e-Journal: Knowledge Audits, Business Analysis, COIT20251

This e-journal delves into the realm of business analysis, exploring the core competencies, critical skills, and strategic models essential for success. The student examines the role of a business analyst, highlighting the importance of problem-solving, communication, and business knowledge. The journal covers key concepts such as SWOT and PESTLE analysis, and the relationship between organizational strategy and knowledge audits. It includes reflections and critiques on the competencies and skills required, emphasizing the need for continuous improvement and adaptation to remain competitive in the business environment. The assignment also addresses the importance of understanding both the internal and external environments of a business. This assignment provides a comprehensive overview of the business analysis process and the tools needed for effective strategy formulation and implementation.

Running head: KNOWLEDGE AUDITS FOR BUSINESS ANALYSIS
KNOWLEDGE AUDITS FOR BUSINESS ANALYSIS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1KNOWLEDGE AUDITS FOR BUSINESS ANALYSIS
The core competencies of a business analyst
Synopsis
Business analyst has a very important part in the transformation of projects that is worked
out by the organisation (Vidgen, Shaw and Grant 2017). The business analysts are anticipated
to have the basic knowledge about the concepts of analysis of business and trained in the
various techniques to manage the requirements. According to BABOK (Rosemann and vom
Brocke 2015), there are six core competencies.
1. Solving problems and analytical thinking:
The business analyst must keep in mind and decrypt the needs that are obtained and
give solutions to vanquish the problems that are faced by the customers. These are the
thinking skills that are fundamental where an individual works to break down the problem
that is large into small and parts that are manageable (Park and Jeong 2016). The
business analyst should make his judgements that are based on assumptions and proof.
This group of competencies are composed of competencies such as the creative thinking,
decision-making, problem solving and many more.
2. Characteristics of behaviour: A business analyst becomes an individual who is
powerful within the context of the project. This is because he or she gets access to the
information that is sensitive to some organization or the shareholders. The business
analyst holds the highest authority to safety and the security of getting access to the
information that is sensitive and he or she works with a level of integrity that is very
high.
3. Knowledge of business: The principles and the practices of the business are the
characteristics that are very common in all the organizations having a same structure

2KNOWLEDGE AUDITS FOR BUSINESS ANALYSIS
and purpose. The abilities and the functions include IT, finance, HR that are required
by any company are the examples of practices. Although it is not compulsory, it is
very good for an analyst to be familiar with such practices to advise and consult the
customers with the requirements that are relevant.
4. Communication skills: It is important for an analyst to communicate the ideas and
information verbally. To express his or her thoughts clearly, the business analyst
should listen actively to make sure that the ideas that are generated by the
shareholders are understood clearly.
Reflection
I think that an analyst play a very essential part in an organisation. I feel that business
analyst should have the understanding and the skills to do a business analysis in a company. I
think that the Business analyst must have some qualities or competencies for being a good
analyst of business. I learnt that the competencies that a Business analyst must hold are
solving problems and logical thinking capability, good behavioural characteristics, should
have the knowledge of how a business work, very good skills of communication and last but
not the least skills of interaction. I feel that these competencies are very important for a
business analyst to play an essential part in an analysis of the business.
Critique
The competencies are one of the essential ideas of business that is currently giving
shape to the world. This is the idea that lies behind the outsourcing wave that is happening
currently. Nowadays, the businesses focus their effort on the things that they can do well. The
point of starting to understand the core competencies is to basically understand that the
business that are there require to have something unique that the customers will value if the
business want to make profit that is good. The business analyst must possess all the qualities
that are mentioned in the core competencies in the BABOK. This will help the analyst as well

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as the business to grow larger. The lack of an analyst is not to use the competency model
always and the development of this is that the analyst should have the enough skills about the
competency model that is necessary for the success and to develop the functions of the job.
Critical skills of Business analyst
Synopsis
The logical skills that a Business analyst should hold are to understand the objectives,
Good skills of communication, capability to run the meetings with the shareholders, good
listener and time management should be excellent (Yeoh and Popovič 2016). These are the
capabilities that a Business analyst must possess to develop a technology that is new in
organization. The Business analyst must interpret the direction. It is important for the analyst
to be a very good communicator. The analyst must make his or her ideas clear and important
to ask questions that are insightful to get the information. The Business analyst must
communicate with the stakeholders via email. Nevertheless, it is difficult sometimes to
communicate through the email. The Business analyst must discuss his or her ideas face to
face and clear the queries. Listening skills very essential to be a successful Business analyst
(Lohmann and Zur Muehlen 2016). The Business analyst must be able to listen and absorb
the information that is required. A Business analyst must have good management expertise to
make sure the work that he has taken is completed on the proper time and he must ensure that
the project does not cross the deadline.
Reflection
I think that the business analyst must possess all these critical skills to make himself
or herself successful and develop a new technology in the organisation. I feel that the
qualities are essential for the analyst of a business. I have learnt that a business analyst must
understand the objectives, should have good skills of communication, should have the

4KNOWLEDGE AUDITS FOR BUSINESS ANALYSIS
capability to run the meetings with stakeholders, and should be a good listener and should be
excellent at management of time. This makes the business analyst play an essential role in the
analysis of a business and make the organisation grow through his or her work. I have
realised that the company need an analyst to hold the qualities that are mentioned above. I
think that the analysis of business should have the following processes such as gathering the
information, setting up the meeting with the stakeholders, assessing the documents that are
related to the project, recording of the information and the facts, the problem domain must be
properly understood and then presenting the requirement for a business. The business analyst
should have all the logical skills to make the process of business analysis smooth.
Critique
From the critical expertise of a business analyst, it is seen that a business analyst has
all the capabilities but he is not becoming successful and the company is not growing. The
business analyst might be lacking in the technical skills whose demand is growing day by
day. He also should possess more knowledge on the business skills to make him or her more
successful. This can be improved by broadening his technical skills through studying or by
experience from some jobs. The knowledge on the business skills can also be increased
through studying and understand the logic of the business through the different softwares that
are available in the market.
Models for strategy formulation
Synopsis
The analysis of a business is the useful technique that helps to understand the
environment of the organization and to think strategically bout the business. Various
techniques are available for the analysis of business. These include the SWOT (Strength,
weaknesses, opportunities and the threats), PESTLE and Porters five forces. The SWOT

5KNOWLEDGE AUDITS FOR BUSINESS ANALYSIS
analysis is the well-known model of strategic analysis. It includes the strengths and the
weaknesses of the ability of the business and the opportunities and the threats of the business.
The SWOT (Phadermrod, Crowder and Wills 2019) analysis gives a good perception of the
external and the internal domain of the business. The PESTLE analysis is a tool to understand
various influences that are external on the business (Sammut‐Bonnici and Galea 2015). The
five forces are used to look at the strength of the five essential factors including competitors
that are existing, buyers, suppliers and the services that are alternative and entrants that are
potential.
Reflection
I think that the models that are used for understanding the analysis of a business with
respect to the external and the internal environment. I have learnt that the SWOT analysis is
used for the analysis of external domain of the business. This is the most popular model.
Other model includes the porter’s five forces and PESTLE analysis. I have realised that the
SWOT analysis consists of the Strength, Weakness, opportunity and the threat of a business.
Examples of Swot include the people who are in the team, the patents of the analyst, the
property that is intellectual and the location of the analyst. I have learnt that PEST analysis is
an important tool to examine the environment of the business and its impact on the company.
PEST means political, economic, social and technological factors of a company. For
example, i think that the impact of duration can be short or long term, type of change can be
negative or positive, rate of impact can be decreasing or increasing and the importance can be
important, critical or unimportant.
Critique
The business analyst must be enough skilful to analyse the strategy of a business
using models such as the SWOT and the PEST. The SWOT and the PEST are the tools that

6KNOWLEDGE AUDITS FOR BUSINESS ANALYSIS
are used to analyse the internal and the external domain of a business. A Business analyst
must be skilful enough to analyse the external and the internal environment of the business
and to know the weakness, opportunities, threat and the strength of the business. If he cannot
do so, then he or she is lacking in the analysis skill and critical thinking skill. These two are
very essential skills to analyse the external and the internal skills of a business. A Business
analyst must improve these abilities in order to become more successful and help the business
to grow bigger and better.
The relationship between organizational strategy and knowledge audit plan
Synopsis
A strategy of an organization is a strategy that consists of all the acts that an analyst
takes to attain the goals that are long term of a business. (Markus 2017). The organizational
strategy arises from the mission of the company. Every action that is taken should fill the
purpose of achieving the goals. Many businesses have the aim to give a strategy for the
organization, but they do not pay attention to the practices that are best. That is why
organizational strategies fail. The organizational strategy should have the following steps.
The steps include vision, goals, plans, and actions and then at the end success will come.
A knowledge audit is step that comes first in any of the shift in an initiative that is knowledge
sharing (Senft, Gallegos and Davis 2016 ). It needs to investigate the information and the way
of storing and maintain the information. A knowledge audit looks into the weakness and the
strength of the information and the usefulness of it. The benefits of knowledge audit vary
from organization to organization but the result remains the same.

7KNOWLEDGE AUDITS FOR BUSINESS ANALYSIS
Reflection
In my opinion, the business analyst must have proper knowledge about the
organizational strategy to make the organization successful. I have learnt that the
organizational strategies are steps that are undertaken by a business analyst to attain the goals
of a business. I have realised that these are the goals that are long term. I have learnt that
these strategies make the business to work smoothly. Next comes the knowledge audit.
According to me, the business analyst must also know about the knowledge audits to make
the business reach its goal and to make improvements in the business strategy. The business
analyst must see the flow of knowledge in the team and how the knowledge is used in the
team.
Critique
The strategy of an organization is essential for the business to work smoothly. A
business analyst takes the steps for the strategy (McDonald and Thorpe 2016). The
knowledge audit plan is also important for a business. It is the roles of the business analyst to
take make the strategy for the organization and the knowledge audit plans for the long-term
goals of a business. If the analyst is lacking in making a strategy and the plan then should
work on it to improve the strategy and the plans. The future of the business is depending on
the planning and the audit plan (Gao 2017). The way the business analyst can improve
includes improvement in the critical thinking. The organization should recruit knowledge
auditor for the business. The business must have a clear idea about all these matters before
making the strategy and the audit plans.

8KNOWLEDGE AUDITS FOR BUSINESS ANALYSIS
Leadership and team building skills
Synopsis
The skills of leadership are related to the vision that an analyst shares with employees
that he or she works with (Pardey 2016 ). The business analyst inspires the team members to
support the vision that he follows. The capability to lead requires how a leader motivates the
members in his team to get good results in the business of an organization.
As an analyst of business, he or she needs to lead the team (Woodcock 2017). The capability
to coordinate, structure and lead the teams not only makes the business analyst successful but
also makes scope for better position in the IT market.
Reflection
According to me, the business analyst should have good skills of leadership and skills
to build his squad. These two skills are essential for the success of a business. I think that a
good leader with good communication skills can do wonders in businesses. I have learnt that
a good leader can make the members work without any difficulty. I feel that good
communication skills are also important besides good leadership skills. I have realised that
good communication helps to keep the transparency of the team and avoid any
miscommunication among the members of the group and the analyst.
I think skills of building a team are also essential for the analyst. I have seen that a
good squad can make the job easier. I think that the business analyst must keep good
relationship with the team members and avoid any type of miscommunication. I think that
these inspire the team to work harder by going beyond the responsibilities of their work.
Critique
An analyst is needed to have good skills of leadership and team building to be
successful in the business. A leader will always have a good squad to help him or her out

9KNOWLEDGE AUDITS FOR BUSINESS ANALYSIS
(Fletcher 2017). Team building is important because the people who are included in the team
should have the knowledge about the work that will be done. If the analyst is lacking in these
expertise then he will not have a good squad (Dyer 2015). It will be hindrance to the success
of the business as well as the growth of the business analyst. The analyst of a business must
improve these skills such as the communication, leadership and skills of building a team to be
triumphant in the business.
Key processes involved to understand the business
Synopsis
The process of a business is a procedure that is related to the tasks by the people and
that is arranged in sequence that is specific and it produces a product for specific customer or
customer. Three important procedures are involved to understand the contexts of a business
are operational procedure, management processes and the supporting processes (Rosemann
and vom Brocke 2015). Operational process is related to core business of an organization.
Management processes are the process that includes the operational processes. The
supporting process is the process supports the operational process including technical
support.
Reflection
According to me, the key processes are important for a company to conduct its
business. I think that the business analyst is planning these three processes. I have seen that
operational process is essential and it has the task of performing the primary function of the
business. I have realised that the management process is most essential as it deals with the
budget of a business and the supporting process is to give support to all the process involved
to make the business successful according to me.

10KNOWLEDGE AUDITS FOR BUSINESS ANALYSIS
Critique
The important procedures are essential in understanding the context of a business. It is
the job of an analyst to make the strategy for these processes for the smooth working of the
company and its business (Hammer 2015). If the business analyst is not capable to do so,
then the business will run in loss and will not succeed in its goal. The business analyst will
not be able to become successful. The analyst must work on the qualities to develop the
business processes and succeed in the business.
Suitability and appropriateness of four investigation techniques
Synopsis
The four techniques of investigation in the elicitation of the requirements are
observation, brainstorming, interviews, requirement workshop, and prototyping. The benefit
of brainstorming is to avoid the threats that are potential (Babar, Bunker and Gill 2018). It
helps to take in a much more information at once. The benefit of observation is to give them
the idea about their position at the start of the project. The benefit of interview is the analyst
can explore the knowledge of the squad members and can understand the real thing. The
benefit of requirement workshop is to know the requirement before the starting of any
project. The benefit of prototyping is the design that the business analyst makes before
making the actual project.
Reflection
I think that these investigation techniques are important to know about the members
of the squad. I feel that the analyst must take all the information in his account that he or she
is getting from the investigation and work on it to build a better team for growing the
business and making it successful.

11KNOWLEDGE AUDITS FOR BUSINESS ANALYSIS
Critique
The business analyst must do all the investigation to get the information about the team
members and then use the information for the betterment of the team and growth of the
business (Abbasi et al. 2015). It will also help the analyst of the business to grow and be more
successful. Analyzing a person is essential for the analyst as it will help him or her to know
about the qualities the person possess and then use the qualities in growing the business.