Do you often find yourself reduced to a “requirements machine” as a business analyst, simply processing orders as they come in?
You probably know the scenario: A stakeholder approaches you with a specific feature request, and your role is limited to writing, refining, and developing requirements within a narrow scope without a broader strategic perspective.
When the strategic perspective is missing
While large projects typically have a business case, a vision, and high-level requirements in place, the strategic framework is often missing in teams working with continuous product improvements. It’s completely normal for strategic analysis to be deprioritized in favor of day-to-day challenges. After all, daily operations matter most. But if strategy is entirely left out of the business analysis process, the result is that the team tries uncritically to meet every stakeholder’s request as if they’re equally important.
Without a clear vision or strategic direction to navigate by, the product gradually turns into a web of features designed to meet every wish, but in the end, doesn’t do anything particularly well or consistently. This isn’t just a problem for the product. It’s a significant challenge for the organization, which ends up with solutions that become increasingly complex and eventually limit its ability to act strategically and efficiently.
Agile business analysis on three levels
IIBA’s Three Horizons model describes agile business analysis as a dynamic interplay between three levels:
- Strategy Horizon: Where the organization’s goals, vision, and overall direction are defined.
- Initiative Horizon: The middle layer, where strategy is translated into concrete initiatives.
- Delivery Horizon: The operational level, where detailed requirements are developed and implemented.
All too often, business analysts are trapped in the Delivery Horizon, with little insight into – or influence over – the other two levels. Being an effective business analyst means being able to navigate across all three. That doesn’t mean spending equal time on each, but it does require understanding how they’re connected.
The business analyst’s everyday reality
In practice, it can be hard to look up. Business analysts often find themselves caught in a daily routine of bug fixes, minor adjustments, vendor coordination, and operational tasks. Time for strategic thinking is limited, and you may not have the formal authority to challenge stakeholder requests but you can still take initiative to create better balance between operations and strategy.
From intention to action
So how do you actually work with strategy in a team focused on continuous improvements? Here are a few practical ideas:
- Consistently ask “why” behind every request. What is the real problem to be solved, and how does it fit into the bigger picture?
- Identify and highlight patterns across incoming requests, and use those to deduce broader needs and strategic directions.
- Facilitate workshops with stakeholders to explore the product’s strategic direction together.
The strategic understanding you build will directly improve the quality of your requirements. Detailed requirements become significantly better when they are grounded in a clear strategic foundation. They gain direction and coherence, rather than being fragmented responses to individual requests. You’ll find that prioritizing and deciding what makes sense to implement and what should be rejected or postponed becomes much easier.
Ready to break out of the detail trap?
Ask yourself: How much of your time is spent writing detailed requirements compared to understanding and influencing the strategic context?
As a business analyst, you have a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between the organization’s strategic goals and the solutions being delivered. Even in teams focused on day-to-day operations, you can take the first step toward greater strategic awareness. Start by asking more strategic questions and making a habit of placing detailed requirements in a broader context. The first step is recognizing that business analysis is much more than just writing requirements.
Want to learn more about business analysis?
TestHuset offers courses that help expand your perspective. You’ll get hands-on exercises in writing better requirements and a deeper understanding of how to work systematically with business analysis.
Our courses include: