Baz,
Indeed a learning experience, but not at all unusual. This happens quite often in various guises. At the place I once worked, the Accountants had a brain storming session to setup chart of accounts for a large ERP. And they enjoyed themselves thoroughly! Occasionally I got side-lined when I asked for clarification or some form of documentation of these “requirements on the run”. The retort was generally “youre not an accountant, and we (think fellow accountants) understand one another”. The payroll SME said similar things: “payslips are payslips, why should we waste time recording whats required when we know whats needed". This is a problem you get when Subject Matter Experts masquerade as BAs. Worse, the project manager, my only ally, fell under the spell of the SMEs who had answers for everything. They had no "to-be" requirements; therefore they did not know what to build, what to test and what was needed by the business. I tried my utmost, but left after a few months.
12 months later, I had the delectable and almost wicked pleasure, when the CIO and the Agent, whom I had worked for at the time, called wanting my opinion “off the record” why the project was critically behind schedule. Its always nice to be validated even months after the fact!
Now with the benefit of hindsight, one of my mistakes on that project was not getting the Project Manager on-side. Once the project manager lost his objectivity and fell under the spell of the SMEs, I lost the battle!
Now back to your dilemma. The value add you can provide are 1) to record the “real” requirements. Brain storming sessions generally list a host of “likes” and “wants/needs” and someone needs to validate and record the real requirements. 2) Educate your PM on the merits of BA work and the value you can provide to the project. 3) Learn the vocabulary of the business – that means you’ll have to upskill to get a general understanding of the business. 4) Manage upwards! This includes the PM and senior stakeholders, also have one or two SMEs assigned to work with you.
All the best!
K