Develop firm skills by combining empathy and understanding of a customer’s business needs with technical aptitude. Firm skills enhance understanding of the customer’s needs and showing solution models that meet their needs.

Assuming the perspective of customer stakeholders through discovery results in a better understanding of their mindset and needs, leading to a more beneficial solution.

A map showing the discovery journey and its motivators.

Continuously improving discovery positions a solution to reach its ultimate goal of meeting or exceeding what the customer needs from it.

Curated references to business analysis for those taking on a business analysis role.

A high quality solution delivers value to a business by enabling users to do more, save time or both.

Listen for what the client really needs behind a requested solution.

Collaborate with stakeholders to clarify vague business needs, transforming them into well known needs.

Discovery that deals with as many exception cases as possible leads to a more robust solution.

Breaking a complex process into steps clarifies the process, making sure that you cover all the needs for the solution.

Make customer stakeholders the heroes of discovery by focusing on what matters to them and their company.

Learn as much as you can about customer needs, outcomes and processes before leading any discovery session.

Stakeholders should represent everyone, and everything affected by your solution.

C.A.U.S.E. confirms accurate discovery of customer needs.

Develop trust with stakeholders to sustain a successful relationship with them.

Show appreciation for efforts that overcome obstacles and resistance to reach goals.

Show respect in difficult situations and expect respect from the other party.