thus the need for the Business Analyst
The role of the Business Analyst is to work with the business to clearly understnd the business problem/issue/opportunity/goal that is at the heart of the project. The BA should have the skills and the experience of working with business people in order to discover the underlying requirements that must be met by the roject in order to declare the effort a success. If the business cannot define or agree on the criteria for success, in other words, they don't know what they want, then it would be utter foolishness for the IT group to move forward on the project because it is doomed to fail. A good BA sees themselves as the business representative on the project, like an advocate for the business requirements, making sure they are understood by the business as well as the tecnology teams. A bad or poorly skilled or inexperienced Business Analyst will not hep with leading the effort to meet the business expectations.
