Business Analyst career guide
Understand what the business needs and make sure the right solution gets built.
What does a business analyst do?
A business analyst works out what a business actually needs, documents it clearly, and helps technology teams build the right thing. In Indian IT services, the role often sits between the client and the delivery team.
The job is less about data tools and more about questions, process and communication: interviewing stakeholders, mapping how work happens today, and defining what should change.
Typical responsibilities
- Gather and document requirements from stakeholders
- Map current and future business processes
- Write user stories and acceptance criteria
- Analyse gaps between what exists and what is needed
- Support testing and user acceptance
- Manage changes to scope and requirements
Skills you need
Technical skills
- Requirements elicitation and documentation
- Process modelling (flowcharts, BPMN)
- User stories and acceptance criteria
- Basic SQL and Excel for analysis
- Agile and Scrum practices
- Wireframing basics
Soft skills
- Asking good questions and listening
- Clear writing
- Facilitating workshops
- Managing conflicting stakeholder needs
Tools and technologies
- Jira
- Confluence
- Microsoft Visio or Lucidchart
- Excel
- Figma or Balsamiq (wireframes)
- SQL
Certifications
- Entry Certificate in Business Analysis (ECBA)BeginnerIIBA
- Certification of Capability in Business Analysis (CCBA)IntermediateIIBA · Requires business analysis work experience
- Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP)AdvancedIIBA · Requires significant business analysis experience
- Microsoft Certified: Power BI Data Analyst Associate (PL-300)IntermediateMicrosoft · Useful for data-heavy BA roles
Certifications are optional for most roles; skills and projects matter more. Providers retire and rename exams regularly, so check the provider's website before you register. Last reviewed October 2026.
Business Analyst salary
Career path
- Step 1Associate Business Analyst
- Step 2Business Analyst
- Step 3Senior Business Analyst
- Step 4Lead Business Analyst or Product Owner
- Step 5Head of Business Analysis
Titles and the time between steps vary by company and individual.
Your first 90 days of learning
Requirements fundamentals
- Learn the difference between business, functional and non-functional requirements
- Write ten user stories with acceptance criteria for an app you use
- Draw the current process for a familiar task as a flowchart
Process and agile delivery
- Learn BPMN basics and model a process end to end
- Understand Scrum roles, ceremonies and backlog refinement
- Learn enough SQL and Excel to validate a requirement with data
Case studies and interview readiness
- Produce a requirements document for a sample project
- Prepare stories about handling scope changes and difficult stakeholders
- Practise a whiteboard walkthrough of a process you redesigned
Interview preparation
Common topics to prepare for business analyst interviews. These are preparation areas, not questions from a specific company's interview.
- How you gather requirements from stakeholders who disagree
- Writing a user story with acceptance criteria
- Functional vs non-functional requirements
- Handling scope creep
- Agile vs waterfall delivery
- A case: improving an existing business process
Resume guidance
- Show the problem, what you documented and what changed as a result
- Name the domain (banking, retail, healthcare); domain knowledge matters for BA roles
- List the artefacts you produced: BRDs, user stories, process maps
- Mention stakeholder level and team size where accurate
Is your resume ready for business analyst roles?
Upload your resume to check ATS readiness, matched keywords and what to improve.