BA War Stories
Real mistakes. Hard lessons. A few laughs. 😅
Learn from our pain
The $2M Assumption
I once built an entire requirements document assuming the client wanted a mobile app. Three months in, during UAT, they asked 'Why is this on phones? We work on desktop computers.' Turns out in the kick-off meeting, the PM said 'mobile workforce' and I heard 'mobile application.' Cost: 3 months of rework and one very uncomfortable meeting with the CFO.
The Stakeholder Who Cried Wolf
VP of Sales insisted EVERYTHING was 'mission critical' and needed immediately. After the third 'drop everything' request in a week, I learned to ask one question: 'If we DON'T do this, what specific business metric gets impacted?' Suddenly, 90% of 'critical' requests became 'nice to haves.'
Death by Documentation
I wrote a 147-page BRD. I was SO proud. It had EVERYTHING. Color-coded sections. Cross-references. A glossary. An appendix with an appendix. Nobody read it. Not one person. The developers asked me to 'just tell them what to build.' The business sponsor printed page 1, skimmed it, and approved without reading further.
The Silent Stakeholder
Had a stakeholder who never responded to emails, never attended meetings, never gave feedback. I documented everything, sent weekly updates, got nothing back. Figured 'silence equals consent.' Launch day: 'This isn't what I wanted at all.' Turns out she WAS reading emails, she just never replied. And she had LOTS of opinions.
Scope Creep's Final Boss
Client: 'Can you just add one tiny button?' Me: 'Sure, it's just a button.' That 'button' needed: backend API changes, database schema updates, new security permissions, impact analysis on 12 other features, regression testing of the entire module, and documentation updates. Development time: 80 hours. All for 'just a button.'
The Win: Saved by a Process Map
Project was failing. Team was arguing. Everyone blamed everyone else. Instead of another meeting, I drew the CURRENT process on a whiteboard, step by step, exactly as it existed. Five minutes in, three people said 'Wait, THAT'S how we're doing it?' The problem became obvious. We fixed it in a week.