Blog_Banner_Asset
    Homebreadcumb forward arrow iconBlogbreadcumb forward arrow iconBusiness Analyticsbreadcumb forward arrow icon9 Key Skills Every Business Analyst Needs In Order to Excel

9 Key Skills Every Business Analyst Needs In Order to Excel

Last updated:
11th Jun, 2021
Views
Read Time
8 Mins
share image icon
In this article
Chevron in toc
View All
9 Key Skills Every Business Analyst Needs In Order to Excel

Doctors, engineers, data scientists and other such professions demand a lot of focus, will-power, learning ability, anticipation and other similar mental faculties. These kinds of jobs might drain an ordinary person and that’s why you won’t find an average Joe doing any of these jobs.

The job of a business analyst falls in the same category as above and hence can be taxing and demanding. This entails not just knowing the core of the job but also being armed with various soft skills such as effective communication, empathy, being able to correctly judge situations and others.

Business analyst skills are a combination of hard skills and soft skills from an abstract point of view. This is to focus upon the fact that these skills are more related to one’s emotional intelligence more so than his/her raw intelligence (which too is, of course, a factor in deciding his/her professional success).

Unlike purely technical skills, the skills required for business analysts are not just acquired through some sort of training, but rather through experience combined with an inherent ability to read people and understand situations. And the career scope of business analytics is so wide and glooming.

Ads of upGrad blog

Check out our best business analytics free courses with certifications

No Coding Experience Required. 360° Career support. PG Diploma in Machine Learning & AI from IIIT-B and upGrad.

Learn Business Analytics Courses online from the World’s top Universities. Earn Masters, Executive PGP, or Advanced Certificate Programs to fast-track your career.

Explore our Business Analytics Programs from World's Top Universities

The Ideal Business Analyst: A Cursory Look

Since the term ‘business analyst’ is self-descriptive, we would assume that most of the readers would have understood the meaning of the term. So, to clear any further obscurity about the term, we are going to have a brief look at the role of a business analyst.

The role of a business analyst is to analyze a business/organization and then document its various operations and processes, to assess the business model and how it integrates with technology. The job of a business analyst is to guide a business to improve its operations and processes, products, services as well as software through data analysis. 

Must read: Business analytics free course!

That’s one of the reasons MBA in business analytics is in high demand now. There are certain business analyst skills one need to develop and master in order to become a successful business analyst. 

The technical skills for a business analyst are also known to be a bridge between a company’s business problems and technological solutions for a business. The term ‘business problems’ can mean anything about business systems which may include models, processes and methods. 

Our learners also read: Learn excel online free!

Technological solutions can be making use of technological architecture, software applications and tools. This finally entails using technological entities to solve business problems.

Top 7 Business Analyst Skills that are High in Demand!

Let’s come to the point and take a look at the top 7 business analyst skills that are in demand.

1. Competent Verbal Communication

Communication as a skill is needed in any high-functioning job profile. However, since the job of an analyst is to analyze data, the results have to be communicated to the people in higher authority. Out of all skills required for business analysts, communication holds the biggest ground. 

One should be capable of making the agenda known with extreme clarity. Also, being able to ask insightful questions is required so that the right kind of information is achieved from stakeholders. For example, if your stakeholder does not work in a technical profile, you need to ask the questions in simple and plain language.

2. Good Listening Skills

Listening skills are one of the key cornerstones of becoming a good business analyst. A good business analyst listens to and absorbs information. This helps the analyst to analyze the information thoroughly so that they can specify the requirements. 

Also, it’s important that the listener not only understands what is being said but also the context behind it, such as the objective, the main motivation and the circumstances for which it is being said. The business analyst should ideally observe the voice, the tone and the body language of the speaker to understand the message clearly.

3. Ability to Understand Delegated Objectives

Interpretation is an extension of the above skill. The requirements communicated by the management or technical staff are to be understood both holistically and individually. Sometimes, the communicated information contains a lot of gaps, which the analyst has to understand and fill up. In case there is any problem with understanding the objectives, one should not hesitate and ask again. Overall, ability to understand quickly is one of the top business analyst skills. 

upGrad’s Exclusive Business Analytics Webinar for you –

How upGrad helps for your Business Analytics Career?

4. Being able to Run Meetings with Stakeholders

Using email to communicate effectively and professionally with a client has been a standard protocol until now. However, at times, it is not the most effective way. Therefore, discussing issues with the client face to face can work wonders and even help in solving issues pretty quickly. Organizing and running meetings is one of the important skills required for business analysts.

In fact, many times executives will know better about a project or an issue due to a simple reason that people are more open in their interactions with the other party. However, if an audit trail is a necessity, the business analyst can always set up a meeting with the client through a written confirmation.

Read our Other Articles Related to Business Analytics

5. Knowing the Objectives Well

Understanding one’s objectives is one of the most crucial business analyst skills. At times, the higher and middle management may communicate what has to be done clearly. However, most of the time, they will only give an outline of the requirements that they need to have. This will give you only a faint idea of the requirements. It’s up to the analyst to convert this silhouette of ideas to a solid understanding of what is really needed.

For example, if they talk about having software that will streamline all business processes and optimize their work, the business analyst should know that they are talking about an Enterprise Resource Management System. This is where the technical skills for business analysts come in handy.

6. Being Diligent with Time Management

This is a very crucial one of all the skills required for business analysts. Time management is important since the work schedule of a business analyst is filled with tasks and they have to ensure that their commitment to each one of them has to be fulfilled. Understanding the priorities and then scheduling the day to day tasks as required is the most fundamental step in time management for business analysts. 

Multi-tasking is a major sub-skill under time management as it helps to get multiple jobs done at the same time, thus saving further time for other work commitments. However, it’s not just work commitments that matter, but also being able to balance the work-personal life equation.

Data Science Advanced Certification, 250+ Hiring Partners, 300+ Hours of Learning, 0% EMI

7. Documenting and Writing Reports

This is a good example of technical skills required for business analysts. It involves writing reports, plans, documentation and various types of analysis details. The responsibility of a business analyst will require one to write on a wide array of topics.

One of the main keys to writing reports effectively is to understand the instances where the language has to be technical and where it needs to be in plain easy English. In brief, this skill is a combination of writing skills and the ability to understand the communication parameters such as the target readers and the message you are trying to convey. Written communication is one of the important skills required for business analyst. 

Read our popular Data Science Articles

Conclusion

Business analyst skills are a combination of hard skills and soft skills. If you want to be a successful business analyst, it will always help you to work on your people skills as well as bettering your technical capabilities.

Companies across both IT and e-commerce sectors pay excellent compensation to deserving candidates who can add value to their organization. We hope you liked the article about skills required for business analysts. Apart from the regular educational qualifications and work experience, having advanced Business Analysis certifications also helps in bagging jobs that offer high-level salaries.

Profile

upGrad

Blog Author
We are an online education platform providing industry-relevant programs for professionals, designed and delivered in collaboration with world-class faculty and businesses. Merging the latest technology, pedagogy and services, we deliver an immersive learning experience for the digital world – anytime, anywhere.
Get Free Consultation

Select Coursecaret down icon
Selectcaret down icon
By clicking 'Submit' you Agree to  
UpGrad's Terms & Conditions

Our Popular Business Analytics Course

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1Is a business analyst an IT job?<br />

If you are an IT Business Analyst, you must be a strategic problem solver who is critical to the success of an IT department. You'll collaborate closely with your colleagues in the business to identify IT solutions for various business functions. You'll assist companies in implementing IT solutions in a cost-effective manner.
A bachelor's degree in information technology and at least three years of expertise with computer programmes are required. You must be a Microsoft Office professional, including Project, with great written and oral communication abilities. You'll need to be an expert in data analysis and have programming skills. You must pass and keep a background check, as well as be willing to go to client locations.

2What are the goals of a business analyst?<br />

Business analysis is intimately linked to IT as a field. In addition to non-IT areas like process improvement, strategy planning, and policy formulation, business analysis goals frequently include a systems development component.
IT business analysts, technology business analysts, and systems analysts are examples of business analysts who specialise in building and upgrading software systems. Most analysts, on the other hand, are accountable for a broader range of deliverables and see IT as only one part of their total business analysis objectives.

3What are the roles or responsibilities of a Business Analyst?

A business analyst's functions and responsibilities are as follows:
1. The BA collaborates with the business to identify possibilities for improving business operations and processes.
2. The Business Analyst is also engaged in the business system's design and modification.
3. Their main responsibility is to collect, document, and analyse a variety of business requirements.
4. They also assist in the resolution of business issues as needed, as well as the development of technical solutions.
5. They also assist in the testing of the system as well as the creation of system documentation including user manuals.

Explore Free Courses

Suggested Blogs

Business Analyst Salary in India 2023 [For Freshers &#038; Experienced]
903151
Over the years, Business Analysis has emerged as a core business practice in the enterprise and IT sectors. It pertains to understanding the changing
Read More

by upGrad

29 Oct 2023

Top 11 Industry Applications of Business Analytics in 2023
10284
Business analytics uses sorting, collating, processing, and studying data through iterative methodologies and statistical models to generate meaningfu
Read More

by upGrad

22 Sep 2023

Business Analytics Free Online Course with Certification [2023]
70547
Summary: In this article, you will learn more about Business Analytics Free Online Course with Certification. Why Learn Business Analytics? Getting
Read More

by Rohit Sharma

21 Sep 2023

Top 10 Business Intelligence Tools To Improve Business Decision Making [2023]
5801
Business intelligence (BI) tools are applications that collect and interpret massive volumes of unstructured information from internal and external sy
Read More

by Rohit Sharma

28 Jun 2023

What is Excel VBA? Explained with Real Time Examples
5841
What Is VBA? Do you know what VBA stands for? VBA full form is Visual Basic for Applications. This simple, but powerful programming language was deve
Read More

by Keerthi Shivakumar

26 Jun 2023

Types of Sampling Methods &#038; Techniques in Business Analytics [With Examples]
5994
Introduction  Dealing with enormous amounts of data is one of the main challenges in data analytics. It would be unnecessary and even impossible to a
Read More

by Keerthi Shivakumar

21 Jun 2023

Top 15 Ways to Improve Excel Skills [Actionable Tips]
5600
Excel is a powerful spreadsheet software widely used in businesses, organizations, and personal finance management. Whether you’re a beginner or
Read More

by Keerthi Shivakumar

19 Jun 2023

What are Requirement Elicitation Techniques? The Complete Guide
7128
Requirement elicitation is a crucial phase in any software development project, as the success of a project largely depends on how well the requiremen
Read More

by Keerthi Shivakumar

19 Jun 2023

What is Financial Analytics &#038; Why it is important?
5522
The world of data analytics is fascinating. After all, isn’t it amazing to deconstruct data, delve into it, and gather meaningful patterns from within
Read More

by Rohit Sharma

18 Jun 2023

Schedule 1:1 free counsellingTalk to Career Expert
icon
footer sticky close icon