Top 10 challenges faced by Business Analysts

Top 10 challenges faced by Business Analysts

A BA is responsible for multiple tasks at the same time. From handling the projects, maintaining client relationships, interacting with stakeholders, and managing project deadlines, business analysts got a lot on their plate. Read below to find out the challenges faced by business analysts and a possible solution to them.

1. Lack of domain knowledge

A Business Analyst needs to collaborate with the business users to understand the requirements. Domain knowledge plays a vital role in having a clear and complete understanding of the requirements.

You can also explore the BA training in the Banking Domain. It will equip you with the skills and knowledge you need to excel in this specialized field. Our experienced trainers will guide you through the principles and practices of business analysis as they apply to the banking industry, helping you develop the skills you need to succeed.

It is challenging for Business Analysts to be assigned to a wide variety of projects as learning new domains needs time and energy.

What should a Business Analysts do? – Every time you are assigned to a new project, make sure that you do your homework. Learning is an essential part of a BA’s career. But do you need to learn? What should be the depth of your knowledge for a domain?

As a BA, you should target to learn the basic concepts/terms and relevant processes. It’s not possible to gain expertise in a few weeks. But you can learn enough in a few weeks to add value to the Project.

You need to understand the business prospects confidently when you work as a team lead. Lack of domain knowledge hampers the team's work productivity, and the project seems to go in vain.

Possible solution: Whenever you are assigned a new project, sit with the responsible person and understand the project requirements. Take notes whenever necessary and understand them thoroughly. It is challenging to learn new domains sometimes, but you must make mistakes.

Hence, go on a loop until you make a very bit of your knowledge count on your fingertips. It will help you while implementing and processing the outcome of the project.

Read Also: Fundamentals of Banking Domain

2. Lack of up to date process

The success of a project does not happen overnight. First, much effort and mental exhaustion are poured in to bring results. Following this, the lion’s share is the up-to-date process of maintaining and evolving the project. The biggest challenge is the lack of up-to-date techniques and documentation. In most cases, the project documentation is incomplete, which hampers productivity.

Possible solution: Testing a system is the most remarkable technique to learn about an existing project. It may seem odd, but it has been used for a long time. To further understand the flow, request a demo from a staff member or SME. Afterward, conduct extensive testing.

Read More - Product backlog mistakes to avoid

3. Changing business needs or requirements

Business stakeholders frequently request revisions to requirements even after they have been finalized and approved, as experienced by business analysts.

It might happen more once, even for the exact requirement, making it one of the most frequent issues. These adjustments could have an impact on the business analysis effort as well as the total project effort, cost, and schedule.

Possible solution: A change in the implementation cycle might impact the delivery process even if there are approaches that, like Agile, accept change. Business analysts and other essential stakeholders must therefore determine how the difference may be implemented in the best way.
If these artifacts are not created, it would be wise to convene a brief meeting to discuss the issues above.

A defined change management methodology must govern the handling of changes. This method must be designed in conjunction with the stakeholders to handle adjustments that are appropriate for the situation.

4. Inadequate stakeholder involvement

One of the essential success criteria for every project is stakeholder involvement. You might encounter any of the following as a business analyst:

Lack of crucial stakeholders: If this occurs, there will be multiple problems since they will not be up to date on discussions about the most recent requirements. Either they won't be able to express their ideas, or they will subsequently propose revisions.

Stakeholders' Lack of Cooperation: Occasionally, you may encounter one or more stakeholders who are unwilling to cooperate. It could cause delays, sign-off problems, and even approval problems.

Possible solution: Business analysts may record the requirement discussions, particularly significant decisions made, and distribute them to all stakeholders in the meeting minutes. Before the scheduled requirements sessions, they may ask everyone who wasn't present to review the points. This will reduce the likelihood of miscommunication and reopening requirements items that have already been closed.

Related - When stakeholders can’t express the requirements well?

5. Unrealistic timelines

As a business analyst, you may find yourself in a problematic situation where timelines might be the concern. In that case, pressure is created, which might hamper your work. In that case, understand how to tackle such a situation while maintaining the quality of the work.

Possible solution: Sales Team may be forced to accept a difficult situation for tactical reasons. As a business analyst, you cannot change the terms of the agreement, but you can evaluate its effects and inform management of the probable costs and losses. You have the option of starting over. Unrealistic Expectations from stakeholders are widespread. It's crucial to manage these expectations balanced without permanently damaging the relationships.

6. Technical skills

When it comes to business analysts, it’s a myth that they don’t require technical skills. On the contrary, most of them are champions in coding, know how to maintain business processes, and have a knack for technically undertaking the requirements. Moreover, business analysts are involved in every step of the product development cycle; hence, they must understand the technical and functional side of the business as well.

Possible solution: Working with multiple clients, customers, and stakeholders is not easy. It requires a lot of skills to put in to bring the best results. Therefore, develop your skills over time. Whenever you are available, read, take courses and understand the technicality of the project and the business. This will help you in developing better project documents and will help in multiple ways.

7. Professionalism

Business analysts are one of the most underappreciated, underpaid, and ignored members of the IT world. They frequently serve as the binding agent between a project's technical and business aspects. They are the one who contributes to the development of the project plan and who supports the project from beginning to end. They will collaborate with developers to ensure the project is constructed following the most current standards and satisfies the business' expectations.

Possible solution: You might feel the same working in the office someday. But, don’t worry! The organization understands the importance of business analysts and expects more from them. That is why they are constantly forced to work hard to meet deadlines. Because if not a business analyst, then who will do. You need to stay calm throughout the project and keep a solution-oriented mindset.

8. Managing communication

When you communicate effectively, you aid developers in understanding the needs, limits, and requirements of the business. You contribute to the development of solutions that benefit the client as well as the company. You guarantee the work is completed on schedule and to the required standards. But communicating the point is difficult. It involves a variety of abilities and trade secrets.

Possible solution: Soft skills are part of better work opportunities and personality. Try to communicate your views clearly and confidently to your team so they can understand them easily. It will help incur the communication gap between the team. While intersecting with the stakeholders, try to break the idea into pointers and explain the leads to them.

9. Conflict with users

Sometimes, you might find yourself in a situation where you cannot understand the user's complaint. It happens during the product release stage and might come as rude feedback. Even conflict between stakeholders and business analysts may arise when a team suggests a new strategy pertinent to the existing business process.

Possible solution: First, understand the resistance or a need for a new solution. There might be a reason that the user does not want to change the process and happens to try existing features. In that case, make them understand politely and see how they react. Otherwise, ask for some time to figure things out.

10. Mindset

Business analysts must be prepared to deal with various difficulties throughout their work, from limitations of the technologies they employ to pushback from stakeholders and other team members. But how one approaches their task can significantly alter if they are ready for the most typical obstacles.

Possible solution: The solution to this problem is to keep yourself solution oriented during the process. It will help you save time and cut unnecessary drama during the project process.

Conclusion

As a business analyst, there will be multiple challenges along the way. Therefore, you must always look for the best option to minimize the chaos. While working with the team, patience is the only key because sometimes the project goes in vain due to certain allegiances.

Nevertheless, you can improve by opting for various business analyst courses to enhance the skills and power to handle the project.

If this topic of what are the challenges faced by business analysts interests you, you might also be interested to solve these challenges. To get the right expertise and knowledge, you can go for the CBAP Certification training course. You will have the complete guidance and expertise of the industry trainers taking live-training sessions.

Employers are looking for candidates with experience, knowledge, and right business analysis skills, the CBAP certification helps to validate your skills and knowledge.

Moreover, there are industry-focused courses designed for the students. You can even learn technical skills like SQL, prototyping, UML, etc., just by enrolling today!

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