Editing Business analyst (section)

==Areas of business analysis==

=== Business focuses ===
Due to the range of applications a business analyst can have, there are specific areas in which they can function. Kathleen B. Haas describes the requirement of business analysts in four areas of business – operations focus, project focus, enterprise focus, and competitive focus.<ref name=":1" />

# '''Operations focus''' – business analyst are able to use [[big data]] to analyze the way in which a business's operations are impacting the ability of the business to generate [[business value]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fosso Wamba |first1=Samuel |last2=Akter |first2=Shahriar |last3=Trinchera |first3=Laura |last4=De Bourmont |first4=Marc |date=2019-09-12 |title=Turning information quality into firm performance in the big data economy |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/md-04-2018-0394 |journal=Management Decision |volume=57 |issue=8 |pages=1756–1783 |doi=10.1108/md-04-2018-0394 |s2cid=54024244 |issn=0025-1747}}</ref> Business analysts add value to the operational level of a business by enabling efficiency to be maximized through [[Cost reduction|cost cuts]], [[investing]] in better equipment, improving employee efficiency, and increasing production of popular products.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Radeschütz |first1=Sylvia |last2=Mitschang |first2=Bernhard |last3=Leymann |first3=Frank |chapter=Matching of Process Data and Operational Data for a Deep Business Analysis |date=2008 |editor-last=Mertins |editor-first=Kai |editor2-last=Ruggaber |editor2-first=Rainer |editor3-last=Popplewell |editor3-first=Keith |editor4-last=Xu |editor4-first=Xiaofei |title=Enterprise Interoperability III |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-84800-221-0_14 |language=en |location=London |publisher=Springer |pages=171–182 |doi=10.1007/978-1-84800-221-0_14 |isbn=978-1-84800-221-0}}</ref>
# '''Project focus''' – when a business analyst takes charge of a project, areas that are historically overlooked are more likely to be considered carefully.<ref name=":1" /> The business analyst has an essential role in projects, which includes "integrating strategic planning with [[Portfolio optimization|portfolio]] planning for Information Systems and technology",<ref name=":1" /> inclusion of the possible effects of business decisions on future performance, and the use of modelling tools to demonstrate the "as-is" and "to-be" business to all employees across various levels of the business.<ref name=":1" />
# '''Enterprise focus''' – a business analyst who works in this area of a business helps to "optimize development of [[Innovation|innovative]] solutions"<ref name=":1" /> through the use of technology. Activities involved in an enterprise-focused business analyst's job include building current and future [[business architecture]], conducting analyses of opportunities, problems and [[Feasibility study|feasibility]], proposing new projects to build solutions, validating forecasts and assumptions being made, conducting solution assessments and validation, comparing planned and actual results of [[business plan]]s.<ref name=":1" />
# '''Competitive focus''' – the competitive environment is analyzed by business analysts "in order to develop a meaningful strategy"<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last1=Deshpandé |first1=Rohit |last2=Gatingon |first2=Hubert |date=July 1994 |title=Competitive analysis |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/bf00993906 |journal=Marketing Letters |volume=5 |issue=3 |pages=271–287 |doi=10.1007/bf00993906 |s2cid=189942996 |issn=0923-0645|url-access=subscription }}</ref> for all areas of a business. One of the main functions of business which this is relevant in is [[marketing]]. By observing consumer behavior when interacting with a business's products and the products of its competitors, as well as the [[distinctiveness]] of [[brand]]s in the consumer space, information about [[Substitute good|substitutability]] and product performance can be determined.<ref name=":5" />

=== Specific business analyst roles ===
Business analyst skills can be applied to a variety of roles within business processes.<ref name=":2" />

* Business analyst
* [[Business Systems Analysis|Business systems analyst]]
* [[Systems analyst]]
* [[Requirements engineering|Requirements engineer]]
* [[Process analysis|Process analyst]]
* [[Product analysis|Product analyst]]
* [[Product manager]]
* Product owner
* Enterprise analyst
* [[Business architecture|Business architect]]
* [[Management consulting|Management consultant]]
* Business [[Intelligence analysis|intelligence analyst]]
* [[Data scientist]]
* Customer Relationship Management

Business analysts can also work in areas relating to project management, product management, software development, quality assurance and interaction design.<ref name=":2" />