I approach team resistance to business analysis practices by first understanding the root causes of their objections, empathetically listening to their concerns and recognizing that their resistance often stems from past experiences with bureaucratic, heavyweight processes that felt disconnected from actual value delivery. By demonstrating the lean, collaborative nature of modern business analysis in agile contexts—where analysis is about facilitating conversation, clarifying requirements through storytelling, and creating just-enough documentation that enables rather than constrains team creativity—I show how these practices can be a powerful enabler of team autonomy and project success.

To overcome resistance to business analysis in agile workflows, emphasize the value of analysis in delivering customer-focused solutions. Collaborate to show how clear requirements and prioritization reduce rework and accelerate delivery. Use incremental approaches like lightweight documentation and user stories to align with agile principles. Actively involve team members in refining processes, highlighting shared goals and successes to build trust and engagement.

As a Business Systems Analyst at Spectrum, I have been able to turn resistance into support by listening, collaborating, and proving the value of analysis. On one of our projects, I faced push back from my dev team when we proposed a detailed requirements backlog as the they felt it might slow them down. To address this, I led a workshop where we analyzed a recent sprint where unclear requirements led to rework. Together, we built a small backlog for the next sprint and reduced rework by 30%. Seeing that success changed their perspective. Sometimes, it’s just about having a conversation.