Recommending the Right Solution
Hey, my name is James Dean – no, not that James Dean, but a Business Analyst who’s spent over seven years helping teams streamline processes, solve complex problems, and drive real impact.
Business Analysis goes beyond just "gathering requirements", it’s about bridging gaps, uncovering real needs, and ensuring the right solutions deliver real impact.
Today, I want to take you through a journey of identifying the real problem, exploring solution options and making the right recommendation.
Understanding the Business Need (Problem or Opportunity)
As Business Analysts, the business need, whether it's a problem to solve or an opportunity to be addressed, isn't always clear from the start. But that's exactly our job, right? To break it down, ensure clarity, identify the impacted people and systems, and build a shared understanding before recommending solution options.
This is a lesson I’ve learned throughout my career. One time, I was thrown a one-liner:
"The system can’t export customer details."
And I was told to "figure it out."
Instead of feeling overwhelmed, I saw it as an exciting challenge. I love it when things aren’t clear because it pushes me to adapt my approach, challenge my thinking, and sharpen my BA skills. It’s also a great way to combat imposter syndrome, which can creep in when things feel uncertain.
My Business Analysis Approach
Since the business need wasn’t immediately clear, my first step was discovery - was this actually a problem, or was it an opportunity? My approach would be tailored based on the answer.
Discovery sessions (or elicitation sessions, whichever term you prefer) are an ongoing process. Every new insight would feed into shaping my Business Analysis approach.
My first instinct? Talk to the person who wrote the one-liner. A simple conversation could provide critical context to guide my analysis. My approach isn’t linear or the same for every problem, but I follow a structured process to ensure I cover all essential steps - planning, eliciting, analysing, and defining requirements.
Discovery
For my first discovery session, I used a mix of:
With this, I pinpointed who was impacted and which tasks (processes) were affected. The process in question was "Analyse Customer Details", and it involved a team responsible for handling customer data. This led to a second discovery session with the key users to gain their perspective.
For this session, I leveraged:
✅ Business Process Modelling - Mapping out steps, inputs, outputs, and user interactions in the "Analyse Customer Details" process
✅ Observation - Watching how users worked to understand where they believed the issue occurred
✅ Business Process Analysis - Identifying gaps, challenges, and pain points by asking the right questions in context
Elicitation Results
The Proposed Solution
This discovery started to reveal a bigger picture of the problem. From the end users' perspective, a UI redesign seemed like the perfect solution. They wanted:
"The ability to select multiple customers at once so the system would display their details" The ability to export customer details for analysis
And
"The ability to export customer details for analysis"
But as they described their needs, which sounded more like wants, my business analysis instincts kicked in. Something didn’t feel right. A UI redesign sounded like a solution, but was it really solving the problem? Performance, user experience, technical feasibility, and process impact all needed deeper analysis. And beyond that, I spotted gaps in the process that raised even more questions.
So, I took a step back. Instead of jumping to a solution, I dug into the information I had elicited, analysing it from different angles. The more I looked, the more questions emerged -questions that needed to be explored in another session.
This is the beauty of real business analysis, every new insight leads to more analysis, more discovery, and a clearer path to the root cause.
The Aha Moment
Curious to explore the technical feasibility, I checked in with the technical team about what it would take to redesign the screen. What we found was a major red flag - performance would take a significant hit. Multiple APIs were pulling customer data from different sources, and displaying everything at once could inadvertently trigger a denial-of-service (DoS) attack. Not exactly ideal.
With that insight, I brought my findings to the end users. Instead of just presenting the analysis, I used the session to dig deeper, asking some targeted questions to uncover the real problem:
🔍 Why do you need to view multiple customer details at once?
🔍 What value does exporting customer details provide?
🔍 How are these details used for analysis?
🔍 What specific customer details are you analysing?
🔍How often do you analyse customer details?
As we worked through these questions, a clear pattern emerged. The real issue wasn't about exporting customer details, it was that users lacked an efficient way to spot anomalies and issues across different reports.
That’s where the lightbulb moment happened. Instead of a screen redesign, I proposed a targeted report that would generate the key customer details needed for analysis - making it easy to compare against other reports. This solution option would directly address the pain points while avoiding unnecessary complexity.
With that clarity, I focused my analysis efforts on delivering the right solution - the report.
The Result
The report solution went through multiple requirement sessions to break down, verify and validate the requirements and to make sure it was the right fit and ultimately became the recommended approach.
Redesigning the UI screen would’ve taken at least three weeks to build, plus another week for testing - not to mention potential performance issues and disruptions to other processes, putting revenue at risk. On the other hand, the report could be built, tested, and pushed to production in just two hours on the same day!
By weighing up different solution options, we:
✅ Saved weeks of implementation time - 2 hours vs. 4 weeks
✅ Reduced costs
✅ Increased customer satisfaction
✅ Most importantly, solved real user pain points
Takeaway
🧐 The first problem isn’t always the real problem. Digging deeper often reveals a completely different challenge.
🔍 Jumping to solutions too soon leads to misalignment. Users wanted a UI redesign, but their real issue was data comparison.
🔄 Elicitation is ongoing, not a one-time event. New insights drive further analysis and better solutions.
📌 A structured approach helps navigate ambiguity. Identifying stakeholders, processes, and system dependencies ensures clarity.
🎯 Embrace uncertainty - it’s a BA superpower. The best solutions come from challenging assumptions and uncovering true needs.
Why Business Analysis Matters
Business Analysis is more than just a role, it’s the glue that holds organisations together, the compass that guides them forward, and the engine that drives meaningful change.
Here’s why it matters:
But it doesn’t stop there. Business Analysis doesn’t just improve processes, it transforms organisations. It creates better systems, empowers employees, boosts morale, and, ultimately, identifies and implements strategies, processes, or solutions that lead to cost savings, increased revenue, or both.
As Business Analysis Professionals, we aren’t just solving problems; we’re creating opportunities and building bridges across industries.
Who Am I?
Beyond the certifications, titles, and years of experience, I’m someone who has a passion of connecting with people and making a difference in their lives.
Want to connect? You can schedule time with me here or chat with me directly on LinkedIn! Let’s make an impact together.
Get Involved!
The magic of Business Analysis isn’t limited to just my experiences. It’s happening everywhere, and we want to hear your story! Whether it’s about solving a complex problem, mentoring someone, or simplifying processes, your experiences have the power to inspire others.
💬 Got a story to share?
👉 Join the BA Force Multiplier LinkedIn group – an empowering community of changemakers dedicated to advancing the Business Analysis profession
👉 Reach out to Thea 🌞 Soehren, CBAP, CSPO, ICP-APO, 🛠️, LION , the founder of BA Force Multiplier Leaders, directly via LinkedIn to chat about your journey or collaborate on something amazing
Meet the BA Force Multiplier Leaders
We’re a global group of Business Analysis leaders who share a common goal: to empower and uplift those around us. Together, we provide coaching, training, consulting, speaking engagements, and more.
Our incredible leaders include:
You can connect with us at BAForceMultiplier.com or directly on LinkedIn.
Business Analyst ( IT ) | Associated Project Management | Agile Methodologies | BSc (Hons) ICT
1mo"Who Am I" really worth it . you give many answers Your words give more impact in my mind. Actually, you said that career transformation is highly believable. What is the core we need to travel when we are in a professional manner? I read completely and realize your expertise and your kindness.