Business analyst

Knowledge

K1: The definition of Business Analysis and the range of activities that constitute it, along with its value in enabling business improvement and delivering digital change. Back to Duty

K2: The role of the Business Analyst, and its relationship with other roles on a business change initiative, and how the business analysis work contributes to the organisational objectives. Back to Duty

K3: Business change and system development life cycles (such as waterfall and agile), how organisational context influences the choice of delivery approach and the differences between linear, incremental and iterative methodologies. Back to Duty

K4: The importance of effective communication and engagement with a range of internal and external stakeholders in relation to Business Analysis activities. Back to Duty

K5: Technology and industry trends across the digital sector, and the opportunities these bring for business improvement, considering the ethical implications and limitations of emerging technologies including Artificial Intelligence. Back to Duty

K6: The role of software and AI tools in improving the efficiency and quality of business analysis work. Back to Duty

K7: Legislation and industry standards relevant to the organisation and sector, including data protection regulations Back to Duty

K8: Approaches to conducting situational analysis e.g. SWOT and PESTLE analysis and other approaches suitable for the organisational context. Back to Duty

K9: Investigative and requirements‑elicitation techniques, including their advantages, disadvantages and the situations in which each is most effective. This includes qualitative methods (e.g. interviews, workshops, prototypes), quantitative approaches (e.g. surveys, data analysis), and techniques that surface tacit knowledge (e.g. observation, shadowing). Back to Duty

K10: The purpose and value of modelling business processes. Back to Duty

K11: Different approaches to model business processes and the factors that influence the choice of modelling technique such as swimlane diagrams, activity diagrams and customer journeys. Back to Duty

K12: The importance of considering user experience, accessibility (including frameworks for inclusive design for those with disabilities and/or health conditions) and usability requirements in the design of digital solutions. Back to Duty

K13: Approaches to categorise, validate, prioritise and manage requirements throughout the lifecycle, including the role of change control in maintaining requirements integrity. Back to Duty

K14: The value of data to an organisation, and how data needs are considered in business improvement. Back to Duty

K15: Data modelling techniques, standards, notation and software tools that enable business analysts to develop simple data models (e.g class models, entity relationship diagrams, data flow diagrams) that support analysis, design and decision‑making. Back to Duty

K16: The purpose and activities of the gap analysis process. Back to Duty

K17: The role of the business analyst in facilitating business acceptance of changes, including business change readiness, user acceptance testing and system deployment. Back to Duty

K18: The purpose and importance of business change impact assessment. Back to Duty

K19: The concepts of benefits realisation and management. Back to Duty

Skills

S1: Scope and plan Business Analysis activities and outputs. Back to Duty

S2: Communicate effectively in a variety of business analysis situations with a range of stakeholders, presenting information in a manner appropriate to the audience. Back to Duty

S3: Plan and facilitate structured group discussions or workshops to enable stakeholders to collaborate effectively, share insights and reach clear outcomes. Back to Duty

S4: Apply structured investigation techniques to define a business situation and identify its problems and opportunities. Back to Duty

S5: Apply business analysis techniques to analyse and document options and recommendations for change Back to Duty

S6: Support the identification and presentation of proposals to stakeholders to gain agreement. Back to Duty

S7: Elicit process information from stakeholders. Back to Duty

S8: Model business processes for the current (as is) and proposed (to be) using relevant standards, notation (such as UML and BPMN) software tools and techniques for example, swimlane diagrams, activity diagrams and customer journeys. Back to Duty

S9: Analyse business process models to identify opportunities for improvement. Back to Duty

S10: Elicit requirements from stakeholders to identify business and user needs. Back to Duty

S11: Document clear functional and non-functional requirements in line with organisational standards. Back to Duty

S12: Analyse requirements to identify and remove duplication, conflict, and overlap, and work with stakeholders to validate and prioritise them, using a structured approach. Back to Duty

S13: Support the controlled management and traceability of requirements (horizontal and vertical) throughout the lifecycle. Back to Duty

S14: Elicit business data needs from stakeholders and other sources (such as business documentation, existing systems and legislation). Back to Duty

S15: Document current business situations to enable gap analysis and decision making. Back to Duty

S16: Support the development of models of future state business situations (e.g. process models, data models, organisational design etc). Back to Duty

S17: Identify key differences between current and future business situations and the actions required to move between the two. Back to Duty

S18: Define acceptance criteria for business and system changes, and provide support to ensure business and user acceptance of these changes. Back to Duty

S19: Apply and explain relevant techniques to research and identify stakeholders. Back to Duty

S20: Analyse and document stakeholders and their areas of interest and influence and use this to determine the communication and engagement approach. Back to Duty

S21: Support the development of cost-benefit analysis for proposed business changes. Back to Duty

S22: Evaluate and document the key impacts on people, process, organisation, technology and information. Back to Duty

Behaviours

B1: Act logically, analytically, ethically, and objectively in a range of situations. Back to Duty

B2: Demonstrate curiosity when problem solving by asking questions, seeking ideas and thinking creatively. Back to Duty

B3: Work collaboratively as a Business Analyst to build and maintain positive working relationships with people from technical and non-technical backgrounds. Back to Duty

B4: Use own initiative and take responsibility appropriate to the role of Business Analyst. Back to Duty

B5: Work flexibly and effectively as a Business Analyst in a multidisciplinary team. Back to Duty

B6: Demonstrate commitment to continuous professional development in relation to Business Analysis and the digital sector. Back to Duty