3 Tips to Make Your Business Analysis Practice More Effective
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Is your business analysis practice as effective as you want it to be? If not, you aren’t alone. Most professionals are seeking ways to boost their impact at work. As a business analysis professional, there are plenty of practical ways you can level up your practice.
Optimize Your Business Analysis Practice with These Tips
Interested in optimizing your business analysis practice? Here are a few ways you can do this:
1) Know the Ins and Outs of Your Organization – As a business analysis professional, you will benefit greatly from knowing all there is to know about your organization, and so will your practice. Understanding your organization will help you create the best possible solutions that deliver outstanding results. Speaking to business analysis professionals, a contributor to Pestle Analysis commented,
“You should know what the primary goals and pitfalls of your business are, so you know where to look for opportunities and what to look out for otherwise. Understanding your organization will also help you to provide conclusions that are useful in pursuing the mission that your business set out to achieve.”
To better learn your organization, ask questions. Gain clarity about anything you don’t understand. Speak with department heads, HR managers, and organizational leaders. This can optimize your business analysis practice.
2) Expand your professional network – Have you heard the saying “your network is your net worth”? There is some truth to it since the majority of jobs are filled via networking (85 percent, to be exact). Because networking can be lucrative, it’s important that all business analysis professionals actively network. Don’t let the public health crisis keep you from this; network virtually if you need to.
In addition to providing new job opportunities, networking helps you stay current with business analysis skills, trends, and information. “The opportunity to gather new information is an often-overlooked benefit of networking, as it’s not the most obvious one, but it also offers career progression and development,” stated a contributor to Michael Page. Networking also puts you in contact with mentors who can give you advice about how to function in your job role more effectively and provide better service.
3) Consistently expand your skill set – As business analysis trends change from year to year, so do skills employers seek in a business analysis professional. It’s essential that you stay up to date with these skills and add as many as possible to your skill set. For example, some of the most current in-demand skills for those who practice analysis include programming (Python and R), survey/query software, business intelligence and reporting software, and data mining.
To expand your skill set and optimize your business analysis practice, consider earning a professional certification. The International Institute of Business Analysis offers an array of certifications to those who practice analysis. Learn about IIBA’s certifications here.
Looking for more information about making your business analysis practice more effective? Check out our quick read, “Tips to Boost Your Business Analysis Career,” which features commentary from seven business analysis professionals.
About The Author:
Isabel Feher-Watters is the Certification Programs Manager at IIBA® and has 20+ years' experience building talent and leadership in the workplace through learning, certification, and credentialing programs and practices. She holds a professional certification as a Certified Association Executive (CAE®), Certified Training and Development Professional (CTDP)™, and a Change Management Registered Practitioner (CMRP®). Isabel is passionate about learning and professional development in the Business Analysis community.
