Hard skills will get you a job, but soft skills will take you to the top!

nvisia is an award-winning software development partner driving competitive edge for clients.
I wanted to share an interesting LinkedIn article posted by Ananya Pani on the required skills for making a business analyst (BA) successful. You can view her original LinkedIn article here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20141014071957-4421887-must-have-soft-skills-for-a-ba
 
Have you ever wondered how can you have two people with similar BA skill sets, but one will outshine and out perform the other?  The 10 Soft Skills mentioned in the article are a nice summary of the qualities that are viewed as vital for promotion to larger or more mission critical projects.  This is particularly true in the consulting world and I have a few more additions, specific to working within a client/consultant relationship.
 
The soft skills listed in the article: 
  1. Communication Skill – As a BA we need to be an effective communicator and establish a bridge between the various stakeholders
  2. Negotiation Skill – Balancing between those demanding requirements of the customer/stakeholder and the internal organization definitely requires a good amount of negotiation skill. Creating a fine balance, while looking at the requirements from a holistic point of view will for sure make a perfect BA.
  3. Facilitation Skill – As a bridge between various stakeholders we need to have excellent facilitation skills to ensure that communication is proper and all the requirements are articulated well and explicitly.
  4. Analytical thinking Skill – Get analytical and problem solving skills brushed to analyze all the scenarios well and come up with solutions and ensure that there are no conflicts in the team and all the members communicate well with each other.
  5. Problem solving Skill - A definite skill for all BAs, as given in the above point.
  6. Decision Making Skill – You have come up with multiple options for a particular problem using your analytical skills, now you need to weigh the options well and come up with a recommendation to present to the steering committee, this is why you need this skill.
  7. Ability to see the bigger picture – This is a very important skill for all of us BA’s out here focusing only on the given set of requirements and not seeing the bigger picture lot of times leads to situation where the product does not see the "light of day" or gets abandoned. Hence this is one of the very important skills to have, you need to have a good business knowledge and knowledge of technology/business advancements to see a bigger picture and keep it in mind, while the designing of the system is being carried out.
  8. Ability to appreciate and empathize – See the points coming from all stakeholders and the basis of all requirements and make a good judgment of the same keeping all in mind.
  9. Ability to influence without authority – As BAs there are numerous meetings we need to spearhead/facilitate, this is where we need to be good to influence senior stakeholders and decision makers/sponsors of the project.
  10. Good interpersonal skills – Above all the skills we need to have good interpersonal skills and a good rapport with the team and all stake holders to make the project a success.
Working as a consultant, there are a few additional qualities leading to the success of a BA.
1. Accept client decisions with grace - Sometimes you can communicate your point effectively, but ultimately the right to make a decision rests with the client.  Move forward with grace, as there are many reasons that impact a decision that may be outside of our view.  Think of the 'setback' as a tactical move.  The client won't be able to reach the strategic decision you were advocating without your positive support.
2.  Networking Skill - The ability to network within the client organization gives you the ability to discover additional stakeholders and determine who to contact and when to contact them to obtain the resources you need to be successful in a new environment.
3.  Communication Skill - Yes, it is worth mentioning again!  As a BA on a consulting project, we are exponentially tasked with communication! Often the BA has a pivotal communication role - communication with the PM, with the stakeholders, with the client project sponsor, with the testing team, and then to the home office for staffing needs, status, statements of work and contracts.   

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