Ready to Get Data-Smart? Here Are 6 Ways to Use Data Effectively
Key Takeaways
Want to make smarter business decisions with data? Here’s how business analysis professionals can lead the way:
- Ask the right questions: Begin with a clear business problem—not just available data
- Find trusted sources: Know where data lives, who owns it, and whether it’s reliable and compliant
- Analyze with purpose: Focus on patterns and metrics that matter, using tools like Power BI or Tableau
- Tell the story: Turn findings into clear, actionable insights for decision-makers
- Drive action: Ensure insights lead to measurable, data-informed results
- Shape strategy: Build data governance, promote literacy, and guide analytics maturity
Business analysis professionals are skilled at turning complexity into clarity, often by analyzing data, to help organizations make better decisions. With AI-driven analytics, real-time dashboards, and a surge of data across every industry, being “data aware” is no longer optional.
Today, by leveraging the power of data analytics, your insights can make the difference between a reactive business and a proactive one.
This year, 66% of organizations reported using business data analytics practices, up from 63% last year, according to IIBA’s 2025 Global State of Business Analysis Report. This upward trend shows that more organizations are recognizing the value of data-informed decisions, and business analysis professionals are actively engaged in that evolution.
Whether you’re exploring analytics for the first time or looking to strengthen your skills, The Guide to Business Data Analytics (BDA Guide) describes six domains that help organizations leverage data effectively. These areas provide a roadmap for how business analysis and data analytics work hand in hand.
Let’s explore how you, as a business analysis professional, can utilize each.
1. Identify the Research Questions
All good analysis starts with the right question. Too often, teams jump straight to solutioning using dashboards or AI-powered tools without defining what they’re trying to solve. This is where business analysis professionals shine.
Stakeholder collaboration and problem framing are the foundation of effective analytics. Instead of asking, “What data do we have?,” start with, “What business question are we trying to answer?” For example, consider asking these questions:
- Which products are trending this quarter and why?
- Why are we seeing a decline in customer retention in our top market?
Framing questions this way ensures analytics efforts are driven by business needs, not data for data’s sake.
2. Source Data
Once the right question is defined, the next step is finding or collecting the data to answer it. This could involve understanding internal systems, external sources, or third-party integrations. While you may not be the one pulling data yourself, you play an important role in identifying where it lives, who owns it, and how reliable it is.
Your natural curiosity and healthy skepticism are assets here. To test hypotheses, you can help assess data quality, access permissions, and whether the data is fit for purpose.
Ask questions like:
- How was this data collected and processed?
- What’s missing from this dataset?
It’s also important to consider data privacy, compliance, and ethical implications when sourcing data, especially with regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
3. Analyze Data
In data analytics, you don’t need to be a data scientist to add value.
As a business analysis professional, you know how to identify patterns, trends, and relationships. You apply these skills each time you evaluate processes and KPIs. In analytics, you can help define which metrics matter, interpret visualizations, and validate whether results align with business expectations.
Understanding the difference between descriptive (“what happened”) and diagnostic (“why it happened”) analytics will help you ask impactful questions and collaborate effectively with data professionals.
Tip: Leverage analytics tools like Tableau, Power BI, or even secure, AI-assisted platforms to explore data faster while keeping the business context front and centre.
4. Interpret and Report Results
This is where insights turn into stories—and storytelling is a strength of business analysis professionals. Interpreting results means translating technical findings into clear, actionable insights for decision-makers. Ask yourself, “What does this mean for the business?,” then craft a message that is data-informed, accurate, relevant, and addresses strategic goals.
Avoid common pitfalls like over-generalizing from small samples or confusing correlation with causation. Far from simply showing the data, your role is to make it meaningful and trustworthy!
Tip: Focus on visual clarity and context, so stakeholders can understand the story behind the numbers.
5. Use Results to Influence Business Decision-Making
Insights have impact when they drive action. This is where business analysis professionals bridge the gap between analysis and decision-making.
You can facilitate discussions to ensure that decisions are informed by the analytics. Then, track outcomes to confirm whether the data-driven action produced the intended result and was aligned with business objectives (and if not, why).
Think of yourself as the translator between analysis and action, ensuring data insights lead to measurable improvements.
Data-driven organizations see measurable advantages—23x higher success in customer acquisition, 19x greater profitability, and nearly 7x better customer retention. Unsurprisingly, over 90% of companies now list data initiatives among their top priorities.
6. Guide Organizational-Level Strategy for Business Data Analytics
As a capability that grows along with the organization, data analytics transcend individual projects.
Business analysis professionals can play a key role in shaping this evolution, defining data governance policies, participating in analytics steering committees, and promoting data literacy across teams. By advocating for clear standards and a culture that values data-driven, evidence-based decisions, you help your organization mature.
The BDA Guide calls this the “strategic” layer, where an organization’s use of data becomes sustainable and repeatable. That’s where business analysis professionals can truly amplify their impact.
The Bottom Line
Becoming more data-aware doesn’t mean becoming a statistician or coder. It means applying your business analysis mindset, curiosity, structure, and critical thinking to a new kind of problem space.
The six domains in the BDA Guide give you a framework for doing exactly that. By applying and reflecting on the framework, you can assess your existing skill levels and identify areas for growth.
To further develop and demonstrate your competencies in business data analytics, consider earning the Certificate in Business Data Analytics (CBDA). Demonstrate to employers that you’re ready to help drive data-informed decisions that address real business challenges.
About the Author
Colleen Wright is a skilled examination content developer, trainer, and certified career coach with experience in nonprofit credentialing, academic, and for-profit technical settings. She is dedicated to achieving impactful outcomes and is delighted to support the journeys of business analysis professionals through her work at IIBA.
