Essential Skills and Competencies of a Business Analyst

The role of the Business Analyst (BA) in our modern, fast-paced, and data-driven business world has vastly changed. A Business Analyst provides more than simply being a bridge between stakeholders and developers; they are a strategic catalyst for transformation, helping organizations navigate uncertainty, improve efficiency, and enhance the customer experience by enabling data-driven decisions.

With insights from industry feedback and first-hand experience, as well as research reports, such as IIBA’s 2023 Global State of Business Analysis, this article outlines the skills and competencies that are defining a successful Business Analyst today.

1. Analytical Thinking and Problem Solving

Analyzing complex problems, then disassembling them into manageable parts, followed by proposing a solution is at the center of business analysis. A LinkedIn survey published in 2023 stated that analytical thinking was the third most in-demand soft skill globally.

2. Business Acumen and Domain Knowledge

Gaining insight into the business domain a BA operates within—be it finance, health services, retail, or technology—allows a BA to provide knowledgeable contextual insights. McKinsey found organizations that have BAs who possess subject matter are 32% more likely to meet project KPIs or Key Performance Indicators.

Best Practice:
A BA who works in retail analytics should know and understand key retail metrics such as footfall conversion, stock turnover and margin optimisation in addition to the technology stack used such as ERP, CRM or consumer-facing systems like POS.

3. Communication and Stakeholder Management

Having strong communication skills—both verbal and written—is a must. It is a major factor in being able to communicate technical requirements to stakeholders who do not represent the technical side of a project or facilitating workshops across teams. Clarity in communication determines whether or not the project is cohesive.

Example:
While working with an FMCG firm a BA has to prepare for a stakeholder workshop and will find that they used various personas (i.e., Tech Lead, Product Owner, Head of Customer Experience) to engage stakeholders. By using this approach, companies can have better engagement with fewer feedback loops.

4. Requirements Elicitation and Documentation

Requirements gathering is both an art and a science; interview, workshop and observation techniques are part of the process while documentation methods, such as use cases, user stories, process flows are also very important tools.

Recommended Tools:

Jira (Agile tracking)
Confluence (Collaborative documentation)
Lucidchart/Draw.io (Process mapping)

5. Technical Skills and Data Literacy

Today’s BAs need to have data acumen and understand the tools and technologies that facilitate data-driven decision-making processes. In the IIBA’s 2023 report, they found more than sixty-one percent of BAs are using data analytics platforms on a weekly basis.

Essential Tools & Languages:

SQL – for querying databases
Excel (Advanced) – for modeling and pivot analysis
Power BI / Tableau – for dashboards & storytelling
Python / R (optional) – for statistical or predictive modeling

6. Agile and Scrum Methodologies

With Agile as the dominant framework in most organizations, BAs are typically doing a role as a Product Owner, a Scrum Master, or in a role supporting backlog refinement, sprint planning, and demo.

Agile adoption levels increased from 37% in 2020 to 53% in 2023 in large organizations.

7. Critical Thinking and Adaptability

It's important to have the ability to challenge assumptions, evaluate options in a structured way, and be adaptable in uncertain volatile situations. The disruptions caused by the pandemic demonstrated the importance of resilience in strategic work and being adaptable and willing to change focus.

For example, in a merger integration engagement, compliance changes prompted a rework of the customer journey mid-project. The team used the stay solution-oriented approach and were able to adapt in three weeks, ultimately saving the client from a potential compliance violation.

8. Tools and Visualization Expertise

High performing BAs can graphically present insights and workflows. When it comes to documenting activities, tools such as BPMN, ERD, and user journeys can be beneficial for other purposes such as discovery and alignment.

Popular BA Tools:

Balsamiq / Figma – for mockups
Visio – for flowcharts and system diagrams
PowerPoint – for executive-level storytelling

9. Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

Emotional intelligence will enhance a BA's ability to navigate the complexity of human dynamics within a team and across various levels of organizational hierarchies. High EQ in areas of conflict management, empathy, and user research and change management will add value.

According to TalentSmartEQ, 90 % of top performers in every industry have high emotional intelligence.

10. Project and Change Management Awareness

Being aware of the cycle of change from strategy through to implementation is important. Business Analysts may not be the people actually running the projects, however, knowing about the frameworks of project management and change management (e.g. PMP, or PROSCI) allows BA practitioners to comprehend the structure of a project, manage towards success, actively engage stakeholders and induce change.

The extremely strong Business Analyst is T-shaped; wide in communication and stakeholder skills, but deep in data analytics, business domain knowledge, and solutions. The skill set for Business Analysts is widening, and the only way to maintain current currency is continuous development, certification (CBAP, PMI-PBA, or ECBA), and exposure to different disciplines.

As organizations continue to prioritize agility, analytics, and automation, Business Analysts have the possibility to not only support change but lead it.