Thinking out loud
I write mostly to work out what I think. These are notes on requirements, questions, stakeholders and the difference between building something and solving something. All written from where I actually am, which is fairly early on.
What I Wish I Knew Before Becoming a Business Analyst
- Business Analysis
- Career
Six things about the job that nobody really explains to you until you are already doing it.
How I Think About Requirements
- Requirements
- Business Analysis
A requirement is not a description of a feature. It is a description of a problem, plus an agreement about what counts as solved.
Why Asking Better Questions Matters
- Business Analysis
- Communication
The quality of what gets built is limited by the quality of what got asked.
Business Analyst vs Product Manager
- Business Analysis
- Product
The roles overlap enough to be confusing and differ enough to matter. Here is how I have come to understand the distinction.
What I Learned Moving From Computer Science to Finance
- Background
- Finance
Two degrees that seemed unrelated, and the thing that turned out to connect them.
What Makes a Good User Story?
- Requirements
- Product
The format is easy. Writing one that actually helps someone build the right thing is not.
Things I Learned From Working With Stakeholders
- Communication
- Business Analysis
Most of what looks like disagreement is actually two people optimising for different things without saying so.
Technology Is Not Always the Answer
- Product
- Business Analysis
Coming from Computer Science, my first instinct is to build. Learning when not to has been more valuable.
The Difference Between Building Something and Solving Something
- Product
- Reflection
Shipping is measurable and satisfying. Solving is neither, and it is the actual objective.
What Business Analysis Actually Taught Me
- Business Analysis
- Reflection
A year in, the things that changed were mostly not the things I expected to change.