Business Analysis in the Platform Era
Key Takeaways
The latest episode of Business Analysis Live features Salesforce consultant Vanessa Grant, diving into the evolving role of business analysis in platform-driven environments. Here are the key takeaways:
- The invisible value of business analysis: Business analysis professionals may not produce tangible outputs like code, but their work—clarity, alignment, and communication—prevents technical debt and ensures successful implementations. Vanessa highlights how poor business analysis can lead to bloated, inefficient platforms.
- Platforms don’t replace people: While low-code/no-code platforms offer speed, they can create inefficiencies without strong business analysis. Analysts connect stakeholders and tech teams, ensuring sustainable, effective solutions.
- Skills that set analysts apart: Senior business analysis professionals excel with broader competencies like Agile literacy, user experience, facilitation, and emotional intelligence, helping them navigate ambiguity and guide teams effectively.
- Business analysis planning is critical: Planning and monitoring are essential for major platform implementations such as Salesforce. Identifying stakeholders, defining decision-making processes, and setting clear acceptance criteria can prevent confusion and rework.
- The future of business analysis: While AI may handle administrative tasks, human skills like empathy, critical thinking, and storytelling remain irreplaceable. Vanessa emphasizes the importance of showcasing the impact of business analysis through metrics and outcomes.
In an era where low-code and no-code platforms are rampant in organizations everywhere (thus, the “platform era”), it might seem like the role of the business analyst is fading into the background. After all, if anyone can configure a tool, why do we still need business analysis professionals?
In the latest episode of Business Analysis Live, I sat down with Salesforce consultant Vanessa Grant to unpack this very question. What unfolds is a powerful conversation about the visibility, value, and future of business analysis in platform-driven environments.
Whether you're deeply entrenched in the Salesforce ecosystem, new to business analysis, or navigating your role in tech, this episode delivers timely insights with warmth and a healthy dose of banter.
The Invisible Yet Indispensable Work of Business Analysts
One of the central themes of the conversation is the “invisible” nature of business analysis work.
Unlike developers or testers, business analysis professionals don’t always produce tangible outputs like code or test cases. Instead, their deliverables like communication, clarity, and alignment often show up in the form of fewer misunderstandings, cleaner builds, and more successful implementations.
Vanessa points out that many organizations underestimate this invisible layer of work, which can lead to projects bloated with technical debt or platforms that don’t serve the business. Reflecting on how she became a voice for business analysis in the Salesforce space, Vanessa says: “Most of my projects were these five to 10-year-old Salesforce orgs that were mired in tech debt because they had admins that were order takers that didn't do any business analysis… The importance of business analysis in order to maintain a healthy Salesforce org became really essential.”
Platforms Don’t Replace People
Low-code/no-code platforms promise speed and flexibility. But those very qualities can be a double-edged sword. Without strong business analysis, stakeholders may design solutions that miss the mark, or worse, create inefficiencies and silos.
Vanessa emphasizes that a business analysis professional’s deep understanding of the platform—what it can do out of the box versus what needs customization—is key to helping teams make smart, sustainable decisions.
To illustrate this point, she uses a hypothetical “red button” requirement that divides the tech team and stakeholders: “Let's be that person who's going to hear the challenges of the tech team when it comes to this red button versus our stakeholders that are adamant that it has to be red… Let’s be that person who can listen and facilitate.”
Skills That Elevate a Business Analyst
On that subject, the episode also dives into what sets senior business analysis professionals apart from their junior counterparts. According to Vanessa, it’s not only technical understanding but also adjacent skills like:
- Agile and DevOps literacy
- User experience and human-centred design
- Communication, facilitation, and negotiation
- Emotional intelligence and stakeholder management
These broader competencies help business analysis professionals guide teams through ambiguity and identify dysfunction before it derails a project.
Business Analysis Planning: Not Optional
Business analysis isn’t a phase—it’s ongoing. Yet many organizations still treat it as a one-and-done activity.
Vanessa highlights how poor planning (or no planning) often leads to projects missing stakeholder inputs, lacking clear acceptance criteria, or containing requirements that don’t deliver their intended outcomes.
When you’re implementing a major platform like Salesforce, Business Analysis Planning and Monitoring becomes even more critical. This knowledge area helps you:
- Identify stakeholders and plan how to engage with them
- Define how business analysis decisions will be made
- Set up where and how information will be stored, accessed, and updated
- Choose your approach and look for ways to improve as you go
You usually get just one shot to start your Salesforce org off right. Taking the time to create a solid business analysis plan can save you from a lot of confusion and rework—and help you stay focused on building something that lasts.
The Future: AI, Soft Skills, and Storytelling
The conversation closes with a forward-looking discussion about AI and how it’s reshaping entry-level business analysis roles. While tools may take over administrative tasks like note-taking, they can’t replace human skills like empathy, context, or critical thinking, which are core strengths of experienced business analysis professionals.
Vanessa and I agreed that business analysis professionals need to own their story. That means not just doing the work, but showing its impact through metrics, business outcomes, and stakeholder wins. “If we can move away from the things that don’t require empathy to the things that do require empathy and show how that leads to success on tech products, I think that’s really going to be key,” she says.
I couldn’t agree more.
Listen to the Full Episode
If you’re a business analysis professional, platform admin, product owner, or team lead working with low-code/no-code platforms, this episode is for you. You’ll hear real-world advice on the importance of strengthening your platform knowledge, grow essential skills like communication and influence, and make the case for business analysis in spaces where it’s often overlooked.
Watch or listen to the episode now and discover how business analysis remains the foundation for project success.
About the Author
Susan hosts Business Analysis Live to discuss business analysis topics and answer questions from the live audience. There's a backlog of upcoming topics and she's happy to take suggestions. Add a comment to one of our videos to suggest a topic you would like Susan to cover in an upcoming episode or connect with her via email at live@iiba.org.
