Stop Gathering, Start Discovering: What Business Analysis Really Takes
By Daniel Grist, Senior Consultant, CMC Partnership Consultancy Ltd
When people talk about “requirements gathering,” I always picture someone strolling through an orchard, basket in hand, picking apples. It sounds easy – just collect what’s there and you’re done. But in real projects, requirements aren’t just lying around waiting to be picked. They’re buried, conflicting and sometimes misleading. What looks like a perfect apple might be bruised. And a full basket doesn’t always mean you’ve got the ingredients for a good crumble.
So why do projects still go off track – even when everyone thinks they’ve captured what’s needed?
Beyond the note-taker trap
More than once, I’ve seen a project hit a wall because we only wrote down what was said in the meeting – without really digging into what was needed. There’s a special kind of pain that comes from hearing, “That’s not what we meant,” after you thought you’d delivered exactly what was asked for.
Early on, I thought my job was to capture every word, hand it over and move on. But the gaps and contradictions always showed up later – when it was much harder (and more expensive) to fix. I learned the hard way that just documenting isn’t enough. If that’s all there was to it, there are plenty of tools that could do the job faster and cheaper.
The power of asking “why?”
Stepping beyond the role of a note-taker is where things really get interesting. True business analysis starts when you stop settling for the surface level ask. It’s about digging deeper – being curious, asking “why?” when others are ready to move on, and sitting with a bit of discomfort.
I remember a project where a team requested a “vulnerable” flag on user profiles. It sounded simple. But asking a few extra questions revealed a tangle of issues: different ideas about what “vulnerable” meant, worries about how the flag would be used, and concerns about privacy. If we’d just written down the request and built it, we would have missed the real problem… and probably created a few new ones.
Listen to the quiet voices
Some of the most valuable insights come from people who aren’t in the big meetings. The person who quietly keeps things running or the one who’s invented a clever workaround – they often hold the key to what’s actually going on.
I’ve learned to always ask, “Who else should I talk to?”, and to listen closely when someone says, “It’s always been done that way.”
It’s not the tools, it’s the mindset
Workshops, interviews, process maps – these are just tools and techniques. What really matters is mindset: curiosity, patience and the courage to challenge assumptions.
I’ve learned that when a group reviews requirements and no one speaks up, it doesn’t always mean they agree. Sometimes, it means they weren’t really paying attention, or didn’t understand, or didn’t actually read the document. These days, I turn validation into a conversation, rather than a formality – using more engaging methods like quick sketches, walkthroughs or storytelling. It saves a lot of time and avoids costly misunderstandings.
Want to hear more?
If any of this sounds familiar – or if you’ve ever wondered why things still go wrong despite best intentions – I’ll be sharing more stories, lessons and practical tips at the IRM UK BA Europe Conference on 16th September, from 11:20 to 12:05. There’s too much for me to cover here, but if you’re interested in how to move beyond “gathering” and start making a real difference, I’d love to see you there.
Until then, keep asking questions, challenge what’s assumed, and don’t settle for the first apple you find. Stop gathering and start discovering, because sometimes the best fruit is hidden just out of sight.
Hope to see you in September.
🎟 View the full agenda and secure your ticket: View More
