Clear communication is central to the BA role. Business analysts tend to communicate with a wide range of stakeholders for a whole range of purposes. This communication might be in writing, a set of diagrams, or it might involve speaking to stakeholders directly. Whatever the channel, communication can be far trickier than it initially looks. It is very easy for an inadvertent communication clash to emerge, which typically occurs when those involved think they understand each other, but actually they have formed very different views of what is being communicated.

What Is Communication?

Before exploring this idea further, it's worth breaking down what is meant by 'communication'. In a business context, communication involves at least one sender who wants to pass on a message to one or more recipients. For this to be successful, the recipients need to have a clear and unambiguous understanding of the message being communicated—in other words it is about creating a shared understanding.

This is where things start to get complicated. The English language can be imprecise, and it's possible to write (or say) a sentence that has multiple meanings. Words can be used differently in different parts of the same organisation, meaning that people can leave a conversation with very different views on what was discussed. Even worse, they will be sure that they agree!

Take the following example: "We agree we'll run payroll on the 25th of each month"

That seems clear enough, doesn't it? Yet the word 'payroll' is likely to mean different things to different people. An average worker would probably assume that 'running payroll' means that they get paid. However, it might actually mean that a process is run that calculates the salary and tax that is due and generates payslips. The actual payment date might be days later, and if payroll had been discussed without discussing the salary run then perhaps there's an issue…

Avoid Jargon

This highlights a common challenge in business analysis: jargon. In itself, jargon isn't inherently bad—often specific words are used within a community or team of people to mean a very specific thing. Jargon often allows very precise communication to take place within a community, providing those involved in the communication know what the words mean. Think about situations where time is critical: an aeroplane cockpit, an operating theatre…  there's no time for explanation so protocols for conveying crucial information need to be defined in advance. A passenger may have no idea what the co-pilot means when they suggest "declaring pan-pan", but the pilot will understand.

However, this becomes problematic when communicating across communities of professionals. One set of professionals might use a particular word in a completely different way to another. This isn't just true of complicated-sounding words—even simple words like "account" can mean different things to different people. To a sales person an "account" might be a company (or prospect) who they hope to sell products or services to. Someone in customer services might define an "account" as being a type of customer who has been credit checked and therefore can pay for services in arrears (rather than in advance). It's easy to imagine how confusion could occur.

To complicate things further, the BA profession has its own set of jargon. Terms like use case, user story, requirements elicitation all have a clear meaning to analysts, but stakeholders might have no idea what they mean. Clear communication therefore relies on considering and strategically minimising not only stakeholder jargon, but BA jargon too.

Getting Beyond the Confusion

It takes courage to get beyond the jargon, as sometimes it involves asking seemingly 'daft' questions such as "can you tell me what you mean by account in this context?". Of course, these questions aren't actually 'daft' at all, but they might hit an ego-wall. Some professionals might initially be incensed that they are being asked such a seemingly basic question. It's important to use these questions selectively and strategically, pointing out the potential impact of misunderstandings. When a stakeholder has seen that there are different meanings in use for the same term, they are usually much happier to provide explanations.

Another way of navigating jargon is to switch away from the written (or spoken) word altogether. Using diagrams instead of (or alongside) words can help add specificity and can help uncover tacit misunderstandings. If a small group of stakeholders congregate together and draw a rich picture, they will soon uncover any gaps in their understanding. A process model will help uncover misunderstandings on how work flows through the organisation. These are just two examples, there are many more diagrams and models in the BA toolkit.

Validation is Key

However communication takes place, whether spoken, written or drawn, validating that people are on the same page is key. Avoiding communication clash will help avoid misunderstandings on projects, and this is another example where business analysis offers significant value to their organisations.  

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