Business Analyst

What a business analyst does

A business analyst studies a company's processes, gathers requirements from stakeholders and turns them into clear tasks. They describe current processes, find bottlenecks, propose improvements and check that the delivered solution actually helps the business. They work with managers, product managers and developers.

Skills you need

• analytical thinking and a structured approach
• asking good questions and extracting requirements from conversations
• process description (flowcharts, diagrams)
• working with data: Excel and a basic grasp of SQL
• clear written and spoken communication
• patience and the ability to reconcile conflicting opinions

How to start and learn

Begin with business process basics and requirements gathering. Learn to map a process, write user stories and work with data. Practical cases matter most: take a real or realistic situation, analyze it and present a proposal. Such work makes a good portfolio. Many people enter the field from adjacent roles such as support, testing or accounting.

In practice it helps to build your own set of templates: interview questionnaires, examples of requirement descriptions and process diagrams. Learn to present results too: a good analysis that nobody understood does not help the business. Pay attention to team relationships as well: an analyst's result often depends on the trust of other people, and trust grows when you openly state assumptions and limits.

Where business analysts work in Armenia

Business analysts are sought by IT companies and startups, outsourcing teams, banks and financial organizations, and large trading and service companies. Consulting and freelance work are also possible. Growth paths include senior analyst, product manager and project manager. The choice of direction depends on your interests, and many specialists try several roles before finding the right one. It is important to keep learning and to document your experience.