What is business analysis?
Business analysis: definition and overview, possessing a combination of project management soft skills and hard skills is recommended.
Business analysisWikipedia defines soft skills as: is a professional discipline that involves understanding business needs and problems, eliciting and documenting requirements, and proposing solutions that drive A combination of people skills, social skills, communication skills, character or personality traits, attitudes, career attributes, social intelligence, and emotional intelligence quotients, among others, that enable people to navigate their environment, work well with others, perform well, and achieve their goals with complementing hard skills.process improvement and deliver value. It acts as a bridge between stakeholders and technical teams, ensuring that strategic objectives are aligned with operational execution. Reputable bodies such as the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) define business analysis as the practice of enabling change in an organisational context by defining needs and recommending solutions that yield benefits for key stakeholders.Some examples of
The objectives and value of business analysissoft skills for project managers
- Identifying business needs and opportunities for improvement are:
- Supporting stakeholders in achieving strategic goalsTeamwork
- Facilitating – your ability to work with other project team members to achieve a common goal.change managementCommunication processes – your ability to clearly communicate verbally or non-verbally with all project stakeholders.
- Communication is the number one core responsibility for project managers. Team members need clear directions and guidance. Stakeholders need regular progress updates. Miscommunication leads to confusion, mistakes, and project failure. Project managers must therefore be clear, confident, and direct.IIBA
- A good project manager sho: An iterative methodology focusing on flexibility, frequent delivery, and collaboration (often using user stories)
- Waterfall methodology: A linear, phased project approach suitable for well-defined requirements
Choosing the right methodology depends on project size, risk, stakeholder needs, and desired adaptability.
project management skillsBusiness Analysis Practices..
The Dale Carnegie’s two bestselling books How to Win Friends and Influence People and How to Stop Worrying and Start Living are ideal for developing your influencing and communication skills, as well as your attitude to work. The latter will help you become more proactive.International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA)Other recommended books include Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey and Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall B. Rosenberg and Deepak Chopra. offers globally recognised certifications, such as ECBA, CCBA, and CBAP, based on the These days, so much help is available online and offline. If you need to improve your soft skills to become a better BABOK Guideproject manager. , help is out there.CertificationsEnhance your skills with our expert-led courses demonstrate expertise in requirements elicitation, stakeholder management, and business analysis best practices. Aspiring business analysts may also pursue project management or change management qualificationsInstructor-led to support broader career progression.Introduction to Project Management course
FAQs
What is business analysis?Instructor-led
Business analysis is the systematic investigation and evaluation of business needs to recommend solutions that achieve organisational objectives. It includes requirements gathering, stakeholder engagement, and process optimisation.Project Management Essentials
What does a business analyst do?
A business analyst identifies business problems, elicits requirements, engages stakeholders, and ensures that proposed solutions align with business goals. They act as a bridge between business and IT functions.£999 +vat
What are the key techniques in business analysis?
Common See all datesbusiness analysis techniquesView soft skills infographic include SWOT analysisMariana Magalhães Project Manager at Forty8Creates, gap analysis, requirements elicitation, process mapping, use case modelling, and stakeholder analysis.Mariana’s
What are the main types of requirements in business analysis? interest in the correlation between social media, data and strategy lead her to work in digital marketing. She started working with Forty8Creates as a Social Media Assistant and worked her way up to become Project Manager. She manages multiple client briefs, communicating client needs to team members and ensuring prompt
Business analysts work with project deliverybusiness requirements. (organisational goals), stakeholder requirementsNicci Beacham Project Manager at Liberty Marketing, and Niccitechnical requirements is a Project Manager at Liberty Marketing. She has over 7 years of experience working within the FMCG, Design and Digital Marketing sectors. Nicci began her career as a Project Coordinator managing packaging design for a British soft drink brand, before moving into digital marketing. (system or IT needs).Liberty is the largest digital agency in Wales, with clients such as Universal Publishing Production Music, Pizza Express and Penguin Books.
What is the BABOK?Subscribe to our exclusive offers and promotions
BABOK refers to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge, a globally-accepted standard containing best practices, techniques, and competencies for business analysis, maintained by IIBA.
What qualifications or certification should a business analyst have?Subscribe now
Common certifications include BCS’s Business Analysis Foundation certificate, {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","contentUrl":"https://www.knowledgetrain.co.uk/training-courses/what-soft-skills-do-project-managers-need-890x501-1.webp","description":"What soft skills do project managers need?","license":"https://www.knowledgetrain.co.uk/license","acquireLicensePage":"https://www.knowledgetrain.co.uk/license","creditText":"Knowledge Train","uploadDate":"2023-05-19T08:50:50.000Z","copyrightNotice":"© 2023 Knowledge Train Limited. All rights reserved.","creator":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Knowledge Train","url":"https://www.knowledgetrain.co.uk"}}International Diploma in Business Analysis , and Practitioner certificates in Business Analysis Practices, Requirements Engineering, and Modelling Business Processes.{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","contentUrl":"https://www.knowledgetrain.co.uk/training-courses/res/images/project-management/hard-skills-vs-soft-skills-infographic-800x3088.webp","description":"Soft skills in project management infographic","license":"https://www.knowledgetrain.co.uk/license","acquireLicensePage":"https://www.knowledgetrain.co.uk/license","creditText":"Knowledge Train","uploadDate":"2023-05-19T08:50:50.000Z","copyrightNotice":"© 2023 Knowledge Train Limited. All rights reserved.","creator":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Knowledge Train","url":"https://www.knowledgetrain.co.uk"}}
In addition, there are IIBA’s ECBA, CCBA, and CBAP, which validate knowledge of BABOK and proficiency in requirements elicitation, stakeholder engagement, and process improvement.