What does a business requirements analyst do?
A business requirements analyst's job is to check if the business plan is doable, gather data, and document information needed to make the project come to reality. Some skills that are needed to become efficient in business analysis such as analytical thinking, knowledge in business structure, and interpersonal skills. Every business analyst has varying backgrounds and abilities. Therefore, choosing a project that is in line with a person's field of expertise is important to get good results. Their expert abilities vary widely from anywhere like construction, electronics, banking, and several others.
Business requirements analyst responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real business requirements analyst resumes:
- Manage multiple aspects of product design and end user analysis objectives medical practice management & HIPAA compliance applications.
- Gather and document the architectural plans for migrating loan processing system from a legacy platform to (SDLC) architecture.
- Conduct user acceptance testing (UAT sessions) to ensure all the business requirements have been fulfill by the application.
- Collaborate closely with UAT cross-functional business teams to ensure the system are aligned with the vision of the business teams.
- Facilitate & conduct JAD sessions for requirement gathering, requirement review, and requirement approval.
- Facilitate JAD sessions with management, development team, users and other stakeholders to refine functional requirements.
- Participate in planning and development of long-term goals for SharePoint in conjunction with end-users and department managers.
- Develop technical solutions that fit into the company SDLC and CMMI processes/standards and satisfy both business and operation requirements.
- Analyze, maintain and update FAQ knowledge base in SharePoint for better data accuracy and better timely data availability.
- Involve majorly in gathering business requirements by reviewing existing artifacts and conducting several requirement elicitation interviews with SMEs and business users.
- Contribute to overall Salesforce solution architecture and design resolutions and ability to translate functional requirements into technical specifications.
Business requirements analyst skills and personality traits
We calculated that 7% of Business Requirements Analysts are proficient in User Stories, Business Analysis, and Process Improvement. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Problem-solving skills, and Time-management skills.
We break down the percentage of Business Requirements Analysts that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- User Stories, 7%
Create user stories/tasks and prepare requirements definition document along with acceptance criteria's.
- Business Analysis, 7%
Conduct stakeholder analysis and plan business analysis communication
- Process Improvement, 6%
Lead process improvement projects and performed internal self assessment and analysis in preparation for internal and external quality audits.
- Test Cases, 5%
Developed Test Plans, test cases and procedures and housed documents in SharePoint collaboration Site and repositories.
- Gap Analysis, 5%
Conducted a GAP Analysis with brief idea about the current state and the desired future state of the application.
- PowerPoint, 5%
Used Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint extensively to complete all other projects required by management.
Most business requirements analysts use their skills in "user stories," "business analysis," and "process improvement" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential business requirements analyst responsibilities here:
Interpersonal skills. The most essential soft skill for a business requirements analyst to carry out their responsibilities is interpersonal skills. This skill is important for the role because "management analysts work with managers and other employees of the organizations for which they provide consulting services." Additionally, a business requirements analyst resume shows how their duties depend on interpersonal skills: "interacted with stakeholders, subject matter experts (smes) and technical team with excellent communication and interpersonal skills. "
Problem-solving skills. Many business requirements analyst duties rely on problem-solving skills. "management analysts must be able to think creatively to solve clients’ problems," so a business requirements analyst will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways business requirements analyst responsibilities rely on problem-solving skills: "analyzed client business processes to find solutions that increase productivity via process reengineering, training and/or technical solutions if necessary. "
Time-management skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of business requirements analysts is time-management skills. This skill is critical to many everyday business requirements analyst duties, as "management analysts often work under tight deadlines and must use their time efficiently to complete projects on schedule." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "participated in daily scrum meetings to discuss the progress of the project and steps needed to meet the deadlines. "
Analytical skills. For certain business requirements analyst responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "analytical skills." The day-to-day duties of a business requirements analyst rely on this skill, as "management analysts must be able to interpret information and use their findings to make proposals." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what business requirements analysts do: "execute test cases and log defects / issues related with functionality * created sql queries for data validation. "
Communication skills. A commonly-found skill in business requirements analyst job descriptions, "communication skills" is essential to what business requirements analysts do. Business requirements analyst responsibilities rely on this skill because "management analysts must be able to convey information clearly in both writing and speaking." You can also see how business requirements analyst duties rely on communication skills in this resume example: "translated business requirements into functional specifications for communication to technology team. "
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Compare different business requirements analysts
Business requirements analyst vs. Analyst
Analysts are employees or individual contributors with a vast experience in a particular field that help the organization address challenges. They help the organization improve processes, policies, and other operations protocol by studying the current processes in place and determining the effectiveness of those processes. They also research industry trends and data to make sound inferences and recommendations on what the company should do to improve their numbers. Analysts recommend business solutions and often help the organization roll out these solutions. They ensure that the proposed action plans are effective and produce the desired results.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, business requirements analyst responsibilities require skills like "user stories," "business analysis," "gap analysis," and "powerpoint." Meanwhile a typical analyst has skills in areas such as "customer service," "troubleshoot," "management system," and "project management." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Analysts really shine in the technology industry with an average salary of $79,330. Comparatively, business requirements analysts tend to make the most money in the finance industry with an average salary of $81,948.analysts tend to reach lower levels of education than business requirements analysts. In fact, analysts are 14.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.6% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Business requirements analyst vs. Policy analyst
Policy analysts are responsible for developing government policies and providing advice and briefing to senior management. These professionals work to influence both social and political decisions. They typically work in four key areas, including collecting information, analyzing policies, providing recommendations, and sharing information with government officials and the public. Additionally, they are also expected to consult with stakeholders to provide quantitative evidence supporting their policy. The rest of their time is spent on writing, reading, and analyzing information.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that business requirements analyst responsibilities requires skills like "user stories," "business analysis," "process improvement," and "test cases." But a policy analyst might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "public policy," "policy analysis," "policy issues," and "public health."
On average, policy analysts earn a lower salary than business requirements analysts. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, policy analysts earn the most pay in the insurance industry with an average salary of $76,361. Whereas business requirements analysts have higher pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $81,948.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Policy analysts tend to reach similar levels of education than business requirements analysts. In fact, they're 4.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for business requirements analysts in the next 3-5 years?
Rebecca Sarver
Lecturer in Human Services Studies, Elmira College
Business requirements analyst vs. Staff analyst
Staff Analysts are employees who oversee the activities related to the employees. They monitor the performance of the employees and assess whether particular employees suit the role they have. They also assess the current roles in the company to see if those roles are really needed. Staff Analysts ensure that the manpower allocation in the company is efficient. They analyze staff-related data to check whether there are more areas for improvement. Staff Analysts may also be assigned to come up with projects related to improving productivity.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, business requirements analysts are more likely to have skills like "user stories," "business analysis," "test cases," and "gap analysis." But a staff analyst is more likely to have skills like "project management," "technical support," "sql," and "logistics."
Staff analysts make a very good living in the technology industry with an average annual salary of $107,444. On the other hand, business requirements analysts are paid the highest salary in the finance industry, with average annual pay of $81,948.Most staff analysts achieve a lower degree level compared to business requirements analysts. For example, they're 11.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Business requirements analyst vs. Data analyst
Data analysts are responsible for interpreting the company's statistics and providing sound recommendations to the organization. They manage the organization's data sets, usually related to market performance, finance, or human resources. They are in charge of studying the available data, spotting trends, interpreting what the data and the trends mean, and recommending suggestions that will help the organization perform better. Their recommendations should also be relevant and backed up with strong analyses. Data analysts are expected to have a good grasp of the current market trends in the industry.
Types of business requirements analyst
Updated January 8, 2025
