Why do projects fail? A reason often cited by analysts involved in project post mortems is bad requirements. And the reason most often cited for bad requirements is a lack of harmony between the business units and IT. Whether the technologists don't understand the business needs or the business units don't listen to the IT professionals, the job of solving the issues often rests on the shoulders of the group of professionals with an understanding of where each side is coming from–namely, business analysts.

Mike Fitzgerald, senior analyst in the insurance practice with Celent, believes it takes a mix of technical and interpersonal skills to make a good business analyst. "That's what makes it a tricky position to be optimized," he says. "You have to be able to analyze a problem in a structured fashion. You also need to have good interviewing skills."

On the soft-skills side, Fitzgerald notes most successful business analysts have a good deal of empathy for the customer or business user's world to understand and round out which requirements can make a difference in a successful implementation. "I don't know why they call them soft skills because they are so hard, but it takes more behavioral skills," he says. "I think the ability to walk in someone else's shoes is a real defining characteristic for a business analyst."