Business analysts use analytical thinking by rapidly assimilating various types of
information (for example, diagrams, stakeholder concerns, customer feedback,
schematics, user guides, and spreadsheets), and identifying which are relevant.
Business analysts should be able to quickly choose effective and adaptable
methods to learn and analyse the media, audiences, problem types, and
environments as each is encountered.

Creative thinking

Creative thinking involves generating new ideas and concepts as well as finding
new or different associations between existing ideas and concepts.

Measures of effective creative thinking include:
• generating and productively considering new ideas • exploring concepts and ideas that are new • exploring changes to existing concepts and ideas • generating creativity for self and others, and
• applying new ideas to resolve existing problems

Decision Making

Determining this involves gathering the information that is relevant to the decision, analysing the relevant information, making comparisons and trade-offs between similar and dissimilar options, and identifying the most desirable option.

Measures of effective decision making include:

• The appropriate stakeholders are represented in the decision-making process.
• stakeholders understand the decision-making process and the rationale behind the decision.
• the pros and cons of all available options are clearly communicated to stakeholders.
• the decision reduces or eliminates uncertainty, and any remaining uncertainty is accepted.
• the decision made addresses the need or the opportunity at hand and is in the best interest of all stakeholders.
• stakeholders understand all the conditions, environment, and measures in which the decision will be made.
• a decision is made.

Learning

Learning is the process of gaining knowledge or skills. Learning about a domain
passes through a set of stages, from initial acquisition and learning of raw facts,
through comprehension of their meaning, to applying the knowledge in day-to-
day work, and finally analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

types of learning techniques

• Visual
• Auditory
• Kinaesthetic

Measures of effective learning include:

• understanding that learning is a process for all stakeholders.
• learning the concept present and then demonstrating an understanding of them.
• demonstrating the ability to apply concepts to new areas or relationships.
• rapidly absorbing new facts, ideas, concepts, and opinions.
• effectively presenting new facts, ideas, concepts and opinions to others.

Problem Solving

Business analysts define and solve problems in order to ensure that the real,
underlying root cause of a problem is understood by all stakeholders and that
solution options address that root cause.

measure of effective problem solving include:

• confidence of the participants in the problem solving process.
• selected solution meet the defined objectives and solve the root cause of the problem.
• new solution options can be evaluated effectively using the problem solving framework.
• the problem solving process avoids making decisions based on unvalidated assumptions preconceived notions or other traps that may cause a sub optimal solution to be selected.

Systems Thinking

Understanding how the people, processes, and technology within an
organization interact allows business analysts to understand the enterprise from a
holistic point of view.

Measures of effective use of system thinking include:

• communication how a change to a component affects the system as a whole.
• communicating how a change to a system affects the environment it is in.
• communicating how system adapt to internal or external pressures and changes.

Conceptual Thinking

Business analysts routinely receive large amounts of detailed and potentially
disparate information. They apply conceptual thinking skills to find ways to
understand how that information fits into a larger picture and what details are
important, and to connect seemingly abstract information.

[!todo] Conceptual thinking is about understanding the linkage between contexts,
solutions, needs, changes, stakeholders, and value abstractly and in the big
picture.

Measure of effective conceptual thinking include:

• connecting disparate information and acting to better understand the relationship.
• confirming the confidence and understanding of the concept being commutated with stakeholders.
• formulating abstract concepts using a combination of information and uncertainty.
• drawing on past experiences to understand the situation.

Visual Thinking

The ability to communicate complex concepts and models into understandable
visual representations allows business analysts to engage stakeholders and help
them understand the concepts being presented.

Measures of effective visual thinking include:

• complex information is communicated in a visual model which is understandable by stakeholders.
• visuals allow for comparisons pattern finding and idea mapping with participants.
• productivity increase due to increase learning quick memory and follow through from effective visuals.
• stakeholders are engaged at a deeper level than with text alone.
• stakeholders understand critical information which may have been missed if present in textual content alone.