Understanding the skills business analysts use

 

Some characteristics and skills can help you to be positioned as a great Business Analyst.

 

CURIOSITY

First and foremost is Curiosity. Understanding the business areas in which you work and how they fit together is vital. Understanding at a detailed level and how it fits within the context of an organization is where you can apply your sense of wonder to the unknown. An almost endless level of curiosity as to what is really happening and what could potentially happen in the future is where the Business Analyst value is created.

QUESTIONING AND LISTENING

Observation of work being performed is a very effective way to obtain information about the details of how the organization works. However, you won't understand everything by just observing.

Having a keen sense for asking questions, listening to what is said and not said is pivotal to understand what's really going on in an organization.

In addition to this, interviewing is a fundamental approach to obtaining information from the organization and members of your project team. Crafting effective questions and being able to listen to the answers on multiple levels is fundamental to success as a Business Analyst.

PATIENCE

Considering that observation, questioning and answering approach to obtaining information can take time another fundamental skill for the Business Analyst is patience. Is easy to find a piece of information and jump to a conclusion as a result. As the same documented process may be executed different ways to different people or in different areas on the organization jumping to conclusions is dangerous.

Taking the appropriate amount of time to collect, analyze and verify your information and conclusions requires patience. That patience is a fundamental characteristic to sustain growth as a Business Analyst.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS AND DIPLOMACY

These two walk together. Every facet of Business Analysis involves some form of communication. You're typically either absorbing information through communication approaches or capturing and sharing that information with your own communication tools.

Take the diplomacy skills that you'll frequently use as you're often being placed in a position where you're judging approaches and suggesting improvements.

SUSTAINED ENTHUSIASM

Projects can take anything from a few weeks to years. Understanding the improvement goal, being dedicated to its achievement and having a contagious sense of enthusiasm is important. This helps your business colleagues and the project team to stay focused on moving forward.

Enthusiasm is an important aspect to get chances accomplished, especially when you take a while to bring them to reality.

BEING LOGICAL

Being logical in your thinking is at the hot of surfacing and improvement possibilities. You need to apply logic and understanding of what is occurring in your organization today and be able to picture better ways of getting things accomplished.

That is the best of a sustained value you can provide as a Business Analyst. Logic is the key to providing the value quickly and effectively.

As you can see being a Business Analyst is a multifaceted row. It takes a lot of different skills and characteristics but its all fun and exciting as you are in the hot of change in your organization.