain from outstanding teaching faculty and an efficient course structure. Enroll today.