Beyond the Order-Taker: Rediscovering the Heart of Business Analysis
How a business analysis community of practice helped a team move beyond technical requests and rediscover the business problems worth solving.
Read article →Writing by Johanne Cannon
Writing
Articles on asking better questions, building strategy, and turning analysis into meaningful change. Browse six themes below, or follow one of four reading series.
Choose a reading series
Series 1 connects strategic discovery, prioritization, and operating models. The other series explore business analysis techniques, leadership, and AI.
- From problems to strategy — 12 articles
- Business analysis in practice — 7 articles
- Leadership into action — 5 articles · more to come
- Practical AI strategy — 3 articles · more to come
Strategic Discovery
Strategy Starts with “Why”: Stop Confusing Aspirations with Problems
Distinguish an ambition from a business problem, then use evidence and better questions to uncover what needs to change.
Read article →The Work Breakdown Pyramid: Seeing the Work and Who Owns It
Use a simple pyramid to visualize the main components of a problem or program and identify the owners responsible for coordinating the work.
Read article →The Strategy of Sacrifice
The Strategy of Sacrifice: Why You Can’t Fix Everything at Once
Choose which validated problem to tackle first, make trade-offs explicit, and give your teams room to focus.
Read article →The Strategy Trap: Why “I Think” Is the Most Expensive Phrase in Business
Test the assumptions behind a proposed strategy before committing time, money, or people to the wrong solution.
Read article →The Power of “THE Measure”: Why Your Strategy Needs a North Star
Connect a shared purpose to a primary measure, with guardrails that protect quality, people, and responsible decision-making.
Read article →From Shared Purpose to Results: Putting Your North Star into Practice
Turn a shared ambition into action through clear requirements, decision authority, coordinated work, and small tests that help teams learn.
Read article →Modern Operating Models
Is Your Org Chart Killing Your Strategy? The Case for the “Operating Model”
Look beyond reporting lines and challenge assumptions about managers, decision authority, specialist coaching, and generalists to design how work delivers value.
Read article →The Anatomy of Success: Why You Must Build Capabilities, Not Departments
Map the capabilities that set direction, create customer value, and support delivery across the organization.
Read article →The Big “Whys”: Shaking the Org Chart to Find the Success Inside
Use practical questions about ownership, technology, and delivery to uncover opportunities for a more connected operating model.
Read article →Illustrative Case Study: From “Siloed Struggle” to “Capability Success”
An illustrative mortgage-onboarding example shows how shared ownership could reduce handoffs, with outcomes to test rather than assume.
Read article →Reflections: The BA Strategy You Never Knew You Needed
Reflect on the role of business analysis in strategy, the value of facilitation, and the importance of respectful challenge.
Read article →Business Analysis Techniques
Beyond the Hype: The 4 BA Techniques Every Leader Needs to Master
Explore four practical disciplines: root cause analysis, current-state analysis, business requirements, and solution analysis.
Read article →What Problem Are You Actually Trying to Solve?
Recognize when a request for software is masking an undefined business problem, and establish a better starting point.
Read article →The “Why” Behind the CRM
Follow an illustrative CRM conversation to uncover manual work, gaps in ownership, and the need to standardize processes.
Read article →Documenting the Current State—Counting the Cost of the Mess
Use an illustrative sales process to quantify wasted effort and assess exposure before choosing how to improve it.
Read article →The “Lost Art” of Business Requirements—Defining the “What,” Not the “How”
Define the outcome the business needs, establish measurable acceptance criteria, and keep possible solutions open.
Read article →Facilitating “The Hash”—Turning Requirements into Reality
Compare manual improvements, standard software, and customization in a facilitated discussion grounded in agreed requirements.
Read article →The Master Roadmap: From Strategy to Solution
Follow a practical roadmap from problem discovery and strategic focus to requirements, solution choices, and shared action.
Read article →Leadership Strategy
Leadership Is Not Management
Explore how clarity, trust, and autonomy help leaders support people without needing to be the expert in every task.
Read article →From Good to Great: Turning Vision into Results
Connect executive direction, management priorities, team expertise, and feedback to turn a shared vision into action.
Read article →Build Strategy with Your People, Not Just for Them
Bring operational knowledge into strategic planning so teams can shape the response and challenge assumptions early.
Read article →Beyond the Project Checklist: Programs That Solve Problems
Organize related work around business outcomes, using projects where useful and ongoing learning to keep strategy connected to delivery.
Read article →From Problem Statement to Measurable Program
Turn an evidence-based problem statement into a program with clear outcomes, measures, ownership, and regular learning.
Read article →AI Strategy
The AI Hiring Illusion
Build AI capability around the people who know your business, adding specialist expertise where it addresses a clear need.
Read article →AI Strategy: How to Actually Get Started
Make room for learning, agree responsible boundaries, and shape an AI strategy that draws on your people’s knowledge.
Read article →Beyond the Chat Window: A Starting Point for Understanding AI
A plain-language introduction to models, connectors, and agents, with a client follow-up example and practical questions about where information goes.
Read article →Put the ideas into practice
Problem-to-program worksheet: a printable guide for a team conversation about evidence, outcomes, ownership, and next steps.