Business Analysis is an ever-growing profession. However, with the glitz and glamor comes some not so shiny aspects of being a business analyst..
Listing few challenges which I have personally faced:
1. You have chances of feeling left out
There might be instances when you could feel you have not been involved in the discussions, this might result in feeling unmotivated and lost.
2. You can find yourself amidst stakeholder conflicts
This happens when there is a difference in opinions which will result in unclear requirements/solution approach and/or other documentations.
There could be moments when the stakeholders are not happy with the documentation due to differences of perception and do not provide their sign off.
3. Getting sign-offs takes a long time and requires constant follow-ups
It's hard to get the stakeholder's time, you need to continuously follow up with them for sign-offs. There might be moments when the sign-offs get delayed due to the unavailability of the stakeholders.
A delay in sign-off means a delay in delivery.
4. Could get blamed for projects failure
You may not get credit for the project’s success but there is a chance that you may be blamed for the failure of the project.
5. Lot of documents to be prepared and updated regularly
This work involves a lot of documentation and consumes a lot of your bandwidth in keeping them updated.
Things are changing in the agile teams where no/less documentation is involved.
6. You may not always be entertained by the stakeholders - if you ask too many questions or ask the same question repeatedly
Asking questions is part of your role, but that might come as “this BA asks too many questions”
Sometimes you are just trying to confirm the answers.
7. You might be given tasks that are not related to business analysis
This happens in other roles too; you are seen as a versatile person who can do many things apart from your regular work. Be ready to take some extra work along with business analysis activities.
8. Constant changes in the scope of the project
This increases the work and consumes your bandwidth.
9. Constant change in the requirement
Stakeholders may demand “minor” changes ever-so-often, but for you that minor change could mean - changing the entire requirement and the solution approach.
10. You will be pulled into projects without proper handover & knowledge transfer sessions
There might be instances where you are expected to be productive almost immediately knowing complete ins and outs of the project.
11. There could be a misunderstanding of your exact role and you may be viewed as someone who only captures requirements.
This could lead to constant change requests from the Stakeholders as they may have a preconceived notion/approach towards a requirement.
12. Developing requirements around a solution, and not vice versa
This happens when you have a solution in mind and you are trying to fit that solution somewhere, so your requirements are based on the solution and not the solution based on the requirements.
This is not an exhaustive list and only a few to list. A Business Analyst is a change maker and needs to overcome all these challenges to make the projects successful.
Author: Nitin Kumar Deswal
Nitin Kumar Deswal is an Electrical Engineer and an MBA from Symbiosis, Pune. He has worked as Technical Consultant with an IT firm and was also part of a Life Insurance Company. Nitin has also worked as a sales representative for a short stint with India’s leading private bank and currently working with a global bank as a Lead Business Analyst.
He has experience in varied roles such as consulting, sales, operations, data analytics, and business analysis. Nitin is an IIBA certified and AWS certified Business Analyst, he is an avid business analysis content creator and passionate about giving back to the society. His fields of interest are process analysis, requirement analysis, stakeholder management, mentorship, consultation, and teaching.
Nitin can be found on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nitinkumardeswal/