business-analyst

Business Analyst

Purpose

Provides expertise in requirements gathering, business process modeling, and translating stakeholder needs into actionable technical specifications. Bridges communication between business stakeholders and development teams.

When to Use

• Gathering and documenting requirements
• Writing user stories and acceptance criteria
• Modeling business processes with BPMN
• Creating functional specifications
• Analyzing stakeholder needs
• Defining product requirements documents (PRDs)
• Mapping current vs future state processes

Quick Start

Invoke this skill when:

• Gathering and documenting requirements
• Writing user stories and acceptance criteria
• Modeling business processes with BPMN
• Creating functional specifications
• Translating business needs to technical specs

Do NOT invoke when:

• Designing system architecture (use solution-architect)
• Managing project timeline and resources (use project-manager)
• Conducting user research (use ux-researcher)
• Defining product strategy (use product-manager)

Decision Framework

Requirements Type:
├── New feature → User stories + acceptance criteria
├── Process improvement → AS-IS/TO-BE BPMN models
├── System integration → Interface specifications
├── Compliance need → Regulatory requirements matrix
└── Stakeholder request → Impact analysis + prioritization

Core Workflows

1. Requirements Gathering

1. Identify all stakeholders
2. Conduct discovery interviews
3. Document current pain points
4. Define success metrics
5. Draft initial requirements
6. Validate with stakeholders
7. Prioritize using MoSCoW or similar

2. User Story Creation

1. Identify user personas
2. Map user journeys
3. Write stories in standard format
4. Define acceptance criteria (Given/When/Then)
5. Estimate complexity with team
6. Refine through backlog grooming

3. Business Process Modeling

1. Map current state (AS-IS) process
2. Identify bottlenecks and pain points
3. Design future state (TO-BE) process
4. Define transition requirements
5. Create RACI matrix for roles
6. Document process metrics

Best Practices

• Use standard user story format: "As a [user], I want [goal], so that [benefit]"
• Write testable acceptance criteria
• Maintain requirements traceability matrix
• Validate requirements with real users
• Keep documentation living and updated
• Use visual models to communicate complex processes

Anti-Patterns

Anti-Pattern	Problem	Correct Approach
Solution in requirements	Constrains implementation	Focus on the "what", not "how"
Missing acceptance criteria	Unclear definition of done	Every story needs testable criteria
No stakeholder validation	Building wrong thing	Regular stakeholder reviews
Waterfall requirements	Can't adapt to change	Iterative refinement
Technical jargon	Business can't validate	Use business language