Business analysis as a discipline emerged in the 1980s and 1990s when companies began transitioning from paper-based to automated processes to computer-based digital solutions. Initially focused on aligning new technology with business operations, the field saw significant expansion with more recent advancements in data analytics.
Today, business analysts (BAs) are pivotal in leveraging data and technology to drive strategic decisions. Modern business analysts work closely with other data scientists to identify actionable insights from among the massive amounts of information represented by big data. They not only assess business processes and identify improvement opportunities; they also collaborate closely with technical teams to optimize IT workflows. BAs now play a key role in configuring no-code platforms and translating business requirements into technical solutions, ensuring seamless integration.
A business analyst evaluates an organization's processes and systems, focusing on data-driven changes and technical implementations. In addition to analytics duties, they also engage in configuring platform features and collaborating with IT teams. This role involves collaborating with multiple departments and stakeholders across their organization. The primary goal is to optimize business operations and drive strategic decisions.
To do this, BAs are heavily involved in:
Strategic planning
This involves defining and aligning business goals with actionable plans to meet evolving organizational needs. Strategic planning ensures that the business objectives are clear and that resources are allocated effectively to achieve these goals.
Business model analysis
This examines the policies, market strategies, and frameworks that define how a business operates. The goal is to enhance competitive advantage and operational efficiency by understanding and optimizing the business model.
Process design
This focuses on creating, standardizing, and optimizing workflows to improve productivity and consistency across the organization. Effective process design aims to reduce redundancy, increase efficiency, and ensure that processes are scalable.
Systems analysis
This involves interpreting and translating business requirements into technical specifications for IT solutions. Systems analysis ensures that the technology implemented supports the business objectives and integrates seamlessly with existing systems.
Platform configuration and development
This refers to configuring no-code platform features and ensuring adherence to organizational development policies. BAs work with IT to develop, modify, and deploy applications that automate business processes.
Engaging in various forms of analysis is only the most surface-level description of business analyst obligations. More specifically, these professionals are actively involved in many supporting tasks beyond just the research and implementation of data insights. Daily obligations may include:
Understanding business needs by stakeholders and translating requirements for technical teams.
Gathering data by conducting surveys, workshops, and tests.
Analyzing and modeling data to draw actionable conclusions to support business goals, including those related to technical implementations.
Assessing risks and opportunities by evaluating the potential impact of proposed changes.
Developing strategic and operational solutions to address any potentially problematic issues or IT challenges.
Designing or modifying systems and processes to help implement changes in ways that are efficient and effective.
Presenting recommendations by communicating findings and proposed solutions to stakeholders or technical teams to gain approval and support.
Documenting findings, analyses, and recommendations clearly and concisely.
Guiding staff through the implementation process to ensure solutions are integrated effectively.
Measuring the success of changes and identifying further areas for improvement.
To become an effective business analyst, one needs a unique set of skills that blend both soft and hard capabilities. These skills enable them to analyze complex data and understand business needs, while also being able to communicate insights clearly and effectively with others.
These skills can be categorized as either ‘hard’ or ‘soft’ skills:
Soft skills are interpersonal abilities that facilitate effective communication and collaboration. Key soft skills for business analysts include:
Listening skills
Essential for understanding stakeholder needs and gathering accurate information.
Adaptability
Crucial for responding to changing business environments and project requirements
Clear communication
Vital for articulating ideas and findings to diverse audiences, ensuring everyone is on the same page.
Organizational skills
Important for managing multiple tasks and projects simultaneously, ensuring deadlines are met.
Analytical thinking and problem-solving
Needed to evaluate data critically, identify patterns, and propose viable solutions.
Business acumen
Helps in understanding the broader business context and aligning analysis with strategic goals.
Hard skills are technical abilities that are often learned through formal education and training. Important hard skills for business analysts include:
Ability to perform accurate data analysis
Necessary for interpreting data correctly and making informed decisions.
Clear understanding of statistics and probability
Important for analyzing data trends and making predictions.
Knowledge of programming languages
Beneficial for automating data processes and performing complex analyses.
Familiarity with IT and software applications
Helps in understanding the technical aspects of business processes and solutions.
Basic understanding of standard operating systems
Ensures smooth integration and operation of various software tools used in analysis.
First and foremost, business analysts need to interpret large volumes of data and turn that raw information into conclusions that can be acted upon. Data analysis tools enable business analysts to collect, process, and interpret this data, transforming it into actionable insights. By providing capabilities such as real-time data collection, trend analysis, and predictive modeling, these tools enhance the ability to understand and leverage data effectively.
ServiceNow Performance Analytics is designed to support comprehensive data analysis within the ServiceNow platform. This powerful application allows analysts to monitor KPIs over time, providing clear insights into organizational performance. Interactive dashboards and customizable reports empower users to visualize data in a way that is both accessible and meaningful, facilitating better decision-making. Performance Analytics also integrates seamlessly with other ServiceNow modules, allowing for the correlation of data across different business functions, leading to a more holistic understanding of organizational trends.
CRM systems help BAs track and manage sales and marketing interactions with customers, providing valuable insights into behavior and preferences. These tools help in organizing, automating, and synchronizing sales and marketing. A CRM system provides a centralized platform where customer data is stored, enabling businesses to help improve customer relationships to drive sales. Customer service management (CSM) takes this concept even further by integrating customer service operations to deliver truly seamless support and more proactive service.
ServiceNow Customer Service Management establishes a unified platform for managing all customer interactions and service requests across every team and department. It automates and streamlines customer service processes, helping organizations resolve issues more quickly and more in line with customer expectations. Customer Service Management integrates with other ServiceNow applications to provide a complete view of the customer journey. This integration allows business analysts to analyze customer data in context, leading to more targeted and effective customer service strategies.
ERP systems integrate and manage core business processes (such as finance, human resources, procurement, and supply chain management) within a single system. These tools are designed to reduce costs while ensuring that business processes are aligned with the organization’s strategic objectives. By consolidating data from various departments, ERP systems provide a unified view of the business, enabling better resource management and operational efficiency.
ServiceNow Financial Management offers ERP capabilities tailored to the needs of modern businesses. This application facilitates financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, and reporting within the ServiceNow ecosystem—providing a comprehensive view of an organization’s financial health for more informed decision-making. Additionally, ServiceNow Resource Management is designed to optimize the allocation and utilization of organizational resources, giving business analysts the power to manage human resources, equipment, and other assets effectively through real-time visibility into resource availability and capacity.
These tools are essential for mapping out and optimizing business processes to improve efficiency. These tools make it possible for organizations to more easily document workflows, identify inefficiencies, and redesign processes to improve performance.
ServiceNow Process Optimization uses data from existing workflows to identify inefficiencies and bottlenecks, offering insights into how processes can be improved. The tool provides AI-powered recommendations for process redesign, helping business analysts create more efficient workflows. Process Optimization integrates with the rest of the ServiceNow ecosystem so that these improvements can be implemented across the entire organization.
Business intelligence tools enable analysts to visualize complex data by transforming it into visual formats such as charts, graphs, and dashboards, thus making it easier to derive insights and support strategic decisions.
ServiceNow Performance Analytics also serves as a valuable tool for business intelligence and data visualization. It allows users to create and customize dashboards that provide a clear visual representation of key metrics and performance data. The application’s ability to blend and analyze data from multiple sources within the ServiceNow platform, helping BAs absorb and communicate complex data in an easily digestible format.
Project management tools are used to plan, execute, and monitor projects from start to finish. These tools help ensure that projects are completed on time, within scope, and within budget by providing a framework for managing tasks, resources, timelines, and risks. Effective project management tools also offer visibility into project progress, enabling teams to stay aligned and address issues as they arise.
ServiceNow Project Portfolio Management (PPM) provides a comprehensive suite of tools for managing projects, programs, and portfolios. PPM allows business analysts to prioritize projects based on strategic objectives and allocate resources efficiently, all while tracking progress in real-time.
Collaboration tools facilitate communication and teamwork among business analysts and other stakeholders. These tools support the sharing of information, ideas, and documents, helping teams more effectively coordinate their efforts. Collaboration tools are particularly valuable in ensuring that all team members have access to the latest project updates and can contribute to decision-making processes.
ServiceNow Collaborative Work Management (CWM) is a comprehensive solution designed to bring teams together in a centralized workspace where they can collaborate effectively and manage their work. CWM provides a range of features that support effective team coordination, along with automation solutions designed to help free up teams to focus more of their energies on high-value tasks.
Requirements management tools are used to capture, analyze, and manage project requirements throughout the development lifecycle. These tools ensure that all stakeholder needs are accurately documented and that any changes to requirements are tracked and communicated effectively.
ServiceNow offers requirements management functionality as part of the Now Platform by providing a centralized repository for documenting requirements, tracking changes, and maintaining traceability throughout the project lifecycle. This helps business analysts ensure that all requirements are clearly defined and that any updates are communicated effectively to all stakeholders.
Testing tools are used to validate the functionality and performance of software solutions before they are deployed. These tools help identify defects, ensure that applications meet business requirements, and verify that changes do not negatively impact existing functionality. Effective testing tools contribute to the delivery of high-quality software solutions that perform reliably in production environments.
The ServiceNow Automated Test Framework (ATF) is designed to optimize the testing process, making it easy for business analysts to create and execute automated tests and ensure that applications and configurations function correctly following updates or changes. By automating repetitive testing tasks, ATF reduces the risk of errors while accelerating the testing process.
Business analysts can typically find lucrative work in a wide range of industries, including:
Finance
BAs analyze financial data to optimize investment strategies, manage risks, and ensure regulatory compliance.
Healthcare
They improve patient care and operational efficiency by analyzing healthcare data and streamlining processes.
Information technology
BAs work on system implementation, data management, and software development projects.
Retail
They analyze consumer behavior and sales data to enhance customer experience and drive sales growth.
Manufacturing
BAs optimize supply chain processes, production efficiency, and quality control.
Telecommunications
They work on projects to improve network infrastructure, customer service, and operational efficiency.
Business analysts often start with entry-level positions and can advance to roles such as senior business analyst, project manager, or even director of business analysis. Many BAs further their careers by specializing in specific industries, obtaining advanced certifications, or participating in career specific programs such as ServiceNow’s Business Process Analyst Career Journey.
Education is fundamental to starting a career as a business analyst. Here are the typical steps:
Undergraduate degree in BA, Finance, or Accounting
A bachelor's degree in business administration, finance, accounting, or a related field provides a solid foundation.
Master’s degree or MBA
Advanced degrees such as a Master's in Business Administration can enhance your knowledge and career prospects.
Additional courses
Courses and programs in data analytics, business analysis, and related subjects can provide valuable skills and knowledge.
Certifications
Obtaining certifications like the Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP) or PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA) can boost your credentials.
Boot camps
Intensive boot camps focusing on business analysis and related skills can provide hands-on experience and practical knowledge.
Practical experience is essential for developing the skills needed to excel as a business analyst. This typically consists of two steps:
Internships: Gaining practical experience through internships in relevant fields provides exposure to real-world business analysis tasks.
Entry-level jobs: Starting in entry-level positions such as junior business analyst or data analyst helps build experience and develop essential skills.
Business analytics is critical for driving strategic decisions and optimizing operations across various industries. Pursuing a career as a business analyst offers numerous opportunities and a promising career outlook.
ServiceNow's Career Journey is a valuable resource for those aspiring to become business analysts. It provides comprehensive learning paths, courses, and certifications to help you acquire the necessary skills and knowledge. With Career Journeys, you can effectively navigate your career path, gaining hands-on experience and industry-recognized credentials.
Get your career journey started!