SKILL.md
Business Analyst
Overview
Run a structured business analysis workflow for requirements elicitation, process modeling, stakeholder alignment, and solution validation. This skill covers BRD/FRD creation, user stories, acceptance criteria, BPMN diagrams, gap analysis, and change impact assessment.
Features
- Requirements elicitation techniques (interviews, workshops, observation, document analysis)
- BRD and FRD document templates with section-by-section guidance
- User story writing with INVEST criteria and acceptance criteria patterns
- BPMN process modeling with swimlane diagrams
- Gap analysis framework and change impact assessment templates
Usage
- Identify the user's BA need (requirements, process modeling, user stories, or solution validation)
- Follow the corresponding workflow below
- Produce structured outputs: BRD/FRD documents, user stories, BPMN diagrams, or gap analysis reports
Examples
- User: "Gather requirements for a new feature"
Agent: Runs Requirements Elicitation workflow, conducts stakeholder interviews, produces BRD with functional and non-functional requirements
- User: "Map our order fulfillment process"
Agent: Runs Process Modeling workflow, creates BPMN diagram with swimlanes, identifies bottlenecks and handoff points
- User: "Write user stories for login"
Agent: Runs User Story Writing workflow, produces stories with INVEST criteria and Given/When/Then acceptance criteria
When to Use
- Elicit and document business requirements (BRD, FRD, user stories)
- Map as-is/to-be processes and run gap or impact analysis
- Facilitate workshops and translate between business and technical teams
- Produce cost-benefit, SWOT, or root-cause analysis for business decisions
Workflow Selection
- User wants to gather or document requirements → Workflow 1: Requirements Elicitation
- User wants to map or improve a process → Workflow 2: Business Process Analysis
- User wants to evaluate a business decision → Workflow 3: Data-Driven Business Analysis
- User wants to produce documentation → Workflow 4: Documentation & Communication
When NOT to Use
- Dashboard design, metric catalogs, or analytical SQL → use
bi-analyst - Data platform or enterprise architecture decisions → use
data-architect - Cross-service system design, ADRs, architecture review → use
senior-system-architecture - Customer support SLAs, billing ops, or CS health scoring → use
customer-ops-specialist - Revenue recognition, month-end close, or ASC 606 contract analysis → use
senior-revenue-accountant - UX flows, wireframes, and design handoff → use
product-designer - Labeling/RLHF platform product roadmap and quality systems → use
product-management-human-data-platform - Cross-team program execution, RAID, exec status → use
technical-program-manager - MSA, SaaS, vendor/customer contract redlines → use
commercial-counsel - HR operational processes and employee lifecycle checklists → use
people-operations-specialist - Strategy, issue trees, steerCo business cases → use
business-consultant - Business model research, TAM, competitor monetization → use
business-model-researcher
Core Workflows
1. Requirements Elicitation
Step-by-step process:
- Prepare
- Review existing documentation, systems, and pain points - Identify stakeholders (sponsors, users, implementers) - Define scope boundaries (in-scope, out-of-scope)
- Elicit
- Interview key stakeholders using open-ended questions - Observe users in their current workflow (shadowing) - Review existing reports, data, and system outputs - Run workshops for complex or cross-functional needs
- Analyze & consolidate
- Group requirements by theme (functional, non-functional, technical) - Resolve conflicts between stakeholders - Prioritize using MoSCoW or weighted scoring
- Validate
- Walk through requirements with stakeholders - Confirm understanding with prototypes or examples - Get formal sign-off before proceeding
2. Business Process Analysis
Analysis workflow:
- Map the current state (as-is)
- Identify actors, steps, decisions, and handoffs - Note time spent, pain points, and error rates - Document data inputs and outputs at each step
- Identify gaps and inefficiencies
- Redundancies, manual workarounds, bottlenecks - Missing integrations, duplicate data entry - Compliance risks or audit gaps
- Design the future state (to-be)
- Streamline or automate steps - Eliminate non-value-add activities - Define new roles, systems, and data flows
- Plan the transition
- Phased rollout vs big-bang - Change impact assessment - Training and communication plan
3. Data-Driven Business Analysis
Analytical techniques:
| Technique | When to Use | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-benefit analysis | Evaluate initiatives | ROI, payback period, NPV |
| SWOT analysis | Strategic planning | Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats |
| Root cause analysis | Problem diagnosis | 5 Whys, fishbone diagram |
| Process mining | Understand actual vs documented process | Bottleneck map, variant analysis |
| Benchmarking | Compare performance | Gap vs industry leaders |
4. Documentation & Communication
Key documents:
| Document | Purpose | Audience |
|---|---|---|
| Business Requirements Document (BRD) | What the business needs and why | Business stakeholders, project sponsor |
| Functional Requirements Document (FRD) | How the system should behave | Developers, QA, solution architects |
| User Stories | Feature from user perspective | Agile team, product owner |
| Process Flow | Visual step-by-step workflow | All stakeholders |
| Data Dictionary | Definitions of fields and terms | Technical team, data consumers |