My company is undergoing a massive digital transformation by adopting SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework). I used to spend weeks writing 100-page Business Requirement Documents (BRDs). Now, everything is about User Stories and Features. I’m feeling a bit lost—am I still a BA, or am I essentially becoming a Proxy Product Owner now?
3 answers
Welcome to the world of "just-in-time" requirements! In 2023, my firm made the jump to SAFe, and I felt the exact same way. You aren't losing your BA identity; you’re just changing the delivery format. Instead of a massive BRD, your "analysis" is now distributed across the Backlog. You are absolutely acting as a bridge to the Product Owner. The core skill—asking "why" and identifying edge cases—is more important than ever because Agile moves so fast. You prevent the team from building the wrong thing quickly.
That sounds like a major culture shock! How is the communication flow between the Business Owners and your Agile teams right now? Are you finding that the "speed" of Agile is compromising the quality of the requirements you're able to gather?
Think of yourself as the "Guardian of the Value Stream." Your job is to ensure that every User Story actually contributes to the Program Increment (PI) objectives.
Well said, William. In SAFe, the BA ensures that the technical agility doesn't outpace the business strategy. We keep the "Business" in Business Analyst!
Richard, it’s a constant struggle. The developers want to start coding immediately, and the Business Owners change their minds every sprint. My job has shifted toward "backlog grooming" and ensuring the Acceptance Criteria are bulletproof. It’s less about documentation and much more about continuous communication and negotiation. It’s exhausting but actually results in a better digital product.