Who are analysts and what do they do in IT?

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Since ancient times, mankind has collected and stored information. The development of technology has led to it becoming not just a source of data, but a new "currency". Businesses from small to large began to think: how to monetize this practically free resource? There is demand - there will be supply. So new specialists appeared on the market, whose main task is to analyze data and use it to modify production, improve the product and even predict the future. In the material, we tell you what areas of analysis exist today and how they differ from each other.
In IT, a business analyst is a kind of "bridge" between the business and the development team. He studies the work processes and needs of the company, forms requirements for IT solutions, optimizations, strategic planning and implementation of technologies at the level of the entire organization.

"The work is very diverse: from data analysis and process modeling to participation in the development and implementation of software products. Do not forget that a business analyst is often a key player in the team," - Alexey, mentor of the course "Business Analyst in IT".

A business analyst works with data and social media marketing service information flows, analyzes the state of the business, conducts market research, determines KPIs, participates in the development of new products and constantly interacts with the customer to identify their needs.

Depending on the specifics of the company, the direction of business analysis can be divided into areas, for example, financial or system analysis. In large organizations, there is an internal hierarchy: from a junior analyst to a chief business analyst who coordinates the work of the entire department.

"In our work, we use an impressive stack of tools: for working with databases - SQL, for project and documentation management - Jira and Confluence, as well as various graphical programs that allow you to visualize business processes and data," - Alexey, mentor of the course "Business Analyst in IT".

In addition to these tools, the future business analyst will have to master machine learning, cloud solutions and statistics. Given the growing need for fast and accurate decision-making, specialists increasingly rely on automated analytical tools, so in 2024 the field will continue to integrate with artificial intelligence.

"Those planning to enter the field should focus on data visualization tools Tableau or Power BI, as well as Draw.io, Visio, Miro. They are needed to explain complex things in simple language," says Alexey, mentor of the "Business Analyst in IT" course.

More details about the field are provided in the article "Business Analysis in IT: for those who love working with data and do not want to write code" .

Business analysis is applicable in any field: from finance and healthcare to retail and manufacturing. In finance, for example, a business analyst can be involved in risk assessment and modeling financial scenarios, in healthcare - analysis of treatment effectiveness and process optimization. Therefore, it will be easier for those who have a working background, that is, an in-depth understanding of how a particular business functions, to join business analysis.


Business Intelligence (BI)

If a business analyst studies a business from the point of view of "why it didn't become what it was planned to be", then a BI analyst studies it from the point of view of "what we have at the moment".

Business Intelligence is an interconnected set of tools that allow you to bring data into a "readable", otherwise analyzeable form. Therefore, a business analyst and a BI analyst often work together, but each with their own goals, objects and tools.

Since the reports that BI makes store data, future specialists study databases in courses. In addition to them, the basics of SQL, storage and platforms for data visualization.



"I believe that a person can learn everything. The main thing is desire and diligence. And databases are no exception. Everyone can understand them. But it will be difficult for restless people, because compiling one report can take a month or even more. And, of course, for those who are not ready to constantly learn and study something new," says Sveta, mentor of the "Business Intelligence (BI) Developer" course . What haven't we told you about BI yet? Watch the interview with the mentor on our YouTube channel. Product Analyst A product analyst identifies product growth points, its potential capabilities or, conversely, weaknesses that need to be improved, based on the results of experiments (A/B tests). "The source of data in our work can be anything: from sales statistics and user behavior on a website or in an application to Google trends or a weather forecast," says Alesya, mentor of the "Product Analyst in IT" course . The main task of a product analyst is to improve and enhance the product. As part of this, he processes the source data and monitors its quality, develops metrics to track the impact of new features on the application or website, puts forward hypotheses and tests them. "The basic skills and abilities of a product analyst are universal for any product. Only knowledge of the domain area is specific. For example, an analyst who has never played a mobile game is unlikely to be able to fully assess its quality," says Alesya, mentor of the Product Analyst in IT course. In recent years, the industry has gone from being little-known to being in high demand. Today, a product analyst is needed in any area where there is a website or mobile application. In their work, a product analyst uses Python or R programming languages, SQL and Excel for processing and storing data, and Tableau, Power BI, Looker for reporting visualization. Machine learning is gaining popularity, so understanding the basics of higher mathematics is a must have for future students. "AI will have a big impact on the field in 2024, especially in processes related to monotonous work, such as reporting. In my opinion, product analysis will only develop and expand its capabilities. Although there is no internal division at the moment, in the future, perhaps, the profession will be divided into specializations: cohort analyst, trend analyst or user path analyst," - Alesya, mentor of the course "Product Analyst in IT". We answer the question: "Who is a product analyst?" - in the issue of NATIVA. See the link.