A successful Business Analyst (BA) needs a mix of technical, analytical, and interpersonal skills to bridge the gap between business needs and IT solutions. Here’s a breakdown of core skills across key categories:
🔍 Analytical & Research Skills
- Requirement gathering & analysis
- Problem-solving & critical thinking
- Gap analysis & SWOT analysis
- Root cause analysis (RCA)
- Process modeling (e.g., BPMN, UML)
🗂️ Documentation & Communication
- Business Requirement Document (BRD)
- Functional & Non-functional Requirements
- User Stories / Use Cases / Acceptance Criteria
- SRS (Software Requirements Specification)
- Technical & non-technical communication
- Stakeholder communication & presentation skills
🧰 Technical Tools & Skills
- SQL (for data querying and validation)
- Excel (pivot tables, data modeling)
- Power BI / Tableau (data visualization)
- JIRA / Confluence / Trello (project management & documentation)
- Wireframing tools (Balsamiq, Figma, Axure)
- Basic understanding of APIs & system integration
👥 Stakeholder & Team Management
- Stakeholder identification & engagement
- Facilitation of meetings & workshops
- Conflict resolution
- Elicitation techniques (interviews, surveys, workshops, observation)
🧠 Soft Skills
- Adaptability & learning mindset
- Attention to detail
- Negotiation & influencing skills
- Empathy and user-centric thinking
- Time management & prioritization
🧭 Methodologies & Domain Knowledge
- Agile (Scrum, Kanban)
- Waterfall / Hybrid approaches
- SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle)
- Business Process Reengineering (BPR)
- Domain knowledge (Finance, Healthcare, IT, etc.)
15 April 2025
6 Essential Soft Skills Every Business Analyst Must...
15 April 2025