The Role of a Business Analyst

What is a Business Analyst?

The term Business Analyst is used to describe someone who assesses an existing business and its systems to identify business needs and resolve business issues.

This may involve the development of new systems, improving processes, strategy planning or potentially organisational change. Search Business Analyst Jobs now or use

What tools do Business Analysts use?

Nowadays there are several different Business Analysis tools available in order to help Business Analysts in their day to day lives. The most commonly used Business Analyst tools are now software based for example, MS visio, MS Visual Studio, Enterprise Architect and StereoLogic etc. These packages are designed to produce reports and charts in minutes that previously would have taken hours to do by hand.

What are the responsibilities of a Business Analyst?

The key responsibilities of a Business Analyst are to locate any business issues or inefficiencies and provide recommendations (principally through implementing IT and technological solutions). Although the role of a Business Analyst will vary dramatically from industry to industry and from company to company, there are four key elements that Business Analysts are responsible for:

• Elicitation – Uncover the underlying business issues that need to be addressed and discover any information related to the project.
• Analyse Requirements – Organizing, specifying and modelling the requirements to ensure they are complete and unambiguous.
• Specifying Requirements – Ensuring that the documentation of the requirements is in a layout and format that can be easily shared with and understood by stakeholders.
• Validating and Verifying Requirements – Making sure that the requirements map to the business need being addressed, they are approved by all the appropriate stakeholders and that they meet with relevant quality standards.

What skills do you need to be a Business Analyst?

A good Business Analyst must have a combination of both soft skills and practical skills. Often working between the IT department and a particular business area it is essential that a BA has good negotiating skills, is a great listener and is skilled at dealing with conflict.

Other key soft skills include:

• Problem-solving
• Strategic thinking
• Technical writing
• Client services techniques
• Public speaking/Presenting
• Team building

Due to the technical nature of a Business Analyst role, you will also be expected to have good knowledge or experience of the following technical areas.

​How much do Business Analysts earn?

The average salary for a Business Analyst can change depending on a number of factors, including experience and location.

• The average salary for an entry-level  Business Analyst is £35,000
• The average salary for a mid-level  Business Analyst is £55,000
• The average salary for a senior-level  Business Analyst is £80,000

Typically Business Analysts who work in London earn more, with an average salary of £60,000 as opposed to someone who is a Business Analyst in Scotland, where their average salary is £50,000.

A Business Analyst contractor has a daily average rate of £500 per day.