To date, I’ve covered a lot. Before this series, you may not have known that the techniques of a business analyst could help an organization move from the status quo to a lean, productive machine where people are truly “bought in” to the vision.

I’ll be honest: most BAs I’ve worked with had no idea that being a BA entailed this much actual business analysis. Many apply for the job assuming they will simply work with developers to fulfil tech requests or support users.

When BAs realized they had a seat at the strategy table, I saw a renewed spark. In my former role, I spent time standing up a community for “Business Technologists,” spreading the gospel that BA techniques go far beyond technology.

We need to change how we view our tools. The applications organizations use today are just the pens, papers, and typewriters of past decades. They are tools—and every person in the company needs to understand them. Not just how to point and click, but what the tool is actually capable of.

Imagine throwing away a pencil just because the lead dulled, simply because you didn’t know you could sharpen it? That is what happens when we ignore the “Mastery” of our existing tech.

The techniques of business analysis—coupled with a seasoned BA who has mastered the art of facilitation—can guide even the most gifted CEO down roads they never thought possible.

A BA ensures we assess the current state and document requirements before we ever jump into a “Solution State.” This prevents us from buying a new pencil when all we needed was a sharpener.

This discipline also creates a stronger foundation for AI. When we understand a process independently of the technology currently supporting it, we can describe the work in clear components: the steps, information, decisions, policies, exceptions, and intended outcomes. Standardizing those components where it makes sense gives us a consistent view of what needs to happen, whoever or whatever performs the work.

With that foundation, we can more readily identify where an AI connector could provide access to needed information or where an agent could carry out a defined part of the process. Clear requirements, boundaries, and measures of success help teams implement and validate those contributions more quickly, with human review where needed. We spend less time rediscovering how the work happens and more time improving it. For me, this is an important connection between business analysis today and the practical use of AI: clarity about the business makes it easier to put new technology to work.

I talk a lot about strategy because it’s my passion. Questioning why we do things has always been part of my DNA (which, I’ll admit, makes me a bit of a rebel). A CEO I once worked with used to say, “No tension, no growth.”

Strategy is supposed to be tense. It’s supposed to be uncomfortable. But it’s also supposed to be fun.

My approach is to challenge ideas without diminishing the people who bring them. In The Hash, we examine assumptions, compare evidence, and set aside options that do not meet the need. That also means leaving our egos at the door. When we take a process personally because we built it or have always worked that way, it becomes harder to consider a better approach. We should come into the conversation assuming there is room to improve, including in our own work. People contribute more freely when respectful disagreement is welcome and improving the outcome matters more than defending an idea.

Explore the next series: Business analysis in practice.