Can a business specialist take the role of a requirements analyst?

It was a few years ago, maybe five. I was in a very demanding and intensive project, as I often am. But this one was different - it had everything, even drama, haha. Still, I loved the challenge: the ups and downs, the bold initiatives from project leadership to requirements analysis, testing, and development. We had an agile approach in its truest sense. BUT there were a lot of conflicts. The older generation of developers had a hard time understanding the importance of requirements analysis and how to be including and work agile rather than waterfall, at least in this case.

When I joined the project, the developers were somehow leading it due to lack of resources. Becoming part of the team took time; the technical dominance was obvious, and the project had already established a work culture between developers and business. This, of course, caused many conflicts. No one understood each other. Huge technical documents were produced including requirements that no one could evaluate or decide on. In the end the business side were the people who were supposed to approve the requirements. How can they approve things without understanding what they are saying YES to? As always, there are so many things to pick up and learn from this project, but I want to go back to the headline.

Can a business specialist take the role of a requirements analyst?

As the project was so big, with a limited budget, we had to make the best use of the resources we had. When I joined the project, I was asked to create and establish a requirements management process. I believe everybody was doing their best, but without structure and a clear requirements process, and someone who can lead it, it is difficult to get good results. One day, just a few weeks after I started, the project leader told me that the business specialist should write the user stories. In my mind, I instantly saw this as a threat. I questioned my education, skills, experience, and all the years spent on this specific discipline.

Being a requirements analyst is not an easy work - how on earth were the business specialists carry this role on their shoulders? This was a big question mark in my mind. Was it really that simple?  They may know their business, but that is not the same as performing the tasks of a requirements analyst. However, I told myself, “If this experiment turns out to be a success, I am ready to quit my job”.

But it didn’t! Because our role is not only about writing user stories. Even though this experiment was about letting the business side take care of that part, it was a difficult task for them, despite the introduction and education they received. They found it confusing to write user stories, break the requirements into small, manageable pieces, write acceptance criteria, and structure the requirements, among other things. They got even more anxious because suddenly, they were responsible for getting the requirements right.

We noticed quickly that this path was not a hit. Have you experienced a similar situation, where a change in roles or responsibilities didn’t work out as planned?

I’d love to hear your experiences or thoughts—share your story or join the discussion on LinkedIn.