What does a decision support analyst do?
A decision support analyst is a support staff who perform a variety of specialized analyses such as financial analyses and cost-benefit analyses. Your duties typically include documenting analytical findings, designing and developing data reporting systems tailored for business operations, and providing team members with processed data as needed. Additionally, you will be responsible for managing data integrity and accuracy, diagnosing and troubleshooting system errors, and providing recommendations for improvements of the decision support systems. You are also expected to train other team members on how to use the system.
Decision support analyst responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real decision support analyst resumes:
- Lead development of MicroStrategy base reporting system that clearly highlight previously unclear revenue from different customer segments.
- Resolve and troubleshoot system problems.
- Assist in design and implementation of overall ERP system.
- Provide primary help desk support to the SAS user community on all aspects of SAS programming, processing, and data.
- Used BluVista terminal emulation software to access store order numbers to change status and to troubleshoot lock status's on orders.
- Prepare and distribute bi-weekly payroll and statistical reports.
- Automate several manually intensive reports utilizing Access/Excel VBA.
- Analyze historical data and roll out seasonal inventory programs using SAS.
- Provide Unix operating system level performance and capacity monitoring of components critical to the Ecommerce domain.
- Analyze office administration support for analysts supporting DOD projects to identify efficiency opportunities to prototype and write report of analysis findings.
- Perform other duties as assigned regular, dependable attendance and punctuality
Decision support analyst skills and personality traits
We calculated that 13% of Decision Support Analysts are proficient in Data Analysis, SAS, and Tableau. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Listening skills, and Speaking skills.
We break down the percentage of Decision Support Analysts that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Data Analysis, 13%
Supported all management staff at Sycamore Shoals Hospital in providing data analysis for decision making.
- SAS, 8%
Provided primary help desk support to the SAS user community on all aspects of SAS programming, processing, and data.
- Tableau, 7%
Created dashboards of commercial cost of removals with few different metrics (Tableau).
- Financial Analysis, 7%
Provided financial leadership expertise along with financial analysis and reporting for client programs and operational business units.
- Cognos, 5%
Developed ETL applications using Cognos Data Manager.
- PowerPoint, 3%
Used excel, PowerPoint, and SQL, and guided asp.net development.
"data analysis," "sas," and "tableau" are among the most common skills that decision support analysts use at work. You can find even more decision support analyst responsibilities below, including:
Customer-service skills. The most essential soft skill for a decision support analyst to carry out their responsibilities is customer-service skills. This skill is important for the role because "computer support specialists must be patient and sympathetic." Additionally, a decision support analyst resume shows how their duties depend on customer-service skills: "provided excellent customer service and process improvement recommendations to internal healthcare facilities. "
Listening skills. Another essential skill to perform decision support analyst duties is listening skills. Decision support analysts responsibilities require that "support workers must be able to understand the problems that their customers are describing and know when to ask questions to clarify the situation." Decision support analysts also use listening skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "communicated and recommended complex business process, procedures and diverse information to resolve customer issues. "
Speaking skills. decision support analysts are also known for speaking skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to decision support analyst responsibilities, because "support workers must describe the solutions to computer problems in a way that a nontechnical person can understand." A decision support analyst resume example shows how speaking skills is used in the workplace: "prepared and presented powerpoint presentations. "
Writing skills. For certain decision support analyst responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "writing skills." The day-to-day duties of a decision support analyst rely on this skill, as "strong writing skills are useful for preparing instructions and email responses for employees and customers, as well as for real-time web chat interactions." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what decision support analysts do: "key achievements: as an analytics analyst, pull and analyze data using mssql [ ] writing t-sql codes. "
Problem-solving skills. Another common skill required for decision support analyst responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." This skill comes up in the duties of decision support analysts all the time, as "support workers must identify both simple and complex computer problems, analyze them, and solve them." An excerpt from a real decision support analyst resume shows how this skill is central to what a decision support analyst does: "analyzed reconciliations and resolved discrepancies between the patient accounting system and support systems. "
The three companies that hire the most decision support analysts are:
- Highmark393 decision support analysts jobs
- Acxiom42 decision support analysts jobs
- University of Maryland Medical System10 decision support analysts jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable decision support analyst resume templates
Build a professional decision support analyst resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your decision support analyst resume.
Compare different decision support analysts
Decision support 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.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between decision support analysts and analyst. For instance, decision support analyst responsibilities require skills such as "tableau," "cognos," "power bi," and "powerpoint." Whereas a analyst is skilled in "customer service," "troubleshoot," "management system," and "digital transformation." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Analysts tend to make the most money working in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $79,330. In contrast, decision support analysts make the biggest average salary, $80,055, in the manufacturing industry.On average, analysts reach similar levels of education than decision support analysts. Analysts are 4.8% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.8% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Decision support analyst vs. Support
A support employee is responsible for assisting the business operations and responding to customers' inquiries and concerns regarding its goods and services. Support logs all customers' interaction and escalates potential complaints to the appropriate department. They also help with implementing strategic procedures to improve operations and reach maximum productivity. A support employee must have excellent communication and customer service skills, ensuring clients' satisfaction with the services and maintain good feedback to boost the company's brand, attract more clients, and increase revenues.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real decision support analyst resumes. While decision support analyst responsibilities can utilize skills like "data analysis," "sas," "tableau," and "financial analysis," supports use skills like "customer service," "cash management," "customer satisfaction," and "hr."
Supports may earn a lower salary than decision support analysts, but supports earn the most pay in the professional industry with an average salary of $50,563. On the other hand, decision support analysts receive higher pay in the manufacturing industry, where they earn an average salary of $80,055.In general, supports achieve lower levels of education than decision support analysts. They're 11.7% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.8% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Decision support analyst vs. Software support technician
A software support technician is responsible for resolving software application issues, diagnosing related system failures, and writing resolution reports for reference. Software support technicians must be highly-familiarized with the system's infrastructure and interface to immediately diagnose malfunctions and identify maintenance techniques to prevent the reoccurrence of downtimes and delays. They also assist the system engineers in the configuration and optimization of networks, including the installment of upgrades and patch updates. A software support technician must have excellent organizational and communication skills, especially in navigating computer tools and applications to create support tickets and fix the customers' issues efficiently.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from decision support analyst resumes include skills like "data analysis," "sas," "tableau," and "financial analysis," whereas a software support technician is more likely to list skills in "customer service," "troubleshoot," "java," and "database. "
Software support technicians earn the highest salary when working in the finance industry, where they receive an average salary of $86,283. Comparatively, decision support analysts have the highest earning potential in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $80,055.software support technicians typically earn lower educational levels compared to decision support analysts. Specifically, they're 9.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Decision support analyst vs. Support lead
A support lead is typically in charge of overseeing the performance of a technical support team, ensuring efficiency and customer satisfaction. Their responsibilities revolve around assessing the performance of the workforce, resolving complex issues, identifying customer needs and sales opportunities, and training new team members. They may also perform calls and correspondence, respond to inquiries, and resolve issues promptly. Furthermore, as a support lead, it is essential to perform clerical tasks such as preparing progress reports, managing schedules, and maintaining records of transactions.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between decision support analysts and support leads, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a decision support analyst might have more use for skills like "data analysis," "sas," "tableau," and "financial analysis." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of support leads require skills like "customer service," "cash management," "pos," and "sales floor. "
Support leads reach lower levels of education compared to decision support analysts, in general. The difference is that they're 7.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of decision support analyst
Updated January 8, 2025
