Hi, I am writing after quite a while. I started my first project as BA, was very scared at first but with the help of this forum, I think I am able to work as BA.

& it is now that I have started realizing my weaknesses. One of my biggest weakness is not being able to think outside the box because of which I dont ask many questions. Whatever information is provided to me, I cant think beyond that. I really want to overcome this weakness.

Any thoughts...how can I do this?

Rina,

Adrian gave you some great advice.  I agree, some people are more naturally out-of-the-box thinkers.  But for those of us who aren't, or even if we are but want to improve further, there are two major approaches that I use.

The first is a "tools" approach.  By this I mean exactly what Adrian outlined.  He listed a few "tools" that you can have on hand to help you.  Take his advice and apply a simple name to it so that you have a list in your head of approaches that you can use at any time.

1. CRUD approach (See Adrian's explanation)
2. Who, What, When, Where, Why, How (fairly self explanatory)
3. Why-Why-Why (I list this separately because the Why question is so powerful.  Ask why over and over again until you have identified a root requirement. Think of yourself as an inquisitive 4 year old who asks why to every answer they give you)

I'm sure we can come up with a great deal of other tools like these.

The second approach is more deals more with retraining your mind to actually think differently.  This is not nearly as checklist driven. I call like to call it the "Blank Slate" approach or "The Void" (these are my names, not some fancy industry jargon).  First, take a moment to realize that every time someone tells you something you make a great deal of assumptions.

Example)

Chris says: "I have a box"

You may think or picture the following:

1. Chris is holding a box
2. The box has an open top
3. The box is brown
4. The box is made of corrugated cardboard
5. Chris is standing in a room with other boxes and packaging material

Everyone obviously thinks of different things and makes different assumptions, but my point is our brains fill in the details and gaps without us knowing it.  It makes stuff up.  So spend some time running through exercises in your head.  If someone says to you "I have a box" picture nothing but a white background, complete emptiness.  Then ask details about the box to begin painting the picture one attribute at a time.

1. Is the box square?
2. Is the box open on top?
3. What is the box made of?
4. What color is the box?
5. What is in the box?
6. What is the purpose of the box?

Now I have a decent understanding of the box, but in my head the box is floating in mid air.  I have no surroundings or setting because I didn't ask any questions about it and I didn't allow my my to fill in the white space with any guesses or assumptions.  Next, I could move on to ask about the surroundings.

I hope you get the point of this exercise.  After a while of doing thing you actually begin to retrain your brain.

Chris

Rina,

Along with using the pointers that fellow BAs have provided, I never forget to ask myself this question as part of the analysis of requirements and even eliciting them to beguin with: "If I were to use this system, what would I need from it?" The systems I've helped build have been better than what the managers/SMEs initially requested because I put on the hat of the user and envisioned what would I want from this system that would make busines easier. And the business has appreciated the resulting insight. In other words, they themselves didn't think about it earlier.

Now that's not to say that we request something totally off the charts. If I'm asked to build a refrigerator, I shouldn't be envisioning a robotic arm coming out of the side of the fridge and mopping the kitchen floor. That's not outside-the-box; it's divergence from the requirement. Within the problem space of the fridge that keeps things cool in an environmentally-friendly manner, what would you as the user want from that fridge?

Good luck and congrats on the introspection!!