Top 15 Business Analyst Skills Every BA Professional Needs

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for skilled business analysts will experience a 14% growth from 2020 to 2030. That’s faster than the average of all other IT professionals. 

But what does a business analyst do exactly?

A business analyst analyzes how a business operates, pinpoints essential areas of improvement, and offers optimization solutions accordingly. These professionals heavily rely on SQL and Excel to sort through vast amounts of data and identify patterns within those data.

Your Business analyst skills need to strike the perfect chord between business acumen and analytical thinking. 

While the qualification for business analyst may vary, critical thinking, and the ability to translate complex problems into clear requirements are key business analyst skills required.

Most entry-level business analyst positions require at least a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field such as business administration, finance, economics, information technology, or a related discipline. 

Top Business Analyst Skills Every Budding BA Needs to Master

As a business analyst, your key role is to empower businesses to make well-founded choices that maximize returns. To survive and thrive in this dynamic field, you need to equip yourself with a powerful toolkit of skills. 

We have divided must-have business analyst skills into two categories: technical and non-technical or soft skills for business analysts. 

Here’s a brief overview:

Technical Business Analyst Skills

1. Statistics and Probability

Having a deep understanding of statistics and probability allows you to effectively analyze and interpret data. This one of the core business analyst skills required to make informed decisions. 

Statistical analysis helps you uncover correlations and patterns invisible to the naked eye. On the other hand, probability allows you to estimate the likelihood of future outcomes. 

In order to make an accurate analysis with the help of statistics and probability, you need to have a solid understanding of concepts like permutation and combination, regression analysis, T-distribution testing and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). 

Tools like Mathematica, SPSS, Sage, SAS, and even Excel can help simplify the data management process for you. 

2. Programming Skills

Business problems are increasingly rooted in data. Therefore, businesses analysts with strong coding skills can automate repetitive tasks, build custom data pipelines, and integrate disparate systems seamlessly. 

Having a sound knowledge of R, SQL, Python, VBA, and Machine Learning enables you to transform raw data into clear, impactful stories for stakeholders. You are more likely to earn a lucrative salary package if your programming skills are on point. 

Speaking of salaries, curious about what the salary trajectory looks like for business analysts in India. Read this blog post on Business Analyst Salary for a detailed breakdown of average salaries for BAs of various experience levels and skill sets.

3.  Familiarity With BI Tools

While becoming an expert in every tool is unrealistic, you need to master the most widely used BI tools, such as Microsoft Power BI, SAP Business Objects, MicroStrategy, and QlikSense.

Also, since business problems are rarely one-dimensional, you must familiarize yourself with various methodologies (SWOT, 5 Whys) to be able to dissect problems from all angles.

Apart from streamlining the process of turning raw data into actionable insights, these BI tools provide a central platform for data analysis.

Learn how to improve your proficiency in tools used by top professionals across the globe by enrolling in a Business Intelligence Course. 

4. Strong Data Visualization Skills

Visual representations of data can reveal patterns, trends, and outliers that might be difficult to spot in raw data or tables. By using appropriate visualization methods, you can quickly identify areas of interest, anomalies, or relationships between variables. 

Visualization tools like Tableau and Power BI are used by leading business analysts worldwide to make complex data more accessible to diverse stakeholders, including those without a strong statistical or analytical background. 

5. Knowledge of Agile Methodologies

A business analyst fluent in agile methodologies such as Scrum, Kanban, or XP can effortlessly translate business needs into actionable insights for product development. As an agile business analyst, you will be required to:

• Understand stakeholder needs and expectations.
• Define project scope and identify potential risks.
• Develop strategies to mitigate these risks and ensure project success.
• Ensure the development team is working on the most important tasks first from the product backlog.

6. Software Testing Methodologies

Software testing skills have become a key competency for business analysts in 2024 due to the increasing reliance on software applications across various industries. You see, traditionally, business analysts focus on defining what the software should do. Today, they’re increasingly responsible for ensuring it actually does it well.  

Imagine this scenario: you are a business analyst who, during a software review, identifies a seemingly minor flaw in the user interface.

This small issue could have easily snowballed into major user frustration and hinder adoption. Owing to your software testing knowledge, you can not only identify such issues but also recommend alternative approaches.

7. Solid System Analysis Skill

Although the roles of a business analyst and business system analyst are different, both of them work hand-in-hand with stakeholders to grasp their technical needs and ensure the systems meet all the essential requirements. 

In simpler terms, business analysts typically focus on “what” the business needs. System analysis knowledge helps them understand the “how”. 

A strong foundation in system analysis empowers you to create more precise and actionable requirements. Concurrently, it fosters smoother collaboration with IT teams and ultimately leads to better project outcomes.

8. Business Process Modeling 

Business process modeling (BPM) can be best described as the process of chalking out a roadmap of a company’s operations. 

By creating detailed diagrams and flowcharts, BAs shed light on the inefficiencies, redundancies, and bottlenecks. The clear model ensures everyone is on the same page about who needs to do what. This not only smoothens out the workflow but also fosters better communication between the teammates and stakeholders. 

9. Familiarity With ERP and CRM Systems

ERPs manage core operations (finance, inventory) while CRMs track customer interactions. A profound knowledge of these two systems will enable you to create a unified business landscape by locating areas where these systems can work simultaneously.

Moreover, both ERP and CRM offers a smorgasbord of valuable customer and operational data. Allow these insights to guide better decision-making and drive business growth.

10. Flawless Documentation Skill

Strong documentation skills are the foundation of a business analyst’s success. A well-written document helps ensure everyone is privy to the important details and is on the same page about “what’s next”. 

If you plan on becoming an accomplished BA someday, practice writing clear and concise documentation. Make sure all the requirements are accurately captured, understood, and communicated to development teams. This would reduce the risk of misinterpretations or oversights.

Unlock your potential with our comprehensive Business Analyst Roadmap! Whether you’re just starting or looking to refine your expertise, our step-by-step guide is designed to take you to the next level.

Non-Technical Business Analyst Skills

And now, let’s go over top 5 soft skills needed for business analyst to succeed in this field:

1. Communication Skills

As a business analysts, strong communication skills should be one of your biggest fortes. You should be able to translate highly specific business requirements into clear technical specifications for your team. 

Conversely, you must know how to explain the technical concepts to your non-tech-head stakeholders without using technical jargon. That’s not all. Good interpersonal communication skills are what will ultimately motivate your team to work as a team. 

2. Decision-Making

It’s not just about making sound decisions. You have to also make sure the decisions made align with the organization’s goals and strategy. To do so, you have got to factor in the uncertainties and risks and develop strategies to mitigate them. Decision Tree diagram and Monte Carlo simulations can help with decision-making under uncertainty.

3. Negotiation Skills

Every successful BA is a skilled negotiator. As a team coordinator, you will often find yourself navigating conflicting priorities between stakeholders. Under such circumstances, you have to advocate for the best solutions while considering everyone’s needs. 

4. Critical Thinking

A competent BA excels at three things – systematically evaluating information, foreseeing potential challenges, and solving complex problems. These tasks require critical thinking. Your ability to think outside the box and weigh different perspectives will help you develop adaptable strategies that can withstand unforeseen circumstances.

5. Time Management

Like it or not, juggling multiple tasks and maintaining tight deadlines are a part of the package. Strong time management is what keeps the leading business analysts at the top of their game. Minimize distraction and learn how to use tools effectively to avoid wasting energy on inefficient processes. 

How to Develop Business Analyst Skills?

Now that you know the “what”, it’s time to figure out “how”. Developing business analyst skills is a journey that requires continuous learning, and practical application. 

Here are a few things you can do to sharpen your BA skills: 

• Network with Experienced BAs: Attend industry events, join online forums, or connect with BAs on LinkedIn. By connecting with experienced BAs, you’ll learn how they approach problems, the tools they use, and the challenges they encounter. 
• Refine Your Written Communication Skills: Take online writing courses or join a writing group. Regularly write reports, emails, or even blog posts to practice clarity and conciseness.
• Read More: Pick up books that offer wide range of perspectives, methodologies, and industry trends. Reading is a great way to refine your analytical skills and critical thinking as well
• Play Logic Games: There are tons of games out there that can help improve your cognitive abilities and sharpen your critical thinking. Popular examples would be chess and sudoku. 
• Participate in Business Analytics Competitions: There are many online platforms offering business analytics competitions and technical workshops. This is a great way to test your programming, visualization, analysis, data wrangling, and presentation skills. 

If you are an aspiring BA, consider giving yourself a professional edge by joining this dedicated Business Analyst Course. The curriculum of this course is designed to put all essential business analyst skills to the test.  

Final Words

Now that you have a fairly strong grasp of essential business analyst skills, it’s time to put the ideas into action. Also, remember that your BA skillset should not be limited to the ones mentioned above. Keep learning, and keep upskilling. 

If you are preparing for a business analyst interview, don’t forget to check out our detailed guide to Business Analyst Interview Questions. 

FAQs Related to Business Analyst Skills

1. What are the skills needed for a business analyst?

Ans. The top 5 skills for business analysts include strong programming skills, data visualization, statistics & probability, in-depth knowledge of agile methodologies, and of course, proficiency in BI tools. 

2. What are the top 3 qualities of a business analyst?

Ans. In order to become a force to be reckoned with in this field, every business analyst needs to possess 3 qualities – great communication skills, incredible negotiation skills, and strong analytical skills. 

3. Is SQL required for business analysts?

Ans. Yes, SQL is touted as one of the core business analyst technical skills. It helps you quickly extract data from massive datasets for in-depth analysis and visualization.