Part three of the series “AI is going to solve a huge IT problem”. See Part Two Here
For decades, Business Analysts have helped translate what the business needs into something IT can actually build.
Think of them as interpreters.
Except instead of translating English into Spanish, they’re translating Business into Geek.
And believe me, those can be two very different languages.
Now AI is getting pretty darn good at building software. Which means Business Analysts will increasingly find themselves translating business needs into instructions for AI instead of programmers.
But wait a minute Phil.
Can’t someone in Sales just tell AI what they want?
Yes.
But getting what you ask for and getting what you actually need are two very different things.
A great Business Analyst understands the business, its history, and the people involved. They know when to ask another question, challenge an assumption, or tell someone their brilliant idea might not be quite so brilliant.
Which reminds me of a conversation I had years ago.
POC: Three Letters, Three Very Different Meanings
I was working as a Business Information Manager at International Paper when I had a conversation with our Global Sales Director.
He had an idea for something he wanted IT to develop.
I told him I’d take his high-level requirements back to IT and have the team spin up a POC.
He looked at me.
“Price over Competition?”
“No! Proof of Concept!”
We had a little disagreement about what POC actually meant.
So we did what any two reasonable professionals would do.
We let Google settle it.
Whichever definition appeared first would win.
The winner?
People of Color.
Goes to show you: in a battle between IT and Sales – HR wins.
But here’s what I eventually realized.
The correct answer was Price over Competition.
Why?
Because he was the Global Sales Director.
He understood what the sales organization needed.
And most importantly, he was the guy writing the check.
I was so focused on what POC meant in the IT world that I’d forgotten to consider what it meant in his.
The right interpretation wasn’t the one I was most familiar with. It was the one that made sense to the person I was talking to.
Now, could AI have figured out what he meant by POC?
I suppose. (I used ChatGPT to proofread this article and it insists it can… I’m not convinced.)
With enough context, it might have figured it out. Or it might have asked the right question.
But a great BA brings more than the ability to translate.
They understand the people, the business, and the history behind the conversation.
They remember the project that went horribly wrong three years ago. They know which executive has a completely different definition of “urgent.” And they know that sometimes the person asking for something isn’t the person who’s actually going to use it.
AI can work with some of that information, too. But only if it has access to it. And even then, there’s no guarantee it’ll use it correctly.
A great Business Analyst brings context, experience, and judgment.
And those are things you can’t always find with a Google search.
But Can’t AI Learn That?
Yes, to a point.
If you’ve used AI for any length of time, you’ve probably experienced this.
You tell it something. It acknowledges your instruction.
You use it again a week later.
And it does the exact thing you told it not to do.
Again.
I’ve repeatedly told AI never to end my emails with “Best, Phil.”
I’ve told it five times.
“Best, Phil.”
And every time I say “What did we say about ‘Best, Phil'”? And I get the standard response: “You’re right, My mistake, I’ll never do that again”.
To be fair, AI can remember preferences, but its memory isn’t unlimited or perfectly reliable. Sometimes it forgets. Sometimes it simply ignores something it should know.
An experienced BA learns from mistakes, difficult conversations, and projects that didn’t go as planned.
AI can help capture those lessons. But it doesn’t automatically develop the same judgment from experience.
Three Things Great Business Analysts Bring to the Table
1. Deep Business Knowledge
They understand how the company operates, how departments interact, and why certain things are done a particular way.
They also know that a seemingly simple technology change can have consequences nobody anticipated.
AI can analyze documentation. But what happens when the important information was never documented?
2. Emotional Intelligence
Every great BA knows how to read the room.
They recognize when someone isn’t buying into a solution, even though that person keeps saying everything is fine.
They know when to push, when to listen, and when to ask one more question.
Sometimes the biggest obstacle to implementing new technology isn’t the technology.
It’s the people.
3. Judgment
A great BA knows when to challenge a requirement, question an assumption, or tell a senior leader that their proposed solution might actually make things worse.
And when to put aside the technically correct answer because the business context calls for something different.
Like realizing the Global Sales Director’s definition of POC matters more than yours.
AI can offer recommendations. A great BA knows when to trust them, challenge them, or tell AI to try again.
So What Can AI Do for Business Analysts?
Plenty.
I’ve talked about treating AI like an intern.
A really smart intern who works incredibly fast, never asks for vacation, and occasionally makes things up.
Give that intern some of the work that eats up a BA’s day.
Meeting summaries. Turn requirements meetings into organized notes, decisions, action items, and unanswered questions.
Requirements documentation. Turn rough notes into structured requirements, user stories, and acceptance criteria.
Finding gaps. Identify missing questions, conflicting assumptions, and scenarios nobody considered.
Practice conversations. Have AI play a difficult stakeholder so you can prepare before walking into a meeting.
That’s valuable help.
Note: In each one of those examples the BA still needs to determine whether the output is accurate, complete, and appropriate for the business.
AI does some of the preparation. The BA provides the understanding and judgment.
The Future of Business Analysis
As AI gets better at building software, we’ll be able to produce solutions faster than ever.
That’s exciting.
But there’s a downside.
We may also be able to build the wrong solution faster than ever.
A business leader can describe an idea to AI and get something impressive back.
That doesn’t mean the idea was right.
It doesn’t mean every stakeholder was consulted.
And it certainly doesn’t mean somebody thought about what happens when the new system runs into that ancient application Finance refuses to replace.
That’s where Business Analysts come in.
They understand the business, the people, and the questions that need to be asked before anyone starts building.
Whether the builder is a programmer or an AI system.
AI will change what Business Analysts do. But it’s also going to make the things great Business Analysts do best more important than ever.
Without a Business Analyst AI will help you build the wrong solution faster than ever.
A great Business Analyst makes sure you’re asking for what you actually need.
And that’s why I believe the future of Business Analysis is incredibly bright.
Best, Phil
Your turn: If you’re a Business Analyst, what do you bring to the table that AI can’t easily replace? And how are you using AI to make yourself better at your job?
About Phil
Phil Barth is a keynote speaker, author, and recovering corporate IT professional who spent much of his career at International Paper. Today, he helps organizations understand and use artificial intelligence while keeping people at the center of the conversation. His presentations combine practical insights, plenty of humor, and rubber chickens. Lots of rubber chickens.