What are the challenges faced by a business analyst?

Below are the challenges I have come across:

Resistance in sharing information:

In some cases, information will not be forthcoming. These users will regularly attend your workshop but it will take a mammoth effort to make them talk. At the other end of the spectrum, there are users who make your life difficult by bombarding you with loads of documents.

Irregular attendance:

This happens when key users attend one session and then skip a few in a row. Suddenly, they appear and start changing the course by asking/changing things that were frozen during their absence. Or worse still, they want you to start from where they left.

A set of users keeps on rotating, and a user who is present today may be gone tomorrow. There is inconsistency in attending the workshop.

Accountability for decisions:

There may be instances in which the current business process needs to be changed or modified to make it more efficient. The users may all be in consensus but none will volunteer to approve it. Or, there could be situations where the elicitation process may reach a dead end if certain decisions are not taken

Resolving user conflicts:

This could take two forms:

a.       Conflict between the business analyst and the users: This usually happens when the business analyst tries to propose a new or a modified approach to the current process that is being followed.

b.      Conflict between users: If users who perform similar tasks across different organizational functions come together, there is bound to be conflict as each one feels that their approach is best.

Real needs vs. perceived needs:

Sometimes it becomes difficult for business users to distinguish between a real need and a perceived need. A perceived need is always a little tricky as it may be a workaround/temporary solution for the problem and not the problem itself!

Changing needs:

 

Time and again, we have faced this, and there is always a dilemma as to whether a BA should accommodate or ignore the change.

There are 4 important parts to a business Analyst

1. Requirements gathering

2. Data Modeling

3. Process Modeling

4. Relationship Management.

The toughest challenge faced by a BA is in Relationship Management. Once must possess an exceptional listening, empathising and convincing skills to be successful.

Thanks 

I support my colleague Shivaram answer, he referred to the most important points 

Three things Lack of current information Lack of real information/ Market intelligence and less number of constraints considered for analysis.

Manage Stakeholders availability for requirements

Frequently changing requirements

Coordination with developers and testers

Drive UAT phase – on time completion of UAT

TIME , EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING

Some of them stop learning. A certification in some specialist areas increases BA the knowledge and command. 

 

In my experience, I capture/document the requirements in BRS templates and pass it to the development team who implement them. I have faced mostly scope creep challenges. By the time developers get it built, client wants/needs something new. And the new features take more time and effort to get incorporated in the initial project plan. Sometimes it can get messy and reaches the tipping point. The requirements can become ambiguous. So, constant communication and interaction with customers and overseeing of development vectors is must for Business Analyst success

......... Time And Experience 

The greatest challenge is gathering data on future trends. Nowadays companes do not want to know what is trading now but what is in the future and what new trends are developing ahead of time. Current mindset of BA is collecting data of today and sometime the today data is outdated - especially that appears in magazine and newspaper. The BA of today mindset will not be heard as opposed to BA of thinking out of the box mindset that looks at future trends. One of the reasons Shell was successful in the past because of a concept called Scenerio plannning. Looking at future trends and data as opposed to past and present data.

Mostly what we are facing with clients restrict a data and ask something more than his need. And some time the management need somethings and the user do another things .Finally, when we ask/suggests to change business process to improve his work he tell I cannot.