The Business Analyst should be the best communicator on the project team. His or her role is to act as a liaison between the business area experts and the technical team. This role requires the Business Analyst to “speak” both languages. The Business Analyst must also work very closely with the Project Manager to assure that project plan is adhered to and scope changes are approved and documented.
Critical communication skills required are active listening skills, the ability to ask pointed, open-ended questions, and facilitation skills to conduct group meetings and bring a group to consenus on joint requirements.
As the requirements documentation is being created the Business Analyst will conduct informal and formal requirements reviews. These review sessions increase the quality of the document by helping the Business Analyst find missing or unclear requirements. It is important that the information is presented to the business and technical audiences in a manner that is most appropriate for their understanding. Summaries of the requirements or various graphical representations may be appropriate as part of the reviews. Understanding your audience is critical to the successful communication of the requirements.