Business Analysis: The Discipline that Saves Projects before They Begin

Chuck Henderson, Chief Information Officer, Franklin County Missouri Government

Through this article, Chuck Henderson draws on years of government IT experience to explain why business analysis is the makeor-break factor for projects. He outlines the discipline behind proper analysis, the five ways it saves organizations from costly missteps, and why asking hard questions upfront is the best investment leaders can make.

In my years in government IT, I’ve seen too many projects fail—and even among the “successes,” many didn’t deliver what was promised. The root cause was rarely bad technology. More often, it was a disconnect between what the technology could do, what it was designed to do, and what the business actually needed.

That disconnect stems from a lack of proper business analysis.

And by “proper,” I don’t mean a few bullet points in a kickoff meeting or a vague requirements document. I mean a disciplined, structured approach that includes:

• Workflow diagrams that visually map each process step— so everyone sees the same picture.

• Detailed documentation explaining labor, tools, and data involved at each stage.

• A data dictionary to ensure consistent naming and data types, avoiding confusion across teams.

• Documentation of inputs from upstream processes and outputs to downstream processes—since almost no process occurs in isolation.

• Socratic questioning applied to every step, including how and where the process begins.

This kind of analysis is rarely done well. It’s timeconsuming, mentally demanding, and often uncomfortable. Organizations sometimes outsource it to consultants, hoping to avoid the grind. But no matter how skilled, consultants can’t do it alone. Without deep engagement from the people who live the process every day, analysis ends up shallow, full of assumptions, and ultimately misleading.

And that leads to bad decisions. Wasted time. Wasted money.

Five Ways Business Analysis Saves You Before You Spend a Dime

1. It Tells You Whether the Project Should Exist

Before resources are committed, you need to know: does a solution already exist? If not, what would it take to build one? A thorough analysis provides the foundation to issue an RFI or assess the feasibility of custom development.

“Most project failures don’t stem from bad technology—they come from poor analysis. When teams map workflows, document details, and ask hard questions, they prevent wasted time and money while giving projects a real chance to succeed”

How many times have you looked back and thought, “This project should never have happened”? Business analysis helps you catch that before the first dollar is spent.

2. It Identifies Critical Failure Points

Every process has choke points where failure can derail everything. A good analysis highlights these so your product manager knows where to focus. If something breaks at a critical junction, the project should pause and be reevaluated. Is it fixable—or is it a sign the approach must change?

This kind of visibility can turn looming failure into a course correction. Too often, projects derail simply because no one spotted the warning signs until it was too late.

3. It Clarifies Goals for Technical Teams

Developers and system integrators often work with incomplete or ambiguous requirements, left guessing at what the business truly wants. While some guessing is inevitable, the goal should be to minimize it.

Proper analysis defines both major and minor goals clearly. It gives technical teams the context they need to deliver solutions that actually align with business needs— not just technically impressive outcomes that miss the mark.

4. It Cuts Bugs and Rework at the Root

Most software bugs I’ve seen weren’t caused by bad coding but by insufficient information. A program is literal—it only understands what it’s told. If you introduce a data type or value it isn’t expecting, it will fail.

By identifying those issues up front, analysis prevents defects from ever entering the pipeline, saving enormous time and cost later.

5. It Enables Strategic Technology Evaluation

Emerging tools like machine learning and large language models promise transformative benefits. But how do you evaluate them if your processes aren’t mapped?

Business analysis gives you the framework to compare new tools against real needs. It reduces guesswork, helping you make decisions based on strategy instead of hype. Too often, shiny new solutions get implemented only to be abandoned because they didn’t address the right problem.

The Hard Work That Pays Off

Business analysis isn’t glamorous. It’s slow, meticulous, and sometimes frustrating. But it’s also the difference between a strategic investment and an expensive failure.

If you want better outcomes, you have to commit to doing it right. Ask the hard questions. Document the messy details. Involve the people closest to the work.

Because when everyone puts in the effort, the payoff is real—and your project finally has a fighting chance.

Machine Learning