How do you work with a stakeholder who does not know what they want?
What the interviewer wants to hear
- Focus on problems, goals and current pain points
- Use observation and examples
- Show prototypes or options to react to
- Iterate and confirm understanding
Model answer
This is very common, and it is actually where a BA adds the most value. Instead of asking what they want the system to do, I ask about their work: what are they trying to achieve, what frustrates them today, and what does a good day look like. I often observe them doing the task, because seeing it reveals needs they do not mention. Then I give them something concrete to react to, such as a simple process map, two options or a rough wireframe, because it is easier to say I like this or that is wrong than to describe needs from nothing. I summarise what I heard and confirm it with them. We go through a few short rounds, and the requirements become clearer each time.
Can you answer it under time pressure?
Take a timed medium round and get scored on every answer.
More medium Business Analyst questions
- How do you help stakeholders prioritise requirements?
- What is your role in user acceptance testing?
- Describe how you would use data to support a business recommendation.
- How does the business analyst role work in an agile team?
- How do you plan and run a requirements workshop?
- Walk me through how you would model a business process using BPMN.
- How do you manage changes to requirements once development has started?
- How do you use SQL or data analysis in your work as a business analyst?
- How do you elicit and write non-functional requirements?