Requirement Analysis and Design: From Business Needs to Solution Design

Requirement Analysis and Design are two critical phases in the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). These phases ensure that the final product meets business needs and is built in the right way. As a Business Analyst (BA), my role is to understand stakeholder requirements, analyze them in detail, and support the design process by providing clear and structured inputs to the technical team. Requirement Analysis - Requirement Analysis starts after requirement gathering. During this phase, the BA studies the collected requirements and converts them into detailed, clear, and achievable requirements. In my project (a health insurance mobile application), users faced issues like difficulty finding nearby tie-up hospitals, delays in knowing claim status, and dependency on customer care for policy documents. As a BA, I analyzed these pain points by discussing with stakeholders such as Product Owner, customer support team, and end users. I identified functional requirements like: View nearby network hospitals using GPS Check real-time claim status Download policy documents securely Book online doctor consultations I also analyzed non-functional requirements such as performance, security, usability, and availability. For example, hospital lists should load within a few seconds, sensitive data should be accessible only after login, and the app should be user-friendly. During analysis, I removed ambiguity by breaking high-level requirements into user stories with clear acceptance criteria. This helped the development and QA teams understand exactly what needed to be built and tested. I also identified dependencies (GPS services, third-party APIs) and constraints (data availability, security compliance). Design Support - Once requirements were analyzed and approved, the project moved to the design phase. Although the BA does not create technical designs, the BA plays a key role in supporting the design process. In this phase, I worked closely with UX designers and developers to ensure the design aligned with business requirements. I reviewed wireframes and screen mockups to check whether all user flows were covered. For example, I verified that error messages were shown when no nearby hospitals were found and that download buttons were clearly visible for policy documents. I also helped define process flows and use-case diagrams to explain how users would interact with the system. These design artifacts helped the technical team visualize the solution before development started. During Agile sprints, requirement analysis and design were continuous. Any change in requirement was discussed in backlog refinement sessions and updated in Jira. I ensured traceability between business needs, user stories, design elements, and test cases. Conclusion - Requirement Analysis ensures we build the right product, while Design ensures we build the product in the right way. As a Business Analyst, my role was to bridge the gap between business and technology by providing clear requirements and supporting effective design decisions. Together, these phases reduced rework, improved clarity, and helped deliver a user-friendly and high-quality product.