BA BLOCKS

This is the face I make when I hear a business analyst ask "What are your requirements?".

Requirements elicitation is one of the most critical tasks we perform as business analysts, yet I still see many analysts approaching it with the wrong mindset 🧠.

Here’s some guidance to help you shift your approach so you can uncover real requirements:


😳 𝗧𝗡𝗲 π—ͺ𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 π— π—Άπ—»π—±π˜€π—²π˜: "What are your requirements?"

Why this doesn’t work:

1. It shifts the burden of requirements onto your stakeholders.

2. You’re more likely to gather "wants" instead of true requirements.

3. You will miss actual requirements entirely with potentially devastating impacts later on in the project.

4. It keeps you stuck in a "note-taker" role instead of stepping into the real "analyst" role.


😎 𝗧𝗡𝗲 π—₯π—Άπ—΄π—΅π˜ π— π—Άπ—»π—±π˜€π—²π˜: "Here’s how I’ve expressed your requirements based on what I’ve heard from you, your colleagues, and the additional discovery work I've performed --- Is this correct?"

Why this approach works:

1. It pushes you to perform deep analysis and uncover the real requirements.

2. It enables you to confidently say β€œno” to stakeholder requests that don’t meet the threshold of a requirement.

3. It gives you the ability to defend your decisions with evidence from your analysis and discovery process.

4. It establishes you as the owner of the analysis, so you can carry the requirements downstream into the elaboration & specification stage using analysis elaboration tools & techniques.


Shifting your mindset is one of the biggest benefits of learning with us at @KS -- we teach you the actual step-by-step actions you need to take to become a high-performing business analyst.


If you've been considering getting some real BA education, then you should know that our early bird enrolment ends on Monday, Dec 1: at 8:00 PM ET - make sure you enroll before that deadline to save 25% off the course fee.


Course Description Link: bablocks.com/foba/


Course Enrolment Link: rise.bablocks.com/checkout/foba2025a


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Photo: Lima Peru a few months ago.

11 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 11