Business Analysts (BAs) provide a crucial link between business and technology. They align the information systems of an enterprise with the business requirements, such as financial accountability and IT strategy. An analyst is simultaneously a mentor (coaching developers on the business needs) and a student (learning about the technical aspects) within the IT organization. Read on to better understand the BA role, discover key success factors of great analysts, and learn best practices for managing this valuable, and expensive, resource.

Role of a Business Analyst

The traditional role of BAs is changing; they are no longer simply the bridge between IT development teams and enterprise stakeholders. The modern BA works as a liaison among stakeholders in order to elicit, analyze, communicate, and validate requirements for changes to business processes, policies, and information systems. An analyst must: