All about the profession of business analyst

Business analyst is a pretty advanced profession. She appeared quite recently. Basically, people of this specialization are highly valued, since their importance can hardly be overestimated. Not a single IT company can do without this professional.

If you look at the lists of the most in-demand professions, you will see the profession of business analyst in the forefront. What does a person with this profession do? A business analyst uses business analysis techniques. He is engaged in this activity in order to identify problems in business and suggest ways to solve them.

The demand for a business analyst in the labor market can hardly be overestimated. And that's why. The prosperous future of the entire company, that is, the profit and salaries of employees, depends on this specialist. An analyst helps to optimize and improve business processes. The viability of an enterprise or a company depends on them.

In order to become a highly qualified specialist, you must have the following knowledge:

• you need to know the basis of the life cycles of a software product;
• basics of systems analysis, basics of business planning, basics of WEB programming;
• enterprise processes taking into account the industry focus;
• you need to be able to work in ARIS Express, Business Studio, BPwin, etc .;
• know the programs 1C, SAP, Oracle, MS Visio, MS SQL, MS Project, EDMS;
• be able to describe business processes and analyze them, as well as a specialist of this level must assess the efficiency of the enterprise;
• you need to have the skills to develop technical specifications for the information system.

In addition, you need to have certain personal qualities that will help you work without interruptions. Let's list them:

• Analytical mind;
• attentiveness, perseverance, sociability;
• the ability to analyze and take into account a large group of relevant data;
• a specialist must quickly assimilate information and be creative.

This profession has tremendous merits. First of all, this is a high salary and a guarantee of career growth. Business analysts are in great demand and their work is diverse. Thanks to his activities, a specialist can improve his communication level.

However, if you are afraid of responsibility, then this profession is not for you. Its disadvantages are that:

• the specialist is on business trips all the time;
• you have to promote your ideas all the time, despite the resistance of people;
• may get into an unpleasant situation due to disagreements with the customer;
• great employment and high stress due to mental labor.

A business analyst is engaged in the analysis of multidirectional solutions of the customer, deals with business problems, finds shortcomings in the work of management. Besides, this specialist finds ways to improve operational efficiency and improve leverage for profit.

The business analyst must fulfill all the requirements of the client, communicate with him and draw up a specification. This document contains all the points to be completed. The document also describes the product and its purpose. In addition, its intended purpose, restrictions that may arise are taken into account. He also adjusts all necessary functions and determines the working environment.

The business analyst is primarily responsible for analyzing the needs of the client. He will need to write all the necessary requirements for the product, as well as analyze them. And then try to improve the situation on the basis of the compiled data, which will dynamically affect future profits. In addition, the management provides for the work on documentary changes.

Every analyst needs to be able to work well as a team. Therefore, you need to be a tactful person and try to always come to the aid of a colleague. The analyst must be familiar to the specialist. With the help of an analytical mind, he will be able to sort everything out on the shelves. In addition, this will allow you to see the flaws in the environment and put things in order not only in your thoughts, but also in the thoughts of the surrounding employees.

Gathering information is another point that helps the analyst. Therefore, the specialist must be able to find out what the customer really wants. To do this, you need to talk and conduct a correct dialogue. Persuasion is another very important point in the business analyst profession. He must be able to convince the client if he sees weaknesses in the project. You also need to make bold decisions and take responsibility for them.

The language barrier should definitely not interfere with work. Therefore, a business analyst must be fluent not only in their native language, but also in English. The specialist must be very literate and be able to formulate his thoughts both on paper and in oral speech.

To be fair, it should be noted that finding a specialized institution and studying to be a business analyst without problems is quite difficult. Special universities do not provide for the choice of an ideal program that would facilitate the complete training of specialists of this level. Nevertheless, the country's leading universities offer very good retraining programs. However, before that, it is necessary to graduate from any higher educational institution related to the economic sphere, and preferably with very good grades.And then also to work in the field of economics for more than one year. It is advisable to work in a very large company, but if this is not possible, then work where you will receive very large additional knowledge and skills.

Only then will you have a huge store of knowledge behind you, you can try to become a business analyst and enter a specialized educational institution where you can successfully undergo retraining. We list the list of higher educational institutions where they give decent knowledge:

• The Academy of National Economy under the Government of the Russian Federation - School of IT Management, a special business analysis program is provided here;
• National Research University Higher School of Economics;
• Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, which offers a specialization called "systems analysis and control";
• Academy of Economics. Plekhanov.

To enter and study as a business analyst, you need to pass the exam in Russian, mathematics and social studies. Again, you will also need to gain the maximum number of points, as well as undergo additional testing, which is provided in the university itself. If you fulfill these conditions, you will be able to study at the budgetary department. Otherwise, you will also need to score a high enough number of points. However, if the dialed number is not high enough or you cannot adequately pass the additional certification, then you will have to study for a fee.

If you do not cross a certain threshold by passing the above subjects, then you will have to refuse to study in such serious universities. And I must say that it is not of their own free will. Just to study in the Business Analyst program, you need a very good knowledge. Nevertheless, many advanced people are trying to change their field of activity in order to earn more. For example, become a business analyst. However, for this they need a special professional base. For example, IT specialists can easily switch to a new type of activity, since they understand the specifics of the industry in question and are used to speaking a certain slang. But you need to remember that it is impossible to become a business analyst in one month, despite the fact that you are a high-class IT specialist.

Therefore, decide on your strengths. Decide in which areas you were not particularly successful, as well as remember the best work and how you proposed to implement it. This way you can take an inventory of your knowledge and understand your strengths. This in place of the new position will serve as a certain support. In addition, you will need to learn theory. Without it, you will not be able to work "to the fullest." So try reading Carl Wiegers' book, Developing Software Requirements. It's even easier to take the Client Needs and Software Requirements course on Coursera. But this can be done provided that you speak perfect English. Therefore, be sure to learn English. Fortunately, there are now many programs for learning foreign languages ​​that can be mastered using the Internet.

Without the ability to communicate, it will be difficult for you to learn a new profession. Therefore, try to acquire knowledge of how to speak correctly, that is, state what you have planned correctly.

Be a curious person. This will help you assimilate new knowledge. Never give up on exploring something unusual and interesting, even when it has nothing to do with your work. Thus, you will raise your intellectual level. From all that has been said, we can conclude that in order to become a successful business analyst, you need to be prepared for the fact that you will have to learn for the rest of your life. The profession in question is a dynamic profession. Here it will not be possible to study only one issue and continue to rely on this knowledge.

You will have to work on yourself all the time. You will need to constantly switch your attention from one object to another and in a short period of time to dispose of a huge store of information. This can be helped by recommendations from the book of Professor Barbara Oakley "Think Like a Mathematician", "How to solve any problem faster and more efficiently." And most importantly, to start working seriously, you do not need any certifications, only special knowledge. If you still want to make a certificate, you can contact the International Institute of Business Analysis and get the first-level certification L1 - ECBA (Entry Certificate in Business Analysis).

To master a profession, you need to have an understanding of this profession. So first, try chatting with an experienced colleague through social media. His experience will be your starting point. Topical conferences and works of classics of this level help well in this direction. This way you will become an expert and you will be able to handle certain tasks.

Those professions that meet modern requirements are always considered highly paid. Business analyst is a prestigious profession. However, the salary level of these specialists is influenced not only by the demand, but also by the work experience, qualification level, the level of the company and, of course, the region where the company is located. Therefore, no one will tell you the exact figure that will talk about wages. In general, the salary of a business analyst ranges from 30,000 to 150,000 rubles. However, the latter figure indicates more that the business analyst works in Moscow.

A self-respecting company will not hire a specialist who has just completed training. At best, you will be offered to work as a business analyst assistant. And it will be right. The salary, of course, will not be as large as that of a highly qualified specialist, but its level will be an order of magnitude higher than that of other ordinary employees.

Now let's look at the approximate salaries of business analysts who work in the regions:

• Moscow region - 50,000-150,000 ($ 791);
• Kaliningrad region - 60,000 ($ 949);
• Rostov region - 30,000 ($ 475);
• Leningradskaya - 17,500-100,000 ($ 277).
• Khabarovsk Territory - 35,000 ($ 554).

So, a business analyst usually starts a career as either an assistant business analyst or a junior business analyst. As soon as the specialist passes the probationary period, he shows himself as an experienced employee, shows his level of knowledge, he can pass certification. After that, this employee of the company can apply for the position of an expert or chief business analyst. However, always and everywhere the main word remains with the head of the company. With luck, the business analyst can lead a project, and even more than one. Again, if all projects are correctly built and successfully completed, then, perhaps, the specialist will be offered to head the analytical department, and he will become its leader.

However, if this does not happen, then a highly qualified specialist will be able to provide consulting services privately. By and large, a specialist of this level can take a leading position in any business, since he has very extensive experience in entrepreneurship. For example, a business analyst can master a very wide range of analytical tasks, master new competencies. Ultimately, the career growth of a very competent employee can reach its climax, and he will become an Enterprise Architect, namely, he will support the entire skeleton of the enterprise where he works.

He can also become a product manager, moving up his career. In the field of business intelligence, you can move up the stairs vertically (climb the career ladder), or you can move horizontally and develop your managerial skills. By and large, business analysts are required everywhere and everywhere, that is, where there is a very developed business structure. Of course, you don't get a job as a business analyst in a village or small town. In the open spaces of freelancing, this profession is also in little demand.

Nevertheless, specialists of this level are required in large enterprises that are not related to information technology, and can also be used in the financial services sector.