Business Analytics Paper Rough Draft

Writing as a Business Analyst

              Writing is an aspect of everyday life that will impact you no matter where you are. Whether it’s in school, your profession, or in your home life, writing will follow you everywhere and it is very important to understand what it is and how you do it. Specifically to analytics, there are many types of writing including academic and non-academic. Ranging from little notes and memos to full books and papers, every style of writing is used in the world of analytics.

Non-Academic Writing

              Non-academic writing accounts for what is used in every day communication. To learn more about what a typical writing day ensues in the business analytics world, I interviewed Professor Dan Conway. Throughout his career as a data analyst (another name for business analyst), Conway has worked as a professional business analyst and as a professor here at Iowa, at Notre Dame, and at Loras in Dubuque, IA. When asked about writing in a normal day, Conway spoke of efficiency. He said “In a normal day, you will have roughly 5 minutes to impress the presenter. Try to be efficient” (Conway). Most of the writing you will do in a typical day occurs when somebody asks you about a topic and you need to inform them about it in a short period of time. The emphasis is efficiency: you have to present as much information in as short of a time period as possible. In an assignment example given to me by the professor, one phrase was used commonly throughout the page: 90/10. I asked him what it meant and he said, “The goal of your writing in this field should be to include 90% of the information in only 10% of the space” (Conway). I heard that and looked over the assignment again and started to notice all of the charts, pictures, and colors included throughout the pages. They do an excellent job of drawing the reader’s attention to what is most important, which helps him or her to be efficient.

              Another form of non-academic writing that is commonly used is the use of basic articles. These are most commonly used to express the ideas of a company or those working on a project with the public and others who may be interested. While they are not as in-depth and complex as the academic writings that will be discussed later, they do include more information than the short presentations that I talked about earlier. Within these articles, the goal of efficiency still exists. To accomplish that goal, the author will commonly use tactics and formats such as bulleted lists to avoid the fluff and extra elaboration of regular writing. In addition, they will also use headings to help the readers guide through the article and find the pieces of information that they were looking for, which is especially helpful if they don’t have time or are not interested in the entire article.

Academic Writing

              In the world of business analytics, academic writing is much less common than the non-academic forms, but it is still just as important. The purpose of the analyst is to find the data and understand what it means, so they need someone else to help them put it all into writing. For this, they will collaborate with professionals in the writing field and work together to complete the book or research paper. As Professor Conway said it, “The analyst mostly works to write and include the information in the writing. They most often work with another person who specializes in writing and let them handle the logistics of the text” (Conway). In the examples that I have, it is evident that the same concepts of the non-academic writings are included but they serve a difference purpose. For example, there are graphs and diagrams included in the research papers, but they are used to provide extra information and explanation as opposed to summarizing it and bringing it together all in one place. Both are using the data to get their points across to the audience, but with slightly different uses. 

How Has Writing Changed

              Another point of emphasis by Professor Conway was how business analytics have changed over time. The main contributor to the changes has been technology. With the many advances in technology; including but not limited to the creation of tools such as skype, tablets, network sharing, the entire business analytics world (not limited to just writing) has become more efficient. It all starts with the qualifications that are required to earn a degree in business analytics: what used to take 12 years now can be completed in 4 years, allowing students to get into the field much quicker. Outside of the school aspect, the technology has allowed companies to communicate across a vast world. With the additions of skype and FaceTime, companies can meet face to face to discuss issues and projects instead of having to rely on the written word. It makes everything much easier to communicate and allows for things to be completed with much greater efficiency. In addition to communication, companies can now search endlessly for the data that is needed for them to write. With the vast amounts of data, their writing becomes much more in depth and relevant than it has been in the past.

              In writing, technology has allowed for an increase in dimensionality. With the upgrades to computers and software systems, companies and analysts can insert graphs, tables, and charts into their writings to enhance the information they are writing about, as shown in both academic and non-academic writing. More so in the common use of non-academic writing, people are now able to use colors and formats to draw attention to the important details of the writing, when in the past they could not.

Conclusion

              With all of this being said, writing has had a vast impact on the business analytics world. With the combination of academic and non-academic writing, the business analysts are able to communicate with everyone in the world in a very efficient manner. In all aspects of life, writing is an important aspect. However, with the advances in technology, it is only becoming easier to enhance your ideas and emphasize your points in both academic and non-academic writing.

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