ICT consultant to ICT business analyst
An ICT consultant already meets 22% of what the ICT business analyst role asks for. The move turns on 14 required skills not yet in the profile.
75.6/ 100
1 How much of what an ICT business analyst is expected to do is already part of an ICT consultant’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the ICT business analyst role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An ICT business analyst role treats 4 of its required skills as things an ICT consultant already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- define technical requirements
- identify customer requirements
- interact with users to gather requirements
- legal requirements of ICT products
What stands in the way is 14 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 8 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An ICT business analyst role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an ICT consultant background worth leading with.
- already held provide user documentation communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held interact with users to gather requirements communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held manage ICT project management skills
- already held identify customer requirements information skills
- already held legal requirements of ICT products business, administration and law
- already held systems development life-cycle information and communication technologies (icts)
All 8 carried skills, including the 4 the ICT business analyst role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 29 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn analyse business processes required
- still to learn analyse business requirements required
- still to learn analyse the context of an organisation required
- still to learn identify legal requirements required
- still to learn provide cost benefit analysis reports required
- optional, not held execute analytical mathematical calculations optional
- still to learn implement strategic planning required
- still to learn propose ICT solutions to business problems required
- still to learn translate requirements into visual design required
- optional, not held design process optional
- still to learn business process modelling required
- still to learn business requirements techniques required
- optional, not held ICT market optional
- optional, not held innovation processes optional
- optional, not held internal risk management policy optional
- optional, not held organisational resilience optional
- optional, not held business intelligence optional
- optional, not held business strategy concepts optional
- still to learn apply change management required
- still to learn create business process models required
- still to learn digital systems required
- optional, not held business ICT systems optional
- optional, not held cloud technologies optional
- optional, not held decision support systems optional
- optional, not held information architecture optional
- optional, not held information extraction optional
- optional, not held unstructured data optional
- still to learn product usage risks analysis required
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an ICT business analyst role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 business process modelling study this
- 02 business requirements techniques study this
- 03 analyse business processes practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 8 skills that carry over
- already held define technical requirements skill
- already held identify customer requirements skill
- already held interact with users to gather requirements skill
- already held legal requirements of ICT products knowledge
- already held manage ICT project skill
- already held provide user documentation skill
- already held systems development life-cycle knowledge
- already held visual presentation techniques knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held information categorisation optional
15 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held ICT market optional
- optional, not held business ICT systems optional
- optional, not held cloud technologies optional
- optional, not held decision support systems optional
- optional, not held information architecture optional
- optional, not held information categorisation optional
- optional, not held information extraction optional
- optional, not held innovation processes optional
- optional, not held internal risk management policy optional
- optional, not held organisational resilience optional
- optional, not held unstructured data optional
- optional, not held business intelligence optional
- optional, not held business strategy concepts optional
- optional, not held design process optional
- optional, not held execute analytical mathematical calculations optional
30 held skills the ICT business analyst role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role Agile project management knowledge
- not needed by the target role ICT process quality models knowledge
- not needed by the target role ICT project management methodologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role ICT sales methodologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role ICT system integration knowledge
- not needed by the target role Process-based management knowledge
- not needed by the target role analyse ICT system skill
- not needed by the target role analyse software specifications skill
- not needed by the target role copyright legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role create project specifications skill
- not needed by the target role emergent technologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role game theory knowledge
- not needed by the target role hardware components knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify ICT user needs skill
- not needed by the target role identify technological needs skill
- not needed by the target role keep task records skill
- not needed by the target role keep up with the latest information systems solutions skill
- not needed by the target role lean project management knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain relationship with customers skill
- not needed by the target role manage ICT change request process skill
- not needed by the target role manage changes in ICT system skill
- not needed by the target role manage contracts skill
- not needed by the target role manage standard enterprise resource planning system skill
- not needed by the target role monitor system performance skill
- not needed by the target role optimise choice of ICT solution skill
- not needed by the target role provide ICT consulting advice skill
- not needed by the target role software components libraries knowledge
- not needed by the target role solve ICT system problems skill
- not needed by the target role use e-services skill
- not needed by the target role verify formal ICT specifications skill
17 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn business process modelling required
- still to learn business requirements techniques required
- still to learn digital systems required
- still to learn product usage risks analysis required
- optional, not held ICT market optional
- optional, not held business ICT systems optional
- optional, not held cloud technologies optional
- optional, not held decision support systems optional
- optional, not held information architecture optional
- optional, not held information categorisation optional
- optional, not held information extraction optional
- optional, not held innovation processes optional
- optional, not held internal risk management policy optional
- optional, not held organisational resilience optional
- optional, not held unstructured data optional
- optional, not held business intelligence optional
- optional, not held business strategy concepts optional
Common questions about this move
Can an ICT consultant become an ICT business analyst?
Yes, and it is a career change move. An ICT consultant already covers 22% of what an ICT business analyst is expected to do: 8 skills carry over, 4 of which the ICT business analyst role treats as required.
What skills does an ICT consultant need to become an ICT business analyst?
14 required skills are missing, plus 15 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is business process modelling.
How hard is the move from ICT consultant to ICT business analyst?
Its learning distance is 75.6 out of 100, which is the career change band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.