Foghorn Leghorn knew the importance of planning for emergencies. Like Foghorn, the Business Analyst needs to think about both the issues at hand, as well issues and opportunities that may not be immediately evident.
The Business Analyst needs to observe and understand the organization’s overall strategies, goals, and capabilities. The BA needs to use this “big picture” knowledge to be vigilant about analyzing processes that could not only negatively impact a new or existing system, but might also add unseen value.
Being vigilant doesn’t mean being a naysayer, or a prophet of doom. Being vigilant means keeping up to date with emerging trends, experimenting with new ideas, and staying on top of changes, even in areas outside of your responsibility. (The latter is where a good Change Management policy can help.)
The ultimate court of appeal is
observation and experiment… not authority.
~ Thomas Huxley
Use your knowledge of your industry, your organization, and your personal experiences, to guide you in looking for potential problems. Even if a problem has not been identified, you, as the BA, should be looking for potential gaps, and working through processes that could be used to resolve them.
If you notice something that may be a problem, work with the appropriate group to raise the issue, and discuss it. Don’t pull a Chicken Little and run screaming that disaster is imminent. It is likely that it may turn out that there is no issue, or the solution may be simple.
If you see a missed opportunity, presenting your idea can be more difficult. You must be respectful, and be prepared that the stakeholders may not be ready to adopt the idea. Even if the idea receives a positive response, be sure that it is the proper time to implement it. You don’t want to be the cause of scope creep.
If your idea isn’t well received, or it isn’t the right time, keep it in your back pocket. Don’t lose track of what you learned while playing around. The time to implement will arrive, and you can bring it up again.