Over the past year, I’ve been experimenting with how AI can
support my work as a Business Analyst. The results have been impressive when it
comes to increasing my own personal efficiency. But as valuable as AI has been - my recent experience with being onsite every day has reminded me that
there is still no substitute for the human element of being a Business Analyst.
Where AI Shines
AI has proven itself to be a powerful assistant in areas
that demand speed, structure, and consistency. For example:
- Stakeholder
Preparation: Generating thoughtful and targeted questions ahead of
elicitation sessions.
- Documentation
Support: Turning lengthy meeting transcripts into clear minutes or translating raw notes into draft requirements.
- Test
Planning: Creating draft test plans and traceability matrices that can
provide a great starting point.
- Scalability:
Quickly processing large volumes of information across meeting minutes, requirements,
and test cases.
In all of these areas, AI functions have been very valuable with saving me hours of manual effort, maintaining consistency across deliverables,
and even generating new ideas or perspectives that I might not have considered.
The Key Principles of Effective AI prompting
Leveraging AI means providing it with clear and specific
prompts so that it fully understands your request. As a Business Analyst, I need to know enough
about the subject matter so that I can prompt it with the appropriate context
and details. The more ambiguous the
instructions, then the less likely the response I receive will provide me
with the answer I’m looking for. It’s also critical for me to provide the relevant
inputs when generating the prompt. Incorporating
inputs which are irrelevant - or overloading it with too many unclear inputs - can cause it to provide a watered-down or even improper response that's not
valuable. Additionally, it's important to
be patient and willing to iterate. When
receiving a response that isn’t what you’re looking for - then take the time to
build upon that response and refine the questions until you get the right answer. Ultimately, you’re still working with a
computer - and so it’s only through actual usage that you will grasp how AI
systems rely on your input and cannot infer unstated details. Finally, the most
important aspect of this is that you must check and verify all of the outputs
received. Do not take what it gives you
at face-value. This is where your
expertise as the Business Analyst becomes unique - because only you
understand your audience, the context you're operating in, and what you’re ultimately trying to deliver.
Where the Human BA Is Irreplaceable
Moreover, the job of a BA isn’t just about producing
documents - it’s also about people. That’s where role of the Business Analyst cannot
be replaced by AI:
- Contextual
Understanding: Knowing what information is truly relevant, feasible,
and politically acceptable.
- Conflict
Resolution: Acting as a diplomat to address competing priorities and
underlying resistance to change.
- Influence
and Trust: Building credibility with stakeholders, reading the room,
and tactfully guiding conversations.
- Observation
and Nuance: Picking up on non-verbal cues, situational conditions, and
the “unwritten rules” of how work actually gets done.
These tasks cannot be delegated to AI - they require
empathy, judgment, and presence.
The Impact of Being Onsite
My client has recently asked me to be onsite daily to assist
with a critical initiative. While AI remains invaluable for preparing artifacts
and accelerating documentation - being physically present has underscored the
irreplaceable aspects of the human BA role:
- Translating
hallway conversations and observations of stakeholders performing their daily tasks into meaningful requirement updates and test scenario refinement.
- Making real-time decisions when discussions require considering context to develop a shared understanding.
- Building
trust by showing stakeholders that I am committed, attentive, and invested
in their success.
The Bottom Line
There's no question that AI has helped me with being faster and more thorough at my job.
But my effectiveness ultimately depends on human insight, empathy, and
diplomacy. Therefore, AI and Business
Analysts aren’t in competition - they’re partners. AI automates and accelerates
the mechanics of analysis, while the BA brings the human judgment and influence
that ultimately enables successful business outcomes.
