TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. WHO IS AN IT BUSINESS ANALYST?
An IT business analyst analyses processes, systems, products and services of companies and help develop/improve them through IT based solutions. They conduct research and analysis to find technical solutions to business problems and help companies and their customers implement these systems.
Below are a few reasons why companies hire business analysts, and will continue hiring in the future:
- BAs make digital transformation of companies easier. Digital transformation is a process of adopting digital technologies to improve company’s processes, systems, services etc. BAs help in analytics, information management and technical project implementation which plays a critical role in digital transformation.
- Business analysts are critical in bridging the client-developer divide. BAs understand client problems, gather their requirements, conduct research and analysis to provide and deliver ideal digital solution to clients.
- BAs are in charge of change management. They are not only responsible for executing and delivering business projects but they also train employees to accept the changes done through new initiatives. They act as a change management practitioners and ensure that employees adapt changes successfully.
II. WHICH DEPARTMENT DO IT BAs WORK IN?
IT Business Analysts generally represents technical departments. However, larger companies generally hire BA for each department; smaller organizations many times do not know where to place them.
CASE Study 1 - Role of BA for company’s internal projects
An Ecommerce marketing service provider is looking to develop an ecommerce marketing automation tool to enhance the productivity of the company and provide the best services to the clients. The users of this product will be internal marketing teams. Before starting the product development, the product needs to be conceptualized. Here, a BA will play a big role. A BA will conduct multiple discussions with internal users to identify the scope of automation of steps, the team is doing manually. A BA will work closely with Product Manager to conceptualize the product and define the requirements for the development. Post that BA will dictate the requirements to developers and ensure smooth development and delivery of products in phases.
CASE Study 2 - Role of BA for client projects
A company ABC provides Ecommerce website development services to its clients. One of its FMCG client is looking to develop its own ecommerce website to sell their products directly through the website. Here, ABC’s BA will act as a SPOC for the FMCG client. He/she will gather the requirements of client, understand their problems and will design a solution with the help of Project Manager. Then BA will document the requirements, get its approval from the client and will explain the requirements to the developer to start the development. BA will keep track of development and will plan and execute the delivery of the website. BA will also ensure proper communication to the client and will also maintain the website post deployment by addressing user’s technical as well as non-technical queries/concerns.
III. HOW MUCH DOES AN IT BUSINESS ANALYST EARN?
- In India, the salary package for BA roles without any prior experience generally lies between Rs.3, 50,000 – 5, 00, 000.
- The salary package for Business Analyst having 1-4 years of experience has an annual compensation of approximately Rs.5, 27,712.
- The salary package for Business Analyst having 5-9 years of experience has an annual compensation of approximately Rs.8, 30, 975.
- The salary package of a Senior Business Analyst, with over 15 years of experience, has an annual compensation of approximately Rs.12, 09, 787.
- The salary further increases up to Rs.16, 54, 946.
IV. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF AN IT BUSINESS ANALYST
The top important roles and responsibility of a business analyst of a company:
- Representative of the company: A BA acts as a face of the company in front of the client. He/she acts as company’s SPOC. They present company's ideas and aims to its stakeholders.
- Requirements gathering: As a business analyst, it is his primary role to understand stakeholders (it can be internal employees or clients) problems, gather their requirements and design technical solutions for them with the help of Project/Product Managers.
- Documentation of requirements: Once the solution is finalized, a BA is responsible for thoroughly documenting the functional requirements such that developers can understand it.
- Requirements explanation to developers: A BA dictates the requirement to the developers and ensure that they understand the requirements very clearly. Developers seek BA’s help for any clarification. A BA must clarify all the questions of developers
- Implementation of the project: After completing all of the preceding processes, the next and most crucial duty of a business analyst is to put whatever has been planned into action. A BA is responsible for keeping track of development and ensures that the development is on track. If there is any delay in the plan, BA should keep all the stakeholders informed about it.
- Testing: After the product has been developed, it must be tested among users to determine its operating capacity and quality. A business analyst checks that the product is functioning properly, and if a problem is discovered, he must report it to the right team as soon as possible.
- Project Delivery: A BA acts as a liaison between development team, testing team and delivery team. Once the development and testing is completed, BA ensures smooth delivery of the project by planning delivery and getting it executed.
- Functional and non-functional requirements of a business: The business analyst's job is not just to look after the functional side of the business, which includes delivery of requirements of stakeholders but also communicate/educate the users on the new development of the project and address user queries and requests.
- System possibilities: He must make certain that he determines what a project requires. He is the one who directs the way to the desired outcomes. A business analyst is skilled at spotting possibilities and seizing them before they vanish.
- Present the details: Business analyst is in charge of developing the project to include even the tiniest of flaws or hidden secrets. This is the most important duty of a business analyst because until the facts are communicated to the stakeholders, they will lose interest, and unless they demonstrate the role, the project would likely stall.
- Decision making and problem-solving: Because he should be skilled at problem-solving, whether it's with stakeholders, employees, or clients, a business analyst is anticipated to be the one who confronts problems most readily and calmly.
A business analyst will also:
- Analyse the goals and structure of a business and understand how it uses technology
- Identify problems within a business, including through using business modelling techniques
- Communicate with top management in organisations to find out their requirements
- Formulate ways to improve businesses
- Explain internal and external stakeholders about the benefits of new technology or strategies
- Run workshops and training sessions
V. SKILLS REQUIRED TO BECOME AN IT BUSINESS ANALYST
Technical Skills
- MS PowerPoint skills – BAs present project related insights to its stakeholders and top management. They must display data in such a way that it is easily understandable, with the relevant details highlighted and prospective improvements tangible and measurable. PowerPoint skills is required for the same.
- MS Excel skills – Basic knowledge of MS Excel is required for BA to manage tasks, conduct analysis, create charts/reports etc.
- Stakeholder Management skills - A BA needs to connect with multiple stakeholders for development of any project. Stakeholder management skills will help BA to execute the project successfully.
- Project Management skills - BA is responsible for maintaining end to end projects. Effective Project Management skills can help in doing that.
- Project Management tools for software development like Jira – Tools like Jira helps in keeping track of software project development. Prior knowledge of these tools will help a lot to manage multiple software projects.
- UI/UX Knowledge – BAs are closely involved in designing solutions. Basic knowledge of UI/UX will contribute a lot in designing.
- Wire framing skills – While gathering or designing requirements/solution, a BA are supposed to do basic wire framing for documentation. Basic wire framing knowledge will help a lot in designing solutions. Basic wire framing can be done using excel, PowerPoint, paint. However knowledge of advanced tools like Adobe XD is always preferred.
- Database Skills – As BA needs to do testing and address user queries, for data driven software projects, knowledge of database and database scripting language like SQL will provide an added advantage.
- Basic Coding Skills – As BA designs the technical solutions and interacts with developers, basic coding knowledge helps in designing and explaining the requirements. It is a good to have skills.
- Knowledge of Software Development methodologies – All companies follows certain methodologies for software development. Basic knowledge of these methodologies is required to enforce these methodologies across projects.
- Modelling skills – Modelling abilities are a must-have for a BA position. An analyst may spend the majority of her day modelling, and her skill level can have a significant impact on their overall performance. However, it is a skill that is often acquired on the job over time, and a few courses can aid in the learning process.
- Modelling Tools like Visio – Visio tools are used to create variety of diagrams. It includes flowcharts, org charts, process flow diagrams, data flow diagrams etc. Knowledge of this tool will help a lot in create process flows for the software projects.
Soft Skills
- Communication and interpersonal skills
- Analytical mind-set –What differentiates a great BA form a good one is their ability to examine the information and make better analytical judgments on that information.
- The ability to spot patterns – BAs spend a lot of time working over spread sheets, trying to find patterns that suggest a clear trend.
- The ability to drive others – Being driven is an important skill in business applicable to every role. Business analysts rely on information from other departments for their work. They must spend hours in meetings, on the phone, or by sending an email to acquire data, which might include both numerical and subjective assessments.
- Time management skills
- Organisational skills
- Presentation skills
- Problem-solving skills
- Leadership and Management skills
Minimum skills required
- Communication and interpersonal skills
- Analytical mind-set
- Presentation skills
- Problem-solving skills
- MS PowerPoint skills
- MS Excel skills
- Knowledge of Software Development methodologies
VI. CERTIFICATIONS
- Professional certifications or master’s degree in any of Business Analyst course will boost your chances of getting jobs in this field. These certifications prepare candidates from different educational and professional backgrounds for business analytics roles. International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) offer many certifications in this field.
- Because of the wide range of employment needs, BA academic requirements might also vary. Courses in numeracy, modelling, analysis, technology, and other fields mentioned in the skills section, on the other hand, are often regarded standard.
VII. A GUIDE TO BECOME AN IT BUSINESS ANALYST
- Get your Graduation degree - An Undergraduate/ Bachelor’s degree in a related field are usually required. For IT business analysts, bachelor’s degree in the field of computer science is highly preferable. Some of the computer science fields are:
- B Tech in Computer Science
- Bachelors in Computer Applications (BCA)
- B Tech in Information Technology
- BSc in Computer Science
- Get your Post-Graduation degree – Having a post-graduation degree is not mandatory for BA jobs. However having a post- graduation in fields related to computer science is highly preferable.
- Learn all the skills required to grab the job – As mentioned in the skills section, you must have at least minimum required skills to pursue a career in this field. Learn those skills either through YouTube videos or enrolling in courses offered by various companies.
- Get certified
- Gain real life experience through internships – Internships will not only help in learning skills but also it will give you a competitive edge to grab the job as BA.
- Create a wonderful resume and prepare well for interviews – It is highly advisable to create a professional and well-articulated resume and prepare well for interviews before applying for jobs.
VIII. TOP COMPANIES IN INDIA TO HIRE AN IT BUSINESS ANALYST AS FRESHERS
- AbsolutData Intelligent Analytics
- Latent View
- Mu Sigma Analytics
- Manthan
- SIBIA Analytics
- Simplify360
- Cartesian Consulting
- Convergytics
- Unmetric
- Fractal Analytics
IX. INTERNSHIPS
Internships speeds up the process of getting a job in Business Analyst roles. Companies generally publicise internship opportunities on company websites, job portals etc.
- Some BA positions may necessitate prior job experience. Fortune 500 firms will hunt for people with 2-5 years of prior work experience or will choose candidates from top universities and evaluate them through an internship programme.
- A business analyst internship provides practical experience to students and new graduates.
- Internships are usually part-time jobs that corporations give in exchange for school credit or pay by the hour.
- An internship as a business analyst can help you polish your abilities while also impressing potential employers.
- It can also assist you in expanding your professional network and determining whether a career in this industry is suited for you.
Roles and responsibilities of a business analyst intern
A business analyst intern gathers and analyses data in order to assist businesses in making educated decisions, developing business plans, and implementing new strategies. You may learn how to generate proposals, construct frameworks, and deliver solutions in this position. You may also be in charge of creating reports for a number of existing projects in order to discover cost-cutting opportunities and areas for improvement. Some of the most frequent responsibilities of a business analyst intern include:
- Researching and collating information on customer and industry trends.
- Finding patterns and contradictions by analysing data
- Assisting the business analysis team in the development of company strategy and plans
- Creating end-user technical reports and guides
- New system resources and processes are being evaluated.
- Assisting the marketing department in the creation of fresh advertising materials
- Creating flowcharts for system upgrades
- Monitoring and optimising processes for each project
Internship fields
Though internship as Business Analyst intern will be preferable to grab BA jobs, any internship which facilitates you to learn any of the skills mentioned in the roadmap will help you get BA jobs. Some of those internships are:
- Business Analyst Intern
- UI/UX Design Intern
- Project Intern
- Data Analyst Intern
- Excel Operator Intern
Companies hiring an IT BA intern
- Merkle
- Sapio Analytics
- Sokrati
- American Express
- ZS Associates
- Deloitte
- Barclays
- Amazon
- Quantiphi
- Axis Bank
X. FUTURE OUTLOOK
Job Growth -
- The demand of IT business analysts has increased recently and is projected to grow more.
- With increase in demand of automation and digital transformation among corporates, scope of BAs are increasing day by day.
- The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has projected job growth for similar roles from seven percent (computer systems analysts) to 25 percent (operations research analysts) between 2020 and 2030.
- Pay scale for jobs in technical fields like software development, IT BA etc. are also increasing in India.
XI. CAREER HIERARCHY
Once a Business Analyst gains experience of a few years, he or she can advance to multiple positions like Senior Business Analyst, Project Manager, Functional Consultant, Product Owner/Analyst, Pre-sales consultant, or even IT PMO in the firm, due to the exposure to the SDLC.
BA roles provide ample opportunities to advance professionally, financial security and, above all, it is a personally rewarding profile. If you're seeking for features like these in your job, a business analyst is a great option.
NOTE: Many companies post IT Business Analysts Jobs as Business Analysts. So while applying for IT business Analysts job roles, read job description carefully.
ALL THE BEST!!!
