ajmarkos wrote What I really had to do was coach BA's to postpone implementation considerations and to focus on the essential.  Such work really makes clear the overwhelming need that most BA's (and others) have to "get technical" ASAP.

 I guess the industry is heading towards essential features only in the first release (aka iteration) as a default position.

ajmarkos wrote Especailly for larger scale efforts, a focus on the essential often requires a single-minded bullheadedness.   I have always found that, in most orgainzations, you have to be counter cultural.    But, frankly, without such a mindset, much of essential requirements are not going to captured until they have to be  (in later phases of the project, resulting in messed up patchwork design and primative user interfaces).

I don't think you have to be bull headed with clients - senior people usually very literate about what can be done and how it should be tackled.  I agree that you do have this issue with more junior managers and analysts.

I don't see the problem with a just in time requirements approach - but you hvae  to have a big picture view to get your overll design & prioritisation right.

ajmarkos wrote Craig: Does senior level management know what needs to be done?  For some really important issues,  I have always found that, with few exceptions, the answer is no.  Example:  The need to employ a logical, natural partitioning in functional analysis - and avoid forced, artifical partitioning.    Even the "big boys" seldom, if ever, know what that means.   Tony

Tony,

In my experience the senior managers do know what they want. And so do most of the other layers of management. What breaks down is their ability to articulate it in a way that a BA and Project team can effectively translate into a solution.

The problem so many projects face is that the requirements simply get lifted and carried across to the development team as stated.

The BA's job is to work with the business clients to properly frame up their requirements in terms of problems and opportunities to be addressed.  Only once this is effectively done should requirements be addressed.  And then, as you say at the logical level first.

Tony, I believe my clients are smart intelligent people who are excellent at running their business.  There are contraints there that make their jobs hard.  It's our job to play our part by assisting them in firstly identifying the problems and opportuniies as they present themseleves and then finding the right solution for them.

I've read your posts and you believe this too.  Its why you are so passionate and committed to doing an excellent job.