Maryam Aman

1. Competencies of Business Analysts Summary Business Analysis Business Analysis can be defined as the process of facilitating the changes in an executive framework; this is done by defining requirements of the organization and recommendation of solutions that bring value to investors and shareholders. Business Analyst Business Analyst (BA) can be any individual in the organization who can perform activities related to business analysis, their job designation or organizational position does not really matter. The person who performs business analysis duties is also called systems analyst, process analyst, product manager, requirements engineer. Duties of a business analyst include Object-Oriented Analysis, documentation, quality control, Business Process Management (BPM), technology awareness and other such tasks. Reflection Development of Business Analysis Competencies The aforementioned competencies can be developed through employee engagement and capacity building workshops. The business analyst should be an efficient manager who has leadership qualities and good interpersonal skills. The tasks assigned to the business analysts are very important for the growth of the organization as numerous other departments depend on the business analysis of the organization. These departments include; project management, quality assurance, software development, interaction design, and product management. Collection of user requirements and its documentation is an important duty of a business analyst because requirements such as availability of goods and services and its conditions and functionality is vital to increasing productivity of the employees of the organization. Critique This discussion proves that the job of a business analyst is to be more concerned about the identification of the results required by an organization by completing a certain task instead of worrying about the strategies required to complete that task. Development of skills like technology awareness is not difficult nowadays as most if the employees are aware of the competition that they face in workplace which is why they usually have some command over the technological requirements of the jobs they apply for. A business analyst must have exceptional interpersonal skills so that he may be able to solve problems of the employees that they face in the work place. Object-Oriented Analysis and Business Process Management are the type of competencies that would need some training on the part of the business analyst. 2. Critical Skills of Business Analysts Summary Skills The ability that comes from knowledge, experience and aptitude can be defined as skills of a person Skills of Business Analysts The critical skills required for an efficient business analyst include problem solving skills, communication skills, recognition of benefits, analysis skills, critical thinking, identification of innovative opportunities, elicitation Skills avoidance of cost, and understanding of required capabilities. In essence, business analyst should be problem solver who can recognise a possible problem and come up with an optimal solution for the problem. Reflection Development of critical skills Critical skills can be developed by any business analyst. What they need to do is be active and attentive so that they can facilitate their superiors during business meetings. It will help them in development of their communication skills. Understanding of the problem at hand will help them in coming up with the solution of the problem that will help in enhancing the problem solving skills of the business analyst. Good understanding of the finances of the organization can help the Business Analyst to come up with ideas for avoiding unnecessary costs and will help him in developing cost-cutting skills. For example, if a business analyst is not aware of the different software being used for documentation and analysis of different data, he will not be able to understand the issues of the organization and may not be able to come up with a good solution. Critique Different workshops can be arranged for development of these skills which will help the organization in the long run. It may be easy for the employees to learn some of the basic skills like communication and critical thinking, but skills like identification of innovative opportunities, elicitation Skills, avoidance of cost, and understanding of required capabilities may not be that easy. These skills can be taught to some of those who show promising performance in the workshops and seminars organized by the organization for development of these skills. Some of these skills are transferable skills which should be transferred by the Business Analyst to his colleagues. 3. Strategic Analysis Models Summary: Strategic Analysis The process that leads to the development of a scheme or strategy for an organization by examining the corporation and its environment in which it functions is called strategic analysis. It studies the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats faced by a corporation. Strategic Analysis Model The most commonly used models for strategic analysis are SWOT and PESTLE. SWOT analysis looks at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats faced by an organization while PESTLE looks at the political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental effects of a strategy. Reflection Once the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the organization are identified, it becomes easy to assess the means to capitalise the strengths of the organization for profit maximization. Likewise, minimising the effects of weaknesses of the organization, making the most out of an opportunity and reduction of threats faced by the organization can also be planned and implemented by the business analyst working on designing the strategy analysis of the organization. It is, however, imperative to note that an opportunity can also be a threat, for example, new markets may be dominated by the rivals which might play an important part in undermining the position or standing of the organization in the new environment. Similarly, a threat can also become an opportunity if, for example, a competitor grows quickly, it would mean opening of new markets for the organization too which will help in expansion of the business. Critique PESTLE covers five important factors that have a great influence on the development of the business and markets alike. Suppliers, buyers, existing competitors, alternative products or services, and potential entrants all of these are affected depending on political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental effects of an organization and its products. These factors should be considered with attention so that the business is not affected due to these factors. SWOT analysis is an effective tool for strategic analysis as it provides a clear understanding of new business prospects and present business performance. Another advantage of using SWOT analysis is that it can be used for regular review processing as well as raising finances. 4. Organisational Strategies and Knowledge Audit Plans