An IT Business Analyst works in both areas which are Information Technology and Business Management. Their main responsibility is to use data to synthesise information about the business situation as well as the market and propose necessary changes for businesses or organisations. BA also suggests solution directions for businesses to improve processes, services, and software.
As a result of its application in process evaluation, requirement identification, proposal creation, and the preparation of reports for senior management and stakeholders, data may be considered a key component of business analysis processes.
To help businesses optimise costs and improve operations, a Business Analyst needs to understand future trends affecting both the overall market and target user groups specifically. By gaining insights from data, they can evaluate processes, identify needs, and propose ideas to enhance performance and increase the value of products, services, software, and hardware for their organisation. Close collaboration within teams, such as financial reporting and IT, allows the analyst to synthesise information on business situations and markets then recommend necessary changes.
The business analyst’s role requires both hard and soft skills. Business Analysts need to know how to handle, analyse and report on data trends and share this information with relevant departments and apply it to the business. Not all BA require an IT background as long as they have a broad understanding of how systems, products and tools function. Additionally, some business analysts have strong IT foundations but less business experience and are interested in transitioning from IT roles to this IT Business Analyst role.
Some of the most important skills and experience for a BA include:
Although business analyst is a relatively new specialty in information technology, some organisations provide certifications to help impress employers and demonstrate your capabilities. Organisations such as IIBA, IQBBA, IREB, and PMI all provide their own appropriate certifications for business analysts. Including:
The IT Business Analyst uses analysis programs and real-time user data to identify user trends and issues that users have with applications. As data becomes more valuable to organisations, business analysts do as well.
A BA working in the Waterfall model - a model that focuses on the logical progression of steps in the software development life cycle, gets involved more at the front-end, when collecting, analysing, and prioritising user requirements, before handing them over to developers and then moving to another software development project.