Business Acumen for Business Analysts

“The vast majority of [project] waste is completely avoidable; simply get the right business needs understood early in the process.”

Jim Crear, Standish Group CIO

In today’s fast-paced and volatile economy, organisations capable of turning boardroom requirements into reality gain the ultimate competitive advantage.

Organisations gain this competitive advantage when they are able to equip their Business Analysts with the appropriate skills and knowledge to strategically define the right projects, and to ultimately deliver the required organisational outcomes.

Successfully defining and managing business requirements calls for specialist skills and experience.

Being a truly effective Business Analyst has its foundation in more than just the possession of excellent technical skills; in fact a Business Analyst is said to do more than just the work of Business analysis. The role of the Business Analyst is one of ‘trusted adviser’, ‘consultant to the business’, ‘influencer’, ‘relationship manager’ – to name but a few – all of which are heavily reliant upon the possession of sound business acumen.

Business acumen has many definitions, some of the most common of which are:

• A person’s knowledge and ability to make effective business decisions, and/or  to effectively influence leaders and decision makers,
• A vehicle for improving financial and commercial ‘savvy’,
• A vehicle for career/professional development into positions of leadership, 
• Nurturing both the development of strategic skills and those of effective leadership and management, thereby maximising personal and professional effectiveness, and
• Developing and utilising an insight and depth of business knowledge and experience.

Workshop Objective

The major objective of this workshop is to equip participants with a more strategic focus – through increasing visibility and awareness of organisational culture and strategy, and an understanding of where there is power to influence outcomes.

Who this course is for

This workshop is designed for:

• Business Analysts, or
• Project staff seeking to progress to a business analysis role

• Provide participants with tools and techniques for effectively influencing both individuals and stakeholder groups,
• Facilitate the development of skills for taking a consultative approach towards Business Analysis work, thereby optimising the quality of the results, and
• Provide a vehicle for ‘career progression’ – developing skills that enable the Business Analyst to operate at a higher level and thereby facilitate personal and professional development and career progression.