Business Analysis

What is a Business Analyst?

The Business Analyst is an agent of change. Business Analysis is a disciplined
approach for introducing and managing change to organizations, whether they are
for-profit businesses, governments, or non-profits.

Job titles for business analysis practitioners include not only business analyst, but
also business systems analyst, systems analyst, requirements engineer, process
analyst, product manager, product owner, enterprise analyst, business architect,
management consultant, business intelligence analyst, data scientist, and more.
Many other jobs, such as management, project management, product management,
software development, quality assurance and interaction design rely heavily on
business analysis skills for success.

Business analysis is used to identify and articulate the need for change in how
organizations work, and to facilitate that change. As business analysts, we identify
and define the solutions that will maximize the value delivered by an organization to
its stakeholders. Business analysts work across all levels of an organization and may
be involved in everything from defining strategy, to creating the enterprise
architecture, to taking a leadership role by defining the goals and requirements for
programs and projects or supporting continuous improvement in its technology and
processes.

We have the specialized knowledge to act as a guide and lead the business through
unknown or unmapped territory, to get it to its desired destination. The value of
business analysis is in realization of benefits, avoidance of cost, identification of new
opportunities, understanding of required capabilities and modeling the organization.
Through the effective use of business analysis, we can ensure an organization
realizes these benefits, ultimately improving the way they do business.

Business Analysis Helps Businesses Do Business Better.

The Core Concepts that form Business

Analysis
1 Change - a controlled transformation of an organization
Change is the Core Concept with the most specialized definition in the model. The
common use of the term includes many kinds of change that are not usually the
 subject of business analysis work. For example, personal or individual change is
usually the realm of psychology. The work of turning raw materials into finished
products is also a kind of change—it is the actual operation of the organization—but
BAs do not work on the assembly line. BAs don't operate the organization; they help
change the way the organization operates.
This means business analysis is performed for one primary reason: to improve
organizational performance by controlling change to organizational capabilities. To
understand change from a BA point of view, you have to understand two terms in
the BACCM definition of change:

 Organization: A collection of stakeholders acting in a coordinated manner, and in

service to a common goal. "Organization" includes the private and public sectors,
from governments to religions to corporations to militaries to charities. "Enterprise" is
also used in this way.
 Control: Conscious attention is paid to directly effecting the change, by provoking it,
preparing for it, or preventing it. For example, business analysis is not concerned
with controlling earthquakes, but it is concerned with controlling the organizational
capacity to respond to them, and to controlling the consequences.

We mentioned three categories of control over change exerted by BAs:

 Prepare Change. What is changing? What is the context for that change? Who cares
about the change? Why? BAs ask these kinds of questions as a foundation for
managing stakeholders, setting expectations, understanding scope, and making
good decisions.
 Provoke Change. Each change causes a mixture of increases and decreases in
value: this solution option costs more to buy; that solution option takes longer to
implement; another solution option benefits one stakeholder but harms another. BAs
discover and define potential changes to understand which ones are most likely to be
most beneficial. We explore boundaries; we discover problems, opportunities, and
constraints; we represent these needs in ways that promote action.
 Prevent Change. For potential changes that are likely to decrease value, BAs are
positively negative. We do our best to get damaging change prioritized to the bottom
of the queue, to invalidate bad business cases, to uncover false assumptions, and to
question questionable decisions. We also work to ensure the organization has the
capability to control itself day-to-day, through meaningful reporting.Good reports help
management put a stop to undesirable changes, like increases in product defects, or
decreases in sales.

Change is a complex, recursive, fractal concept—so business analysis is too.

2 Need - a problem, opportunity or constraint with potential value to a

stakeholder
Need and change are entwined. Needs can cause changes by motivating
stakeholders to act—to seek some purpose, or to collect some benefits. Changes
can also cause needs—problems, opportunities, or constraints—by eroding or
enhancing the value delivered by existing solutions. In many cases Business
Analysis work begins with needs, and needs always guide Business Analyst work. A
Need (like a solution and value) is an experience that a stakeholder has, and not a
thing in itself. A need can only exist if there is a person to have it. The potential value
of a need is discussed in more detail in the section on value.
BAs must be careful to educate their stakeholders on a key characteristic of needs:
sometimes, they are not met. Even the most basic needs, for air, for water, for food,
for shelter, for love, for meaning—these needs sometimes go unfulfilled.
A. Problem, Opportunity, Constraint
"Problem" and "opportunity" are often used to talk about needs, and for most of us
they feel like a natural part of the definition of the concept. These ideas encompass
the first part of the definition of a requirement in A Guide to the Business Analysis
Body of Knowledge  ® (BABOK® Guide):
1) A condition or capability needed by a stakeholder to solve a problem or achieve an
objective.
In the BACCM, a constraint is something that limits your options. This is often
positive: a solid, stable foundation is a constraint that makes it possible to build a
solid, stable structure. It can be negative too: a federal regulation might make it illegal
for your organization to share customer information across divisions, making it hard
to provide good customer service experiences. In this sense, "constraint"
encompasses the second part of the definition of a requirement in the BABOK®Guide:
2) A condition or capability that must be met or possessed by a solution or solution
component to satisfy a contract, standard, specification, or other formally imposed
documents."
This idea is fairly broad. Some constraints—like seasons and lifespans—are not
'imposed' by a stakeholder.

Thinking of constraints in this way may feel unfamiliar or forced, particularly since the
term has a special, unrealistic definition in the IT project management world.
Discussion of the relationships among Constraints, Assumptions, Risks,
Requirements, and Dependencies (CARRDs) will be the subject of the next article in
this series.
B. Needs and Requirements
The BACCM defines a requirement as "a usable representation of a need". (Try
substituting the definition of 'need' into this definition. Does it make sense? What
other substitutions can you make?) We'll dig into this definition in a future article
called "Needs and Solutions, Requirements and Designs", but for now it is important
to recognize that needs and requirements are not the same thing. A need may exist
without being recognized, understood, expressed, or acted on. A requirement is an
expression of a need, so there is no such thing as an 'unexpressed requirement'.
A requirement defines the potential value associated with a need, and represents the
need so it can be acted on. Requirements may be found on the back of a napkin, in a
Business Requirements Document, or in a storyboard. In each case some need is
represented in a way that a specific stakeholder can use. 
This is the general case of the third part of the definition of a requirement
in BABOK® Guide:
3) A documented representation of a condition or capability as in (1) or (2).
C. Who Has Needs
Needs represent something with potential value to a stakeholder, so a need cannot
be understood until the stakeholder is identified. By definition, all controlled
organizational changes have three categories of special stakeholders:
 The organization has needs that set the overall scope and direction of any
operations and any change. These needs are often identified as goals, targets,
objectives, directions, and so on.
 Change Agents are people changing the organization. They have needs related to
making that change.
 Change Targets are people being changed. They have needs related to a
functioning solution.

One person may fit into more than one category, and other stakeholders may have
needs of various sorts—often related to one of the Core Concepts—but these groups
are a good place to start.
D. Needs and Solutions
"I need" may be an interesting philosophical statement, but the phrase only has
practical meaning when it is applied to something: "I need something." The thing
needed is also known as a solution.
Needs and solutions are concepts that cannot be separated, in the same sense that
north and south magnetic poles cannot be separated. You can recognize one at a
time, analyse its characteristics, and show that they are different—and yet it is
impossible to discuss one without the other.
There are deep reasons for the inseparable nature of these concepts, rooted in
value, contexts, and stakeholders. When we get to the discussion of solutions, below,
we'll use an example that shows a single object to be a need and a solution at the
same time. This will also be the subject of a future article, called "Needs and
Solutions, Requirements and Designs".

3 Stakeholder - a group or individual with a relationship to the change or the

solution

This Core Concept may be the most 'jargony' and also the simplest to understand.
The BACCM definition is a generalized version of similar definitions used by other
organizations. For example, PMI defines stakeholders in terms of interest and
influence over the change. The BACCM considers 'interest' and 'influence' to be two
of many kinds of relationships that a stakeholder might have with the Core Concepts.
The definition focuses on these Core Concepts because it is usually practical to look
to the change or the solution as the primary relationship a stakeholder cares about.
For example, people often care about relationships with other people more than they
care about the change or the solution, but the BA can probably analyse these
relationships in terms of the change or the solution.

4 Context - the part of the environment which encompasses the change

Changes occur in a context—those parts of the environment that are relevant to the
change. A context has two boundaries:

 the inner boundary defines the scope of the change.

 the outer boundary defines the scope of the things relevant to the change, separating
them from the environment.

In other words, the context is everything relevant to the change, but not the change
itself. It may include almost anything: attitudes, behaviours, beliefs, competitors,
 culture, demographics, goals, governments, infrastructure, languages, losses,
processes, products, projects, sales, seasons, terminology, technology, weather, or
any other element meeting the definition.
The context is distinct from the controlled organizational change, but that does not
mean it is static. For example, the cyclical change of the seasons is relevant to many
product launches, and the movement of the planets was important to the Mars
Curiosity Rover mission.
In practice, a context provides a common way for stakeholders to talk about their
relationships to the change and solution, and to define what is relevant. Most
organizational change requires many stakeholders to work together fairly seamlessly
despite working in different personal contexts. For example, a stakeholder who will
use a bridge when it is built doesn't really care what engineering software was used
to model the bridge; the engineer and the driver have different contexts. For the
Business Analyst, these are both relevant.
Controlling the scope of the context (and as a result, the scope of the change) is one
of the most important services that BAs provide. Remember, the context defines what
is relevant to the change but not part of the change. In the example above, the BA
does not control the modelling software itself; the Business Analyst determines
whether it is relevant to the change or not (in context, or part of the environment).
The term 'situation' is useful for referring to the combination of the context and the
change it contains. In the BACCM it is explicitly defined as 'context + change =
situation'. Common use is very similar.

5 Solution - a specific way of satisfying a need in a context

Solutions satisfy a need—an idea with potential value—by realizing, delivering,

exchanging, storing, or creating value. Solutions may not be tangible, but they are
always a combination of a stakeholder experience of value and a thing the value is
associated with. For example, a chair can be used as a seat, status symbol, bed,
footstool, fuel, door-lock, barrier, or weapon, depending on what the stakeholder
needs in the current context. In each case, a stakeholder experiences some value
associated with chair.
A. Solutions and Needs
In normal conversation, a thing is only called a solution if a stakeholder can use it to
deal with a problem, opportunity, or constraint, in a context.
A solution satisfies a need by:
- resolving a problem faced by stakeholders,
- allowing stakeholders to take advantage of an opportunity,
- enforcing a constraint requested by stakeholders, 
- permitting an activity by removing a constraint, or permitting activity within a
constraint.
B. Solutions and Value
Solutions are valuable in some combination of the following three ways:

 Functionality: The solution allows a stakeholder to do something that is otherwise

difficult or impossible. The chair is a platform that holds a person some small
distance over the ground.
 Characteristics: The solution confers some characteristic on a stakeholder. A throne
indicates a person has power, wealth, or both.
 Experiences: The solution allows a stakeholder to experience something that others
do not experience. The front-row-centre chair at the concert hall offers a different
experience than the back-row-obstructed-view chair.

The iPhone is an example of a consumer product that is valuable primarily for the
characteristics it confers to the owner; functionality and experiences are important, of
course, but not to the same degree.
C. Solutions and Context
These definitions of solution seem to imply that value is an inherent or intrinsic
property of an object, or even that value is a thing in itself. This simplification is useful
in many circumstances, and is philosophically interesting, but it does not reflect the
practical reality of how stakeholders relate to needs and solutions.
For example, consider a neighbourhood where a new electrical power station will be
built. People outside the neighbourhood will also use the power generated by the
new power station.

 For some local residents, the power station may have high positive value:
construction workers will have several years of good jobs.
 For other locals it has high negative value: the local officials responsible for public
health get pollution (poisonous, radioactive coal smoke).
 For non-residents outside the neighbourhood, the power station has some positive
value: such as lower prices and more reliable service.

This example tells us that the value associated with a solution depends on

 the stakeholder (construction worker vs. health official), and

 the context (my neighbourhood vs. non-resident).

Each of these stakeholders sees the same thing as having different value. For local
construction workers it is a solution to work towards, but for local health officials it is a
problem to prevent (actually a type of need). 

The Business Analyst Core Concept Model helps us understand and resolve
longstanding problems such as the "Paradox of Value" by taking a practical,
subjective view of value. The BACCM acknowledges that needs, solutions, and value
cannot be defined in absolute terms, and can only be understood relative to a
stakeholder in a context. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_value for more
information about the paradox of value, and on marginalism.)
The relationship between the price of a solution and the value of a solution will be
discussed in detail in a future article, but see the section on value for a summary.
D. Solutions after Change: The New Context
A change is complete when a solution is implemented and is delivering value: the
stakeholders' needs have been fulfilled. When this happens, the thing that we called
a 'solution' is no longer a goal to strive for; it is part of the normal operations of the
organization. In other words, the thing we called a 'solution' before has become part
of the environment. In many cases it will be relevant to new organizational changes;
when this is the case the 'solution' becomes part of a new context.
All organizations have many of these existing solutions to existing needs—a called
infrastructure.
6 Value - the importance of something to a stakeholder in a context

Outside of dense tomes of philosophical and economic lore, value is not clearly
defined. It is used everywhere in business texts, but the authors generally assume
that everyone knows what value is, and that we agree on that definition. Consider
that this article first describes some characteristics of value in the "Solutions and
Value" section of Change, above. It probably didn't bother you that it was used 19
times over more than 2500 words before that section, or that it was used 35 times
before the formal definition was presented (now over 3000 words in).
This lack of definition was a significant problem during the development of the
Business Analyst Core Concept Model, and was the subject of many intense
debates. In keeping with our empirical, behavioural approach to the model, we
reviewed some evidence scientists have collected, relating how our brains assess
value, and how we behave when making decisions of value. In the end, we realized
that the dictionary had the simplest, clearest definition of value (buried among the
definitions that can be reduced to "value = money"):
"the importance or significance of a thing"
As discussed in the section on solutions, value depends on the context and the
stakeholder. The BACCM states this directly by adding "...to a stakeholder in a
context."
When considered with the rest of the Core Concepts, "the importance of something
to a stakeholder in a context" encompasses both the common use of the term and
the otherwise undefined meaning used in business.
A. Importance, Ranking, and Prioritization
Value is a measure. In some cases, value can be assessed in absolute terms. For
example, if one device has 16GB of storage, and another has 64GB of storage, the
second device is probably more valuable to most stakeholders. In many cases, value
is assessed in relative terms. I cannot put a number on how much I love my mother,
or my wife, or my daughter—but I can tell you who I would pull out of a burning
building first, and second, and third. I could also tell you whose dinner I would choose
first, and second, and third; the context changes how I rank or prioritize each person.
Value is assessed based on many contextual factors. For example, urgency is a
measure of importance with respect to time, while ROI is a measure of importance
with respect to a balance sheet. Every decision that involves sequencing, ranking,
prioritizing, or scope involves analysis of value at some level.
B. Motivation and Reward
Value has two major elements. On one hand, value is used to describe the benefits
that will result from some action. For example, remuneration—getting paid—is a
benefit of working for someone. On the other hand, value is used to describe the
motivations that provoke a person to act in the first place. For example, the
experience of having an effect on the world—to feel useful—is a powerful motivation
to work. IIBA exists because of this motive: volunteers work to make a difference.
C. Money and Value
Money is one narrow measure of one kind of value. It can dangerously oversimplify
assessments of value, provoke irrational decisions, and corrupt our sense of what is
fair. It is also enormously useful, and a necessary part of almost everything an
organization does.

What Type of BA Are You?

Let’s talk about the most important thing that you have to consider when you’re trying
to make a decision. What is the right fit for you? My advice to you is to choose your
BA Type based on wherever your existing strengths are.

Type 1: Business Process Analyst

 
Chances are you’re going to be a much better fit for the business process analyst
role when you’re starting out if:
you like bringing people along with you to certain conclusions about how things
should work
you like to work a lot more with people than with software
you like to negotiate
If your natural instinct and your natural aptitude is to work a lot more with people than
with software then you want to go for the BPA role.

Type 2: Business Systems Analyst

The flip side of the BPA role obviously is that if you like tinkering around with data. If
you’re the type of person who:
Enjoys trying to figure out how the software works or how devices work in general, or,
If you’re an engineer then you want to aim for the business systems analyst type of
role.
A lot of developers who are interested in moving into an analysis role typically go for
the systems analyst role because they can carry over a lot of the skills that they have
as a developer as you are being probably the primary one.

Type 3: Generalist Business Analyst

The Generalist BA is what I like to call a well-rounded business analyst. I cover

the benefits and drawbacks of becoming a generalist business analyst (as someone
who has become a GBA) and it’s not role that just anyone fits in.
Casandra started off as a QA Analyst. Casandra transitioned into a BSA role
performing technical systems analysis. Casandra was put on a project where she
learned how to work a lot more with the business. She then learned how to do a lot of
process design work and a lot of the softer skills like objection handling and a lot of
the other skills that you need to be a good process analyst. Overtime Casandra has
grown into a well-rounded business analyst.
Career Strategy Perspective
Understand from a career strategy perspective if you want to become an analyst. The
type of business analyst you choose to really set the stage for your BA Career. There
are many paths for getting into the business analysis profession.
Chances are you’ve already started thinking about the future of your career if you’re
a new graduate or have been a BA for a couple of years.
In another video, I cover some options you have for any business analyst career
paths you choose to take or have already started but thought about changing.

Techniques of Business Analysis

To analyze business needs, goals or objectives suitable technique plays a vital role.

There are many business analysis techniques used by the Business Analyst. We have

described the eight most popular techniques below.

 1. SWOT Analysis:
 
S.W.O.T.  stands for Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats. This is the
most important technique used in business analysis. It is conducted by a group of
people with different mindsets and perspectives in the company in order to access a
changing environment and react accordingly.

 It is kind of the business framework in which strengths and weaknesses are internal

data factors whereas opportunities and threats are the external data factors. 
 
Strength of the company can be classified as the actions that work well for
different problems and confers the key advantages to the company. Some

examples of strengths are the company name, company location, trusted

employees, great reputation, customer support, brand name, product, etc. 

Weakness of the company is the different activities or disadvantages which

create problems for the growth or policies of the company. Examples of

weaknesses are bad reputation, incomplete product, lazy employees,

department rivalry, persistent negativity, office politics, etc.

 Opportunities are external facts and figures which have the potential to

provide an advantage or an edge above competitors. Any kind of advantage

due to external facts is an opportunity.

Some examples of opportunities are investing in the startup at an early edge to

gain more profit later. One of the classic examples of opportunity in Indian
startup is that after demonetization many digital payment startups (an example

of digital transformation) got millions of funding.

 
Threats are also an external fact or information that can create a disadvantage

to the company. Some of the examples of threats are changes in market

research and trends, new regulations, new technology such as AI and IoT

implementation in touch screen mobile phones that were perhaps a threat to

keypad phones, an example of cyberthreats.

 
2.  MOST Analysis:
 
M.O.S.T. stands for Mission, Objective, Strategy, and Tactics. MOST analysis is

also a powerful technique to do business analysis. MOST analysis always works from

the top. Business Analyst should ensure that it retains the focus towards goals which

are most important for the organization.

It gives a better understanding of the organization’s capabilities and vision (purpose)

and to provide answers to the interrogation such as what does the organization

wants to achieve in terms of mission and objectives, how these actions can be

implemented in strategies and tactics. 

Mission should be an organization’s enduring process. Each department of the

organization equally contributes to the mission statement. It clears an overall

 reason for being in business and what will be the outcomes to accomplish. The

more clear the business is about its mission, the more likely it will succeed.

Objectives are the one step down after mission. These are defined as specific

aims for each department to achieve its mission. Objectives should be smart

and specific for decision making. They should also be measurable and realistic.

Strategies are the actions that should be taken in order to accomplish

organizational objectives. These are the long term approach to achieve

objectives. There are many groups of sorts of actions to achieve at least one

goal of objectives of the mission. Strategies are also considered as the safest

way to move forward in the organization.

Tactics are designed to carry out strategies in the organization. They are

formed in a simple manner so that they can be understood by every person in

the organization who does not have an overview of MOST analysis. These are

short term approach to complete strategies.

3.  PESTLE Analysis:
 

In any organization, there are many external macro-environmental factors that can

affect its performance. PESTLE analysis is sometimes also referred to as the PEST

analysis and has used in various business applications. 

PESTLE stands for Political, Economical, Social, Technological, Legal and

Environmental. These forces or factors can create opportunities or threats to any

organization so it is a very powerful tool or technique of business analysis. 

 
 Political factors determine how a government’s policies and regulation act

influence an organization.  It is also related to the government’s intervention in

the economy. All the factors that influence business by the government can be

classified here such as tax policies, tariffs, law, trade control, import restrictions,

etc.

Economical factors have a significant impact on how do organizations run their

business and how profitable business is. Economic factors include economic

growth, exchange rate, inflation rate and interest rate.

Social factors include health consciousness, population growth rate, age

distribution, cultural trends etc. These factors help marketers to understand

their customer’s requirements. 

Technological factors include the rate of technology advancements,

innovation, automation, research and development which might impact

business growth. 

Legal factors include the discrimination laws, copyright/patent laws, data

privacy laws, health and insurance laws, etc. The organization must run within

its legal boundaries.

Environmental factors include weather, climate change, air and water

pollution, etc. These factors especially impact many industries such as tourism,

farming, insurance, etc. 

4.  System Analysis:
 
System analysis is a systematic problem-solving method for collecting and
interpreting facts, looking system’s weaknesses, identify business problems, or
decomposition of the system into smaller parts. It is an approach to minimize the
error of different issues. 

 System analysis is the process of studying the company’s perspective,

identifying its goals, creating a process together to make an efficient system.

For instance, a problem can be solved in a few hours without analyzing a system
completely but sometimes it creates many other irrelevant issues. So, the better you

understand the system, chances are less for any problem to arise.
 
5.  Business Model Analysis:
 
The business model analysis helps us to understand the business of the company

and clears the policies, market approaches, and techniques. It gives a better

understanding of many things like revenue model, value offering to which customer’s

segment, cost involved in value offering, effects on the company if the business

model changes.

In the Business model analysis, we also try to grasp the insight on the important

factors such as cost of production, marketing, and management. With the complete

study of design, production cost, marketing strategy, and effect on possible upcoming

changes, A business analyst ensures the growth of company status and revenue.

 
6.  Brainstorming:
 
Brainstorming is a useful technique to generate diverse ideas, to resolve or find a

solution for the complex problems and to analyze business properly.

It is defined as “a group problem-solving technique that involves the spontaneous

contribution of ideas from all members of the group.” In brainstorming, each idea of

an individual person whether it is out of the box idea is encouraged. 

Brainstorming done by one person only could be considered as independent

brainstorming, some business analysts might advocate for this type of brainstorming
because it would take less time to achieve a conclusion, but in the large organization,

group brainstorming is practiced.

Brainstorming targets creative thinking about a problem in order to come up with a

new set of ideas, approaches, and options. It is a group activity having a completely

different purpose of generating solutions for the problems. 

7.  Mind Mapping:
 
Mind Mapping is a very useful and effective business analysis technique that gives

us a clear and visual understanding of different problems, ideas, thoughts, etc.

 Structure of Mind Mapping is very similar to the structure of neurons in the brain

(one of the prominent reasons why it is called so), It keeps expanding with the

addition of new ideas and resources.

A Business Analyst’s role is to investigate and evaluate problems obtained by clients

or stakeholders that can be solved by using mind maps to get structured details of

any ideas, thoughts, and information.

 
The mind mapping technique ensures that all the factors which are needed to

analyze have been considered or not. There are several tools available to make mind

maps online such as Freemind, Xmind, Mindmap, Lucidchart, Canva, etc.

 
8.  Process Design:
 
This is a crucial part of the business analysis where a Business Analyst identifies the

organization’s process designs and their useful and harmful attributes.

Process designs are essential to solve the problems and exploiting opportunities in

order to monitor and measure the effectiveness of business to ensure consistent

value delivery to consumers. Process designs can also be described as a future state

of any business operations.

A Business process analyst analyzes the existing process design and does changes

if required. The business analyst is responsible for understanding the wide business

process improvement and maintain them.

Benefits of Business Analysis

Importance or benefits of Business Analysis

The benefits of Business Analysis may seem obvious, but in reality, not many
organizations appreciate how analysis can help their business and the improvement
that can arise as a result.

Business analysis is a practice that enables change within an organization or an

enterprise by identifying the need for change or opportunities and recommending
solutions that will deliver value to the stakeholders. The solution recommended could
be IT related or non-IT, minor or humongous and could be customized or even off-
the-shelf product. Different bodies such as IIBA, BCS, PMI coordinate the Business
Analysis certification.

he business analysis practice has evolved rapidly over the last two decades and as
such, more organizations have realized its need for strong business requirements to
support their efforts and to maximize return on investment (ROI).

The business analysis certification course is for both individuals and organizations.
Individuals who opt for the course do so for two major reasons: Firstly, to validate
their experience either for personal or professional recognition. Secondly, for
increase in income and thirdly, for professional development.

Also, the involvement of organization is for two major reasons, which are: to adopt
the business analysis practice in order to choose and do businesses better and to
train their employees for increased productivity and achieving their set objectives.

Importance or benefits of Business Analysis to Indivisuals

The benefits of business analysis to individuals abound,  some of which are:

Employability

As the business world progresses on a daily basis, the need to continually keep up
and adapt to the changes increases as well. This contributed to the reason why
individuals with the business analysis certifications are one of the most sought-after
in the business world.

Being a practice that equips you with knowledge of the skills, tools, and techniques
that enable progression, the qualification makes you employable in organizations of
varied sizes, across different industries.

Increased earning potential

The Business Analysis certification signifies professionalism, knowledge, and

understanding of business components. The knowledge of the Business Analysis
practice shows that you have the ability to analyze business requirements, current
processes, propose solutions, ensure the implementation and monitor the solutions
to achieve organizational objectives.

Demonstrating these unique qualities to your employers not only shows your
commitment to progression, but also helps in increasing your bargaining power as a
professional. Ultimately, how much you will be paid by your employer.

Visiting the Jobberman website, for example, will give you a fair idea of how much
certified professionals earn per month in Nigeria.

According to Randstad.co survey, Business Analysis certified Professionals earn an

average of 16% higher than those who are not certified. Also, the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics predicted a 14% growth percentage between 2014-2024 for
Business Analysis roles.

Knowledge

The objective of the business analysis is to be able to find errors in a system, provide
solutions to the problem and to be able to improve it. Business Analysts are identified
as individuals with an advanced level of knowledge in the tools and techniques used
in business analysis for greater effectiveness and efficiency.

Confidence

As confidence is born out of knowledge, having the Business Analysis knowledge

which is about providing solutions to problems; will immensely increase your self-
confidence.
Quality Result

Business Analysts help produce reliable, quality results with increased efficiency and
consistency. As a result, you can be positioned to move up into roles such as IT
business analyst, senior/lead business analyst or product manager or even Chief
Technology Officer within a short period of time.

Importance or benefits of Business Analysis to

Organizations

The following are the advantages or benefits of Business Analysis to organizations:

Better business performance

Adopting the Business analysis practice in an organization helps in better business

performance. How? If employees are equipped with the knowledge of business
analysis, they will be able to carry out their job effectively. The knowledge of the
Business analysis practice will help in doing the right businesses to achieve
organizational objectives.

As business performance increases, so does the value created for shareholders.

Adaptability

Being a flexible practice that is in use in industries such as IT, Manufacturing,

Healthcare, Financial services,  NGOs, etc. The business analysis practice helps to
understand why there is a need for change or opportunities. Similarly, what to do and
how to do them in any specific industry.

Increased revenue

In today’s business environment, the strategic focus for most organizations is the
growth in their revenue. How can organizations achieve this?

Carrying out effective business analysis will help to achieve this. This involves
gathering information, analyzing the information, finding ways to enhance strategies
and making smart decisions to build revenue.

The practical way of handling businesses can be best satisfied by adopting Business
analysis practice and training the organization’s staff.

Successful Projects
Questions such as: ‘What project should we embark on? How do we figure out the
right project? How do we even go about it?’ arise once an organization realizes the
need for change in their business. The knowledge of the business analysis practice
helps in discovering new opportunities. This enables a better understanding of the
changes that need to be in place for continual growth through projects.

This is to say that business analysis is an essential component of a successful

project. Similarly, having a competent business analyst could save a project from
failure.

Adequate collaboration with Stakeholders

Many a time, a significant amount of project spending are wasted on re-work.

Understanding the business analysis practice  enhances the ability to collaborate
with stakeholders when gathering requirements. This will not only help  avoid gaps
but also reduce the time. Also, it helps to reduce other resources wasted on the
rework of failed projects.

Lower Costs

Business Analysis is a methodical way of managing businesses because it helps to

avoid working on negatively impacts cost initiatives or opportunities. The lower the
cost, the higher the return on investment for your organization.