We’re seeing a huge increase in organisations investing in their business analysis, and process improvement capabilities – but despite that, many leaders still don’t understand what business analysis does for their organisation. I’m Jamie Toyne, and in this post I’ll share on the role it plays in organisations, and why it matters to those looking to deliver change and transformation.

Your business analysts are likely doing more than you think – and why it matters to your organisation.

Business analysts (BAs) are sometimes still seen through a narrow lens, as “the requirements people” or those who “write user stories.” In many organisations, business analysts are quietly preventing delivery delays, uncovering costly inefficiencies, and steering strategic decisions – often without recognition. Meaning the real impact of what they do often goes unnoticed.

More than just requirements and process maps

Let’s be clear, defining requirements and mapping processes are important parts of the BA toolkit. But they’re just the beginning. The real value of business analysts lies in their ability to connect dots, challenge assumptions, and drive better decision-making across the organisation.

Here’s what the most impactful business analysts are doing behind the scenes:

• Uncovering hidden assumptions that others don’t think to question.
• Aligning stakeholders and users — quietly but powerfully — to a shared understanding.
• Turning ambiguity into actionable clarity that delivery teams can work with.
• Asking the tough, value-driven questions, like “Who benefits from this?”, “What problem are we really solving?”, or “What insight backs this decision?”.
• Spotting duplication, friction, and early-stage risks before they snowball.
  

These aren’t just tactical contributions, they’re strategic interventions that can accelerate delivery and reduce risk.

Cutting through the noise in complex environments

At Herd Consulting, we often work in complex, matrixed organisations such as central government departments and higher education institutions. In these environments, the best business analysts operate with an enterprise-wide perspective. They cut through the noise, seek out cross-organisational improvements, and identify opportunities to reduce waste – a vital capability in today’s climate of “doing more with less.”

When delivery slows, the spotlight often turns to project or programme managers. But some of the most useful insights come from senior or lead BAs. Why? Because they’re close enough to the details and the decision-makers. They see the bottlenecks, cultural blockers, and outdated processes. More importantly, they notice when delivery plans are built on untested assumptions – and they do something about it.

As we often say: a roadmap based on unvalidated assumptions is just a to-do list with dates.

Business analysts as strategic enablers

Strong BAs who are empowered to challenge the status quo can prevent months of delivery pain. They ask the questions that others avoid, provide evidence-based insights, and help steer decisions in the right direction.

They don’t just gather requirements — they interrogate value.

• Who is this for?
• What’s the cost of inaction?
• Is this solution the best one?
  

Similarly, when running process workshops, great BAs don’t aim for a shiny process map. Their real goals are to:

• Test assumptions.
• Identify edge cases and risks.
• Surface hidden blockers — technical, cultural, or strategic.
• Enable alignment and clarity across teams.

It’s not “just process work.” Done well, it’s risk mitigation and brings alignment across business areas.

Raising expectations of business analysis

A few years ago, I coined a phrase that still guides our approach at Herd:

“Good business analysis helps influence decisions, challenges thinking, and solves problems.”

This ethos helped reshape a large analysis practice I led and raise expectations across the wider organisation about what working with BAs could (and should) feel like.

If you’re not yet tapping into the full strategic potential of your business analysts, you might be missing one of your organisation’s most effective enablers.

A challenge for leaders

Take a closer look at what your BAs are really doing. You might just uncover a strategic advantage hiding in plain sight.

How Herd can help

At Herd, we work with organisations to unlock the full value of business analysis — especially when internal capacity is stretched, lacks the distance to challenge assumptions, or need an external perspective to challenge ingrained ways of working. Here’s how we support our clients:

Unblock stalled programmes and bridge strategy–delivery gaps
We surface root issues, align stakeholders, and refocus effort on the changes that help realise the most value.

Lead high-impact discovery activity
From individual BA consultants to full Discovery Squads, we help you test the riskiest assumptions early – when it’s cheapest to learn and adapt.

Augment your delivery with hands-on BA support
We don’t just advise. We roll up our sleeves and deliver. Our consultants become a trusted extension of your team, backed by almost 200 years of collective BA experience across Herd.

Strengthen and scale your BA capability
Whether you’re growing a BA community or need BA-as-a-service, we’ve led and shaped high-performing practices of 20 to 300+ analysts across sectors. We also run BA community health checks to help teams get more from their capability.

Embed trusted BA voices upstream
We place experienced analysts early in the lifecycle – before initiatives become expensive delivery projects, helping to reduce risk and increase confidence.

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🖊️ Authored by: Jamie Toyne

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