As a Business Analyst, you’re the bridge between business needs and technical solutions. You talk to stakeholders, gather requirements, and translate them into concrete specifications for developers. But how often does a project start, based on carefully collected wishes, and ultimately fail to deliver what the business truly needs?

The pitfall is often that we gather requirements too quickly without digging deeper. We diligently note down what’s asked, but forget to ask about the real need, the underlying motivation. This is where the concept of ‘the question behind the question’ comes in. It’s the key to transforming from an ‘order-taker’ to a strategic partner who genuinely adds value.

What is ‘The Question Behind the Question’?

Let’s start with an everyday example. Imagine your colleague says: “We need a new button on the website!” You could immediately note this as a requirement: ‘New button on website’. But if you ask further, you might discover that the reason for that button is: “We want customers to be able to cancel their orders faster.” And if you dig even deeper: “We receive many calls from customers who want to cancel their order, which overloads our customer service and harms customer satisfaction.”

Here you see the difference:

• The initial request: “We want a button.” (The solution one thinks they need)
• The question behind the question: “We want fewer input errors” or “We want customers to be able to cancel orders faster to relieve customer service and increase customer satisfaction.” (The actual business need and the underlying problem)

It’s about not getting stuck on the proposed solution, but searching for the problem that needs to be solved, the opportunity that needs to be seized, or the goal that needs to be achieved.

Why This Is Crucial for Good Analysis

It may seem like a small nuance, but asking about the real need has a huge impact on the success of your projects:

• Prevents risks and scope creep: If you don’t know the underlying need, there’s a high chance you’ll build a solution that, while meeting the initial request, doesn’t address the actual problem. This can lead to dissatisfaction, rework, and projects spiraling out of control in terms of scope and budget.
• Finds better, innovative solutions: Once you understand the true need, multiple paths to a solution often open up. Perhaps that button isn’t even the best way. Maybe an automated email confirmation with a cancellation link is much more efficient. You can only be creative when you have a clear goal.
• Increases your impact and relevance: By thinking beyond the request, you position yourself as a strategic partner who contributes to business objectives. You’re not just someone who gathers requirements, but someone who helps solve problems and create value. This increases your influence and recognition within the organization.

5 Powerful Questions That Always Work

How do you break the cycle of superficial requirements? With targeted questions! Here are five powerful questions you can ask with every request to uncover the underlying need:

1. “What do you want to achieve with this?”
   • This question directly focuses on the desired outcome. It forces the stakeholder to think about the higher goal.
   • Example answer: “We want our customers to be helped faster.”
2. “What happens if we don’t do this?”
   • This question reveals the pain or risk one is trying to avoid. It helps to map out the urgency and potential negative impact.
   • Example answer: “Then we’ll continue to receive many calls, which drives up our costs and increases waiting times for other customers.”
3. “How do you do this now?”
   • Insight into the current process provides valuable context. You discover bottlenecks, workarounds, and inefficiencies that explain the need.
   • Example answer: “Currently, customers have to call, after which an employee manually processes the cancellation.”
4. “Who benefits most from this?” (And who else is involved?)
   • This question identifies the primary stakeholders and their perspectives. Often there are multiple stakeholders with different needs.
   • Example answer: “Mainly customer service, and of course our customers themselves.”
5. “What would make this solution a success?”
   • This question helps define the success criteria and KPIs. When is the business satisfied? What are the measurable results?
   • Example answer: “If the number of cancellation requests via phone decreases by 50% and customer satisfaction with this process increases.”

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Mini-Case: From ‘I Want a Report’ to ‘We Want Insight into Bottlenecks’

Let’s put the theory into practice with a recognizable scenario:

The Initial Request: A Marketing manager comes to you and says: “I want a new report with last month’s sales figures, by product.”

The BA Approach (with ‘the question behind the question’):

• BA: “Okay, you want a new report with sales figures. What do you want to achieve with this?”
• Manager: “I want to quickly see which products are selling well and which aren’t.”
• BA: “Why is that important to you? What happens if you don’t have this insight?”
• Manager: “Then we miss opportunities! If a product isn’t doing well, we want to be able to quickly adjust with marketing campaigns or promotions. Now, we only find out when it’s too late.”
• BA: “How do you do that now? How do you currently gain insight into product performance?”
• Manager: “Now we have to manually consult different systems and combine the data in Excel. That takes a lot of time and is prone to errors. And even then, it’s difficult to quickly see trends.”
• BA: “Who else benefits from this? And what would make this solution a success for you?”
• Manager: “The sales team would also benefit greatly from this, to monitor their targets. Success would be if I could see at a glance daily which products need attention, so we can take immediate action and meet our sales goals.”

The Real Need: The manager doesn’t just want a report. The manager wants quick and efficient insight into product performance to make timely adjustments and optimize sales opportunities. This is about business intelligence and strategic decision-making, not purely a data table. With this deeper insight, you as a BA can propose much better, more interactive dashboards or visualizations that truly add value, instead of just a static report.

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Your Challenge

The theory is now clear. The power lies in its application.

My challenge to you this week: With every request that comes your way take a moment to ask the question behind the question. Use the five powerful questions you’ve just learned. You’ll be surprised by the insights you gain and the positive impact it has on your work as a Business Analyst.

Good luck! And feel free to share your experiences in the comments.