A successful business analyst typically possesses strong communication and analytical skills. It may be beneficial to have prior experience with various types of process or software application modeling software. Business analyst skills include developing effective solutions, meeting deadlines, and following up with others.
Business analysts must be able to communicate effectively in both written and spoken form. This person should be able to write clear and comprehensive proposals and documents; she may also be required to lead meetings with clients in order to interview them, gain a thorough understanding of their needs, and then present the results. Because the ability to fully understand a client’s needs can greatly increase the chances of delivering a successful project, the business analyst may wish to develop strong active listening skills.
Negotiation skills could be beneficial to those in this position. The business analyst may need to adjust her workload to fit the project’s deadlines and budget. She may also have to negotiate with different project stakeholders about competing application goals.
An analyst may use various techniques such as root cause and business process analysis, while other useful skills may include data analysis and modeling. Analytical skills are critical to success in this career. Process improvement and workflow analysis skills may be required for business analysts who specialize in optimizing organizational processes. Software developers may benefit from skills in use case modeling and prototyping, and they may be required to use software applications to aid in evaluations. Some organizations will prefer to hire those who already have these business analyst skills, such as using unified modeling language (UML) tools or spreadsheets.
Although they are not required to be as technically skilled as a systems analyst or software developer, they may benefit from a solid understanding of technology and the software development process. The ability to quickly pick up technical concepts and keep up with trends may be beneficial in this position. High-level business analyst skills in understanding problems and proposing effective solutions are frequently expected employers. A health-care organization, for example, may prefer to hire people who have worked in the medical field, and some analysts may choose to specialize in a specific field to hone their business analyst skills.
Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines are also important business analyst skills. Work-life balance can be aided time management skills. Because the analyst may need to follow up with subject matter experts or technical staff to ensure she has gotten the information or feedback she needs to move forward with her work, the ability to supervise others, even informally, can be useful when pursuing a business analyst career.