Business analysis is the major developing field found all across the industries. As the volume grows, the potential to gain information also increases. This is the reason for the ever-increasing demand for business analysis today, and they hold the right key to provide data insights and provide makers to change, if any.
A business analyst is a professional who brings about change in an organization. Business analysts bridge the gap between the IT team and the stakeholders, and they arrive at solutions for business problems.
As the corporate world grows, business analysts are becoming a must-have asset as an employee for every organization. Some of the best fields in Business Analysts can grow: – Healthcare and social services; Finance and IT sector; Business professional consulting.
Assuming you have decided to dive into Business Analytics and learn its nuances, let me take you through the prerequisites:
Understanding of business
Given that you are learning business analytics, you should understand how businesses work and how their functioning gets impacted under various circumstances. Therefore, business acumen is essential to make sense of business analytics.
Understanding of Mathematics and Statistics
The most crucial aspect of business analytics is understanding mathematical and statistical concepts. Be it linear regression, data visualization, Naive Bayes’ theorem, or using other theorems – with a clear understanding of these concepts; you would be able to approach the problem at hand with a clear objective and direction.
Hands-on experience in programming/technology
It would be best to have some experience using business analytics tools/programming languages. With Math and business acumen, you are almost there, and to clinch the final lap, you would need technical assistance to analyze data and extract critical insights. (My recommendation, go for Python/R and SQL)
Lastly, your passion for learning and mastering business analytics counts the most. Learning Business Analytics is not going to be a cakewalk, and hence, we recommend you know under the mentorship of industry experts and faculty.
Even though there are tons of online courses, pursuing the best-reputed institute’s approved studies adds more value to your credentials, becoming a globally accepted business analytics professional. One such program is Business Analyst Science offered by Simplilearn, collaborating with IMB and EY. Simplilearn is the digital learning that offers university accredited programmers for freshers for bachelors and working executives.
Some key highlights of the programmers being offered are –
- You have the convenience to learn from your comfort zone, that is, virtual classrooms.
- Learn from some of the best faculty members from IITs and top global universities.
- Get lifetime access to courseware and can watch anytime, anywhere.
- Get access to career services like Career planning, resume building, Mock interview, Career coaching services, and Internship & Job search support through the Simplilearn platform to kickstart your professional journey.
- Leverage academic collaborations with some of the most reputed universities globally, such as Harvard.
- Unlock your holistic development and growth with an interdisciplinary curriculum and learning approach that prepares you for real-world business challenges.
Some skills you can expect you will learn from the course are:
Good Listening Skills
This is one of the essential business analyst skills. The ability to listen and grab the information is a must. It is necessary to understand your client’s requirements and deliver the expected answers to take forward the communication.
Competent Verbal Communication
A business analyst should be able to pass their message to the clients in a very understandable and smooth manner. Ensure that you know your agenda and can precisely express it to the management.
A business analyst needs to explain the design process to technical teams, so they must be able to make them understand what is expected clearly. Also, they need to convince the stakeholders about the designed process, so a BA must be able to communicate with the business as well.
This skill helps in eliciting requirements from the business, documenting them, and explaining them to the team in subsequent development sessions.
Knowing the Objectives Well
Having a clear vision of your company’s goals and objectives and understanding your company’s objectives is crucial to understanding the business process and finding new solutions and techniques to take the business to the next level.
Being Able to Run a Meeting with Stakeholders
The importance of communication skills stands here; one should be effective enough to attend meetings and solve any confusion with face-to-face interactions.
Sometimes email communication is not enough. It becomes essential to hold meetings to solve much confusion and explain the requirement document to relevant parties for sign-off.
Documenting and Writing Reports
If you wish to write reports and create plans to analyze the daily topics, it is essential to understand and convey the technical language. Most of the time output of the analysis process is a list of documents (Ex – Software Requirements Specification). So a BA should be good with documentation. Having superior English knowledge is always a plus point.
A Diligent Individual with Management Skills
Business analysts should be good at multitasking and balancing their personal and professional life by keeping their business a priority. Scope creep can occur if the requirements are not baselined and the user needs to be conveyed about the requirements to be delivered and the priority, etc. An ability to manage the requirements, the stakeholders, and the technical team is also associated with the skill of BA.
Soft skills that will help in communication
Soft skills are essential for the successful functioning of an organization. A business analyst must have soft skills to survive in this competitive world. These are not specific to any job, but one must necessarily have these skills. Some of the essential soft skills required for business analysts are:
- Creative thinking
- Analytical mindset
- Good communication skills
- Negotiation skills
- Problem-solving skills
Final words
These are the prerequisites mentioned above while pursuing business analysis. Remember, A business analyst is more of a personality than a skill. So, work on communications and build your knowledge in business analytics from Simplilearn to strengthen your career.