Does the Project Manager has to be a good Business Analyst?

Of course in most cases….
Specially in the IT sector, Project Manager Role & the Business Analyst role is going in hand in hand. Some organizations define Project Manager Designation with an additional role of a business analyst. However, in other business domain such as in other engineering disciplines, social development projects this will not be much applicable rule. But, having good understanding of various business domains, good analytical skills, negotiation skills & problem solving skills are definitely attributes of a good project manager. Inherently, theses skills are also essential attributes of a business analyst and ultimately Project manager should possess business analysis skills apart from the other general management skills.

If we consider about planning and estimation processes of the project management process groups, in activity duration estimation having a thorough knowledge in particular activities are very important to preparing an accurate estimation. Furthermore, understanding the interdependency of activities and activity sequencing also vital in a planning process. Understanding the UML as a modeling tool also very much advantageous for a PM to carryout his task. But, when we talk about UML most professionals consider it as a tool which is limited to IT or technical domain. However, it is really a business analysis tool which can be used in any business/technology related domain.