How can I become an excellent Business Analyst?

I'm a systems analyst at a large financial company. I work closely with BAs (and am thinking of switching over to that side of things after my current project). The BAs that I have felt were the best were able to get requirements that were complete, well-documented and traceable. We would work together to find areas that needed further definition and fill in the gaps. Being organized is key. Have an ongoing archive - at least for us, if you worked on a project, you're the expert on it forever. I earned my CBAP certification earlier this year. The BABOK is a decent reference but experience is more important. If you have peers who can help you understand what works for where you are, that's far more valuable.

The most successful BAs ask smart questions and really think about the answers. They aren't data collectors; they are able to filter through a range of inputs and pick out the key trends, what's an outlier to discard and what's an outlier that can change to whole paradigm. Best training - know the context. Understand the client and the industry and the pending regulatory climate. You can't be a star analyst without deep content and context knowledge.

"Business Analyst" is rapidly becoming just as useless a job title as "Consultant". It can mean any number of things depending on the organization and industry that you're working in. And to a certain extent, how awesome you can be at your job will depend pretty greatly on the environment that you have to work in. Some BAs in terribly dysfunctional organizations never really learn to do anything other than manage (or attempt to manage) the dysfunction around them; the best end up being basically "fixers" or expediters who can manage the bureaucracy and do-nothingism to actually get the job done. This is a useful skill in that sort of organization, but not especially useful elsewhere (i.e. at a place that doesn't suck). In other places, BAs are expected to do actual analysis, e.g. data modeling or some level of financial analysis. In other cases it's basically a job title given to entry-level or assistant project managers. And that's all in addition to the arguably most often-used or traditional meaning of "business analyst", which is the person in a software development team who works with business users to develop and define requirements, and perhaps other duties depending on the size of the team. So, given that it can mean any number of things, it's hard to say what makes a really good BA without it just being general office-job advice: better to underpromise and overdeliver than the reverse, don't gossip, don't be late for things, if you are late for things don't make a big freaking scene about it, don't agree to do things unless you can actually get them done, don't hide mistakes, etc. The best BAs I've worked with, for almost any definition of "BA", have been people who were just good at all of that stuff; they just got their job done and did it in a way that made things around them go more smoothly. The worst were lazy, and seemed to have the eerie ability to create work for everyone but themselves just by existing. But it's difficult to say exactly how you avoid being that guy outside the context of a particular organization. You just have to look around at other people, and particularly at how they interact and how they're regarded by others, and try to find specific behaviors to emulate or avoid on your own.

Business analyst is a bit of a catch all term nowadays. It would be helpful to know what area is your focus and a high level overview of expected responsibilities. Good luck in your new career.

As a former consultant at a big 4 firm, I second Kadin2048. It would be super to know what flavor of BA you are. Be low drama and pleasant to work with. Treat the admin assistants with as much respect as the VPs; they will do you a solid when you need it most. If you are on time, professional in demeanor, and put out good work product (neat, no spelling/grammar errors) and can handle difficult people with a pleasant attitude, that is a lot. If you are client facing, know their business do things read their trade magazines if that is a thing with them, understand the challenges they face in their industry and how you can make things better for them. Be aware of your worth but sometimes even someone who bills at $200 an hour has to unjam the copier - don't be a diva. You have a wide open future. I cam to consulting from an untraditional background (librarian) and I left when my client snatched me up; I jumped ship to work for him and I am enormously happy. Good luck!

Thanks for the great advice! I am a requirements-defining, project-facilitating BA in a software development organization.