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Chapter 9 - Understanding and applying business analysis


Underlying Competencies


The Underlying Competencies chapter provides a description of the behaviors, characteristics, knowledge, and personal qualities that support the practice of business analysis. The knowledge of Underlying Competencies enable us to to be accomplished and adaptable business analysts.

These competencies are grouped into six categories:
• Analytical Thinking and Problem Solving 
• Behavioral Characteristics 
• Business Knowledge 
• Communication Skills 
• Interaction Skills
• Tools and Technology 
 In this blog we will talk about these tools.

Analytical Thinking and Problem Solving

Analytical thinking and problem solving is a kind of skill, that helps business analysts to analyze problems and opportunities effectively and identifying which are relevant. Analytical thinking and problem solving is a way to utilize the easiest process of understanding the situations, the value of proposed changes, and other complex ideas.

Analytical Thinking and Problem Solving core competencies include:
• Creative Thinking,
• Decision Making,
• Learning,
• Problem Solving,
• Systems Thinking,
• Conceptual Thinking, and
• Visual Thinking.

Behavioral Characteristics

Behavioral characteristics required in the practice of business analysis to increase personal effectiveness. Most impotently characteristics behavior helps a business analyst to gain the trust and respect of stakeholders. These characteristics exist at the core of every business analyst’s skill set.

Behavioral Characteristics core competencies include:
• Ethics 
• Personal Accountability 
• Trustworthiness 
• Organization and Time Management and
• Adaptability.

Business Knowledge


Business knowledge is an important strategic asset. It is a sum of skills, experiences, capabilities that help business analyst to perform effectively within their business, industry, organization, solution, and methodology.

Business Knowledge underlying competencies include:
• Business Acumen
• Industry Knowledge 
• Organization Knowledge 
• Solution Knowledge 
• Methodology Knowledge.

Communication Skill 

Communication is a process where sender conveying information to a receiver in a method which delivers the meaning the sender intended. However, communication skill help to create better understanding and trust between the sender and the receiver. Effective communication has great impact to all stakeholders.

Following the BABOK, when planning to communicate information, the following considerations may be helpful:
• consider what the receiver knows or does not know,
• structure the information in a logical, comprehensible manner,
• determine how to best present the information to convey the intended.

Leadership and influencing

Leadership and influencing is a skill that motivate people to act in ways that allow them to work together to achieve goals and objectives. This skill required for a business analysts to guiding stakeholders during the investigation of business analysis information and solution options.

According to BABOK Measures of effective leadership and influencing include:
• reduced resistance to necessary changes,
• articulation of a clear and inspiring vision of a desired future state,
• success in inspiring others to turn vision into action
• influence on stakeholders to understand mutual interests,
• effective use of collaboration techniques to influence others,
• influence on stakeholders to consider broader objectives over personal
motivations, and
• re-framing issues so alternate perspectives can be understood and
accommodated to influence stakeholders towards shared goals.
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Comments

  1. Gurvinder SinghJanuary 27, 2020 at 1:09 PM

    These competencies plays a great role in Business analysist profession. Business analysist has to be problem analytical and problem solving thinking. Business analysist must be intelligent, have business knowledge like how to tackle the tricky situation with well professional manner, good leadership skill and good communication helps analysist to guide team members in group work, stakeholders.

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  2. AMANPREET KAURJanuary 27, 2020 at 3:22 PM

    Being competent and turning any problems to benefits is one of the core requirements of being a Business Analyst. A Business analyst gathers the information and identify any changes and its impacts. Using Analytical thinking and problem solving abilities, a B.A. presents the information effectively to the shareholders and propose useful solutions using the competencies completely explained here.

    ReplyDelete
  3. ANMOL KAUSHALJanuary 27, 2020 at 3:28 PM

    This blog helped me understanding the behavior, characteristics, basics, knowledge, influences and personal qualities in a easier way and enhanced my knowledge about chapter 9 of B.A.BOK and completely explains the concepts required for a B.A. to be required for a Business Analyst and the qualities like communication is really important for the companies like Bell M.T.S. which focus on telecommunication and leadership as the real test of the B.A.'s during the bell's acquisition of M.T.S. as the B.A.'s were need to take charge of the structure of the organisation which was a difficult task and have to prove their leadership qualities and overcome any obstacle faced, which shows us how important is underlining competencies (understanding and enhancing skills) are to a Business Analyst.

    ReplyDelete

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