What does a project analyst do?
A project analyst is responsible for overseeing the development of new projects upon completion of data gathering. A project analyst must provide plans and design the project to its full potential. For this, it is essential to conduct extensive research and coordinate with all staff and departments involved through regular reports and various forms of communication. Furthermore, a project analyst must devise strategies to improve particular projects for it to succeed and achieve better results, all in adherence to the company policies and regulations.
Project analyst responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real project analyst resumes:
- Develop infrastructure to enable clients to better understand and manage risks associate with their decision environment to capture opportunities.
- Develop and maintain VISIO process diagrams.
- Coordinate system upgrades, interface development, QA testing and end-user training.
- Originate, track, and submit final samples of promotional materials to FDA.
- Team member that implement bar code system, close reductions and Hyperion software.
- Project utilize DB2, CICS, MQ-Series software in a mainframe/NT workstation environment.
- Create screen designs in VISIO for each step of system including all what if scenarios.
- Create and correct study-specific FDA regulate documents under very strict deadlines and difficult client needs.
- Update DB2 tables, test, implement the changes and run SQL queries against them.
- Design and develop script to aggregate JIRA work items and automatically generate random QC tasks.
- Provide data access for the Java front end using DB2 connect to access the voting DB2 database.
- Collect the data from ERP and internal plant system and analyze receiving process and identify for improvement.
- Use ERP data to perform cost analysis of expediting project shortfalls and overages, presenting to department operations managers.
- Lead the task force for conducting a gap analysis between ISO 9001 & CMM level 4 for the ongoing projects.
- Lead the development of standardize global processes, policies and KPIs for production, quality, maintenance and product costing.
Project analyst skills and personality traits
We calculated that 22% of Project Analysts are proficient in Project Management, Data Analysis, and Customer Service. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Problem-solving skills, and Time-management skills.
We break down the percentage of Project Analysts that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Project Management, 22%
Project Management responsibilities included coordination and management, working with subcontractors, merchandise vendors corporate merchandising to coordinate home improvement projects.
- Data Analysis, 6%
Constructed interim data metrics in support of operations and quality staff to facilitate management decisions based upon real time data analysis.
- Customer Service, 5%
Managed and operated oversight/integration of all Customer Service mandatory and compliance training programs including the monitoring and tracking with report output.
- Status Reports, 5%
Prepared monthly department reports and biweekly team status reports for management in order to reconcile marketing materials volume against CMS database.
- SharePoint, 4%
Created SharePoint site and maintained administration to provide documentation sharing for entire Solutions Delivery project management office to allow document sharing.
- PMP, 4%
Trained Project Managers in preparation for their PMP (Project Management Professional) certification and implementation of internal best practices.
Common skills that a project analyst uses to do their job include "project management," "data analysis," and "customer service." You can find details on the most important project analyst responsibilities below.
Interpersonal skills. One of the key soft skills for a project analyst to have is interpersonal skills. You can see how this relates to what project analysts do because "management analysts work with managers and other employees of the organizations for which they provide consulting services." Additionally, a project analyst resume shows how project analysts use interpersonal skills: "created and maintained interpersonal communications producing teamwork, customer service, flexibility and reliability. "
Problem-solving skills. Many project analyst duties rely on problem-solving skills. "management analysts must be able to think creatively to solve clients’ problems," so a project analyst will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways project analyst responsibilities rely on problem-solving skills: "drive daily scrum calls, prepare burn-down chart and facilitate issue resolution. "
Time-management skills. project analysts are also known for time-management skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to project analyst responsibilities, because "management analysts often work under tight deadlines and must use their time efficiently to complete projects on schedule." A project analyst resume example shows how time-management skills is used in the workplace: "conducted daily super scrum meeting with the product owners to align the project progress and to define realistic deadlines. "
Analytical skills. project analyst responsibilities often require "analytical skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "management analysts must be able to interpret information and use their findings to make proposals." This resume example shows what project analysts do with analytical skills on a typical day: "coordinated scrum meetings to attain the progress and performance and analyzed the critical paths to achieve results in time. "
Communication skills. Another crucial skill for a project analyst to carry out their responsibilities is "communication skills." A big part of what project analysts relies on this skill, since "management analysts must be able to convey information clearly in both writing and speaking." How this skill relates to project analyst duties can be seen in an example from a project analyst resume snippet: "fill any communication gaps among the team members in the diversified team structures by leading weekly scrum secessions. "
The three companies that hire the most project analysts are:
- CBRE Group192 project analysts jobs
- Pwc123 project analysts jobs
- American Express108 project analysts jobs
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Compare different project analysts
Project analyst vs. Business analyst/project manager
A business analyst/project manager is responsible for developing project management procedures, analyzing processes, and ensuring the accuracy and efficiency of project deliverables, following clients' specifications and requirements to meet their highest satisfaction. Business analysts/project managers manage project resources, delegate tasks to project staff, setting deadlines, and coordinating with the clients for regular updates and suggest strategic adjustments as needed. They also mitigate potential risks and manage changes during the project execution, maintaining the quality of the outputs, and balancing costs to meet the clients' budget goals.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between project analysts and business analyst/project manager. For instance, project analyst responsibilities require skills such as "customer service," "pmp," "financial analysis," and "infrastructure." Whereas a business analyst/project manager is skilled in "business stakeholders," "business analysis," "qa," and "application development." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Business analyst/project managers really shine in the finance industry with an average salary of $120,172. Comparatively, project analysts tend to make the most money in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $76,006.On average, business analyst/project managers reach higher levels of education than project analysts. Business analyst/project managers are 5.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Project analyst vs. Business analyst-consultant
A business analyst-consultant is responsible for overseeing the project management and ensuring that the operations meet the agreed-upon project deliverables. Business analyst-consultants closely coordinate with the clients for their specifications and requirements, monitoring the resources and processes for the project completion, and aligning those to the clients' budget goals. A business analyst-consultant helps the development team on strategizing techniques for brand promotions with minimal costs with maximum quality and productivity. They should have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially on identifying business opportunities to drive revenues and increase profitability.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that project analyst responsibilities requires skills like "customer service," "pmp," "financial analysis," and "infrastructure." But a business analyst-consultant might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "strong analytical," "business analysts," "business analysis," and "process reengineering."
Business analyst-consultants earn a higher average salary than project analysts. But business analyst-consultants earn the highest pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $105,940. Additionally, project analysts earn the highest salaries in the manufacturing with average pay of $76,006 annually.In general, business analyst-consultants achieve similar levels of education than project analysts. They're 4.7% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for project analysts in the next 3-5 years?
Erik Johnson Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Economics, Carthage College
Project analyst vs. Senior analyst/project manager
A senior analyst project manager's main job is to track the milestones of their company's important projects. They also manage the clients' databases. They are responsible for distributing databases to the sales representatives. They also help in automating their company.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a project analyst is likely to be skilled in "customer service," "pmp," "financial analysis," and "logistics," while a typical senior analyst/project manager is skilled in "crm," "business analysis," "business processes," and "data warehouse."
Senior analyst/project managers make a very good living in the retail industry with an average annual salary of $115,212. On the other hand, project analysts are paid the highest salary in the manufacturing industry, with average annual pay of $76,006.When it comes to education, senior analyst/project managers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to project analysts. In fact, they're 4.6% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Project analyst vs. Business operations analyst
A business operations analyst is an individual who identifies and solves issues related to the performance of the business operations. Together with the management and engineering departments, business operations analysts must analyze and review a vast amount of data to identify business opportunities. They must provide recommendations and updated policies so that they can improve the company's business performance. Business operations analysts are also required to create monthly reports and present them to upper management on their key findings and assessments.
Types of project analyst
Updated January 8, 2025
