The field of business analysis involves identifying the needs of and determining solutions for businesses. Those solutions might include systems development, process improvement, organizational change, or policy development. The person who does these tasks is a business analyst (BA). The ultimate goal of business analysis is insight, not just numbers.

Business analysis is one area of the economy that is experiencing growth these days. BA's are like the catalyst in a chemical reaction: they work with the sometimes inert ingredients of the business needs and the project developer's needs and make things happen. They gather facts, communicate with clients, make recommendations, and collaborate with consultants, client managers, and senior executives to get things done.

The training that goes into being a business analyst can take many different forms. People come to be business analysts from backgrounds in business, marketing, engineering, or the sciences. While many companies have their own training programs for new BAs, there are starting to be independent training and certification programs just for aspiring or new hire business analysts. These programs might feature courses in business rule requirements, data requirements, developing a business analysis work plan, or requirements validation.

If you're interested in pursuing a career as a business analyst, you should have an undergraduate degree and two or more years of work experience or master's degree in lieu of work experience. You will be more desirable as a candidate if you have a good academic record and a record of leadership in extracurricular activities. The ideal candidate for BA training should have a knack for teamwork, a love for problem solving, and a responsible, hard working attitude.

There are starting to be formal certification programs for business analysts too, such as with the International Institute of Business Analysis. A certification in business analysis usually requires classroom training, hands on work experience and passing an examination. Certification is meant to identify a business analyst as an expert in identifying needs and determining solutions. A certification program that complies with International Standards Organization 17204 carries more weight with some companies.

Certification is a general designation, but business analysts specialize in several different applications depending on their workplace. For example, a corporate finance BA will spend time working on finance related projects and work toward management consulting positions specializing in corporate finance. A generalist BA will interview clients, building financial models, and leading project teams. Much of the training that characterizes the various BA specialties is done on the job.

Corporate Performance Center (CPC) analysts are experts in the technical aspects of corporate finance as it relates to select industries. These BAs conduct financial analyses for learning insights into the capital markets as they relate to a particular industry. Operations BAs are trained in a number of different focus areas, such as service operations, supply chain management, purchasing and supply management, product development, or manufacturing and production. Candidates for this type of career generally serve in an apprentice role for more senior analysts.

Other types of BAs are involved in enterprise analysis, requirements planning, requirements elicitation, requirements analysis, requirements communication, solution assessment, and solution validation.

BAs exist because businesses need to constantly reevaluate what they are doing and how they can improve. Completing projects on time, creating solutions to problems, documenting the correct requirements, improving efficiency, and reducing waste are some of the goals that businesses hire BAs to help them reach.

Getting projects done on time is important for many different reasons. For every month a project is delayed, expenses continue to accrue, particularly if a significant part of the development team has been outsourced. Fixed price contracts can control these problems to some extent. Lost revenues and unfulfilled expense reductions are other casualties of delayed project completion. Every month a project is delayed is another month that company isn't drawing on a new revenue stream. Missed opportunities aren't usually included in return on investment calculations, and so the impact of a delay can be more significant than originally thought.

Improved corporate efficiency can be achieved by shortening project length and by reducing rework. Rework is one of the most common industry headaches, and is sometimes even built into projects. It involves fixing errors, and the need for rework can be reduced by defining tasks precisely and making sure that at every step requirements are met. When project length is shortened, the increase in efficiency can ensure that future projects can be launched sooner, further improving efficiency.

The BA's role in a business is not as precisely defined as some jobs, but that is because his or her work will depend on the project situation which changes almost constantly. It's a challenging career, and it's one that is expected to see growth over the next several years.

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