Software developer and software engineer working together on a project

Business analysts play a pivotal role in bridging the gap between business needs and technological solutions. They are instrumental in helping organizations make informed decisions and streamline their operations. What skills do you need to succeed in business analysis?

To excel in this field, business analysts must possess a unique set of skills and competencies, from data analysis to effective communication, which are essential to navigating a role in constant evolution. Let’s go into detail!

What is Business Analysis?

In broadest terms, business analysts identify what a company needs to fulfill its business strategy. Depending on the specific company, that can mean a variety of sub-tasks, including (but certainly not limited to):

  • Process improvements: How can the company improve its workflows and production?
  • Optimizing organizational structure: What kinds of teams will lead to the most beneficial outcomes?
  • Analyzing product development: Is the current product line fulfilling the company’s strategy? This can include requirements analysis, which determines whether a product is meeting end-user expectations.
  • Stakeholder analysis: Are the needs of all the organization’s stakeholders being effectively met?
  • Data analysis: Analyzing business data for crucial insights.

On a day-to-day basis, that means business analysts must:

  • Analyze datasets (often in conjunction with an organization’s data scientists and data analysts).
  • Develop insights and proposals based on that analysis.
  • Interview customers and other stakeholders about the company’s products and operations.
  • Monitor the implementation of strategy.

That’s obviously quite a bit; business analysis is a field where you’re constantly learning new things and seeking to refine your skills.

What Business Analysis Skills Do I Need?

According to Lightcast, which analyzes millions of job postings from across the country, companies want business analysis professionals to have mastered many of the following skills:

  • Project management
  • Problem solving
  • Data analysis
  • Budgeting
  • Business analysis and process
  • SQL
  • Python
  • Tableau
  • Process improvement
  • Change improvement
  • Business systems analysis
  • Systems analysis

That’s in addition to “soft skills” such as communication and teamwork, which are essential because business analysts work frequently with stakeholders throughout the organization in addition to customers.

What Business Analysis Education Do I Need?

Josh Brenner, CEO of Hired, says the importance of data and analytics in business has increased significantly in the last decade. “As a result, the demand for business analysts across all sectors has risen sharply,” he says. “Business schools have responded to this demand by expanding their offerings in business and data analytics and data science degrees are now among the most popular degree programs in business schools.”

He adds that undergraduate programs are also offering more general analytics-focused courses and degree programs; the most common bachelor's degrees among the interviewed candidates are math and economics.

But according to data from Hired, having a degree or certification alone may not be enough to secure a job in the current job market. “This is because most interviewees have at least a bachelor's degree, making it a common requirement,” Brenner says. “We have observed an increasing number of people with master's degrees in data analytics, business analytics, and data science.”

Based on Hired's data for the year 2023 so far, roughly half of the interviewed candidates for business analysis positions hold a master's degree, while the other half hold a bachelor's degree. “Candidates without a college degree are seeing little to no interviews from employers,” Brenner says.

What Else Do Business Analysts Need to Know?

Jason Wodicka, principal engineering advocate at Karat, explains that because business analysts exist at the intersection between technical roles and corporate leadership, they need to learn to communicate appropriately to their audience: “Providing appropriate detail and depth builds trust with engineering audiences and establishes that their analysis is sound.”

At the same time, knowing how to summarize without going into excessive detail is critical to helping executives see the big picture in the data without forcing them to work through all the details.

Ken Sardoni, senior vice president for CompTIA Learning Programs, says that, when he's looking at any business analysis role, he's looking for someone who can bridge the gap between the business stakeholders and technology stakeholders.

“This is someone who's very comfortable communicating, negotiating with business stakeholders, defining the requirements, and then being able to communicate with the technical groups in the organization to make sure that those needs are met with technology,” he explains.

According to Hired's data, the top technical skills for a business analysis specialist include, SQL, Python and Tableau, followed by Excel.

Wodicka explains that, in general, an understanding of statistics is essential for helping to transform a pile of data into business insights that can drive action. “However, business analyst roles span a wide range of technical capabilities,” they add. “At the less-technical end, some business analysts work almost exclusively with spreadsheets and manual calculations, while data-heavy analysts may also do some programming in languages such as Python and R.”

Specialized data-analysis tools like Tableau offer a lot of power with a friendlier interface than raw source code. “Many analysts are also familiar with some form of SQL, using it to manage and query larger datasets,” Wodicka says.

Familiarity with these tools increases independence for an analyst, letting them do more without needing to get support from data scientists or engineers. “I have worked with many successful business analysts whose educational background included a large dose of statistics, either in the form of a statistics-focused math degree or a degree in social sciences like psychology, which included strong stats fundamentals,” Wodicka says.

From Sardoni's perspective, while knowledge of programming languages and data analysis platforms is certainly not a detriment, he likes to see business analysts with a mastery of Lucidchart, which he says is great for process models and business models.

“I wouldn't particularly have them get into the lower levels of Tableau or Microsoft Power BI,” he says. “They may need to have some proficiency there, but I would rather see them in a Lucid chart where they're doing diagrams and modeling, communicating that to the technologists and then they can take it down into those other tools.”

Do I Need Business Analysis Certifications?

Many companies call out specific certifications in business-analysis job postings, and the presence of certifications on a resume will help assure recruiters and hiring managers that you have the skills and experience necessary to succeed in a position.

Sardoni points to certifications from CompTIA, the International Institute of Business Analysis and the Project Management Institute (PMI), which he says can impart valuable knowledge for business analysts.

“Someone might also want to not only look at them for project management, but also for their business analysis certifications,” he says. “Bottom line is making sure you understand the business and making sure that you understand the technology so you can help articulate needs and the requirements back and forth between the groups.”

Don’t Neglect Communication Skills

Sardoni acknowledges the persistent and amorphous call for “strong communications skills” among business analysts, but says it's important to go beyond mere communicating: “[Business analysts] must help people process information about changes, which will bring changes to businesspeople because as there are new applications, they will change the way that they do their jobs and it may change the skills that they must have, and that can be scary.”

That means business analysts must be able to help them process the change. “The speed of change is happening so much faster, which means business analysts really need to work with the key stakeholders in the organization to negotiate, persuade, manage conflict and help people to understand this is why we're doing it and why we're taking these things forward,” Sardoni adds. “That communication goes into processing change management.”