“Having a BA is a Luxury”: The Costly Misconception Hurting Product Teams

The other day, someone said, “Having a Business Analyst (BA) is a luxury.” 

At first, I was taken aback and frustrated by the statement. But after a moment of reflection, I realized that this phrase reflects a much deeper problem many companies face today, especially in the tech and product development space.

To reduce costs, many companies have asked Product Owners (POs) to take on the responsibilities traditionally handled by a Business Analyst. On the surface, it seems like a practical decision—two roles for the price of one. But, when we dive into the real impact of this approach, we see that it creates significant challenges for the entire product team and, ultimately, the product itself.

This blog post will explore the cost of cutting corners by replacing a BA with a PO, why this decision harms product teams, and how businesses can avoid this pitfall and ensure they are set up for success.

The Role of a Business Analyst and Why It’s Essential

Before diving into the challenges, let's first clarify what a Business Analyst (BA) brings to the table. A BA plays an integral role in the product development process.

Their primary function is to analyze business needs, gather and clarify requirements, and ensure that the product being built aligns with both user expectations and the company’s strategic objectives.

Here’s what a Business Analyst typically does:

1. Requirement Gathering: The BA works closely with stakeholders, customers, and other team members to gather detailed requirements for the product. They ensure these requirements are clear, actionable, and aligned with the broader business strategy.

2. Documentation and Analysis: The BA documents functional and non-functional requirements, user stories, use cases, and process flows. They also identify opportunities for process improvements and data-driven solutions.

3. Bridging Communication Gaps: One of the key functions of a BA is to act as a bridge between the technical team and non-technical stakeholders. They ensure that everyone is on the same page and that the development team has a clear understanding of the business needs.

4. Validation: Once the product is developed, the BA ensures that it meets the business requirements, offering support during user acceptance testing (UAT) and confirming that the product delivers the expected value.

In essence, BAs are the ones who ensure the product stays on track by providing clarity, refining requirements, and aligning the development process with business goals.

What Happens When POs Double as BAs?

Now, let’s take a closer look at what happens when companies decide that a Business Analyst is a "luxury" and instead ask Product Owners (POs) to take on both roles. This decision might seem like an easy way to cut costs, but it comes at a significant price.

The role of the Product Owner is inherently different from that of the Business Analyst. While the BA focuses on gathering detailed requirements and clarifying the “how” of the product, the PO focuses on the bigger picture—the what and why of the product strategy. The PO ensures the product vision aligns with the company’s objectives, prioritizes features, and manages the product backlog.

When POs are tasked with taking on BA responsibilities, they can no longer focus fully on the strategic aspects of the product. Instead of defining the product’s vision and aligning it with business goals, they end up getting caught in the weeds of detailed requirements gathering and process documentation. As a result, their attention is divided, and neither the strategy nor the execution gets the attention it deserves.

Here are some of the most common issues that arise when POs are asked to double as BAs:

1. Product Owners Lose Focus on the Big Picture

A Product Owner’s primary responsibility is to set the product’s direction, align it with business goals, and ensure that the product delivers value to users and the organization. When POs are also expected to perform BA tasks, their time and attention are divided between strategy and execution.

This means that the PO spends less time understanding customer needs, analyzing market trends, and defining the product roadmap. Instead, they spend their time writing user stories, gathering requirements, and clarifying details for developers.

The risk here is that the product vision becomes secondary, and the PO ends up firefighting and reacting to immediate needs rather than proactively driving the product forward.

2. Clarity and Alignment Suffer

The biggest strength of a Business Analyst is their ability to communicate effectively with all stakeholders—whether it's the product team, development team, or business leadership. A BA ensures that requirements are well-defined, documented, and understood by everyone. They also bridge the gap between technical and non-technical teams, ensuring alignment and reducing ambiguity.

When the PO is forced to take on this role, the risk is that there will be insufficient clarity around requirements. The development team may receive vague or incomplete user stories, which can lead to confusion, misalignment, and rework. As a result, teams may end up building the wrong features or wasting time on unnecessary tasks.

3. Reduced Efficiency and Increased Risk of Rework

When requirements aren’t properly gathered or defined, development teams may end up building features that don’t align with the business goals or user needs. This can lead to wasted time, effort, and resources. If the requirements aren’t clear, the development team might build something that needs to be reworked or scrapped entirely.

This inefficiency is especially costly in Agile environments, where time and resources are limited, and speed is critical. If the BA role is skipped, teams may go through multiple iterations to get the requirements right, delaying the product’s release and increasing costs.

4. Burnout and Decreased Performance

Overloading Product Owners with additional responsibilities is a surefire way to cause burnout. POs already have a demanding job, managing the product backlog, prioritizing features, and engaging with stakeholders. Adding BA tasks to their plate can stretch them thin, leading to fatigue, decreased productivity, and ultimately lower performance.

Burnout isn’t just a personal issue—it affects the entire team. When POs are overworked, they can’t give the product the attention it deserves. They may become reactive rather than proactive, and their ability to make decisions, communicate effectively, and prioritize becomes compromised.

Why “Saving Costs” Ends Up Costing More

The irony in the decision to skip the BA role to save money is that it often ends up costing the organization more in the long run. Here’s how:

1. Missed Opportunities

When the BA role is overlooked, there is a higher chance of building a product that doesn’t meet user needs or align with market trends. The product may fail to address the most pressing customer pain points, leading to lower adoption rates and missed opportunities for growth.

2. Inefficiencies and Rework

As we’ve discussed, lack of clarity around requirements can lead to wasted development time and unnecessary rework. If requirements are not properly defined, development teams will need to revisit and fix issues that could have been avoided from the start. This leads to slower delivery, increased costs, and reduced morale among the team.

3. Decreased Innovation and Strategy

When Product Owners are bogged down with BA tasks, their ability to focus on the strategic direction of the product is compromised. Without a dedicated BA to focus on requirements, user stories, and process improvements, the PO will struggle to drive innovation. This can result in missed opportunities for product differentiation and slower time-to-market.

BAs Are Not a Luxury—They’re a Necessity

At the end of the day, a strong product team requires a balance of roles—each contributing to the success of the product. The Product Owner is responsible for the vision and prioritization, while the Business Analyst ensures the details and clarity. These roles complement each other and are both necessary to drive a product forward effectively.

When organizations try to save costs by removing one of these roles, they risk creating confusion, inefficiency, and ultimately, a product that falls short of expectations. A well-rounded team with clear roles ensures that both the strategic vision and tactical execution are aligned and well-executed.

A Better Way Forward For Product Teams

Instead of overloading POs with additional responsibilities, companies should invest in a well-rounded product team. This doesn’t mean adding more headcount, but rather recognizing the value that each role brings to the table. A dedicated Business Analyst can help clarify requirements, ensure alignment, and improve communication, allowing the Product Owner to focus on the product strategy and vision.

By recognizing the necessity of each role and investing in a comprehensive product team, companies can avoid the hidden costs of misaligned priorities, inefficiencies, and burnout, and ultimately build better products that deliver greater value.

Conclusion

In the end, Business Analysts are far from a luxury—they are a critical piece of the puzzle. Cutting corners by replacing them with Product Owners not only harms the product but also burdens your team. It’s time for organizations to rethink their approach to cost-cutting and focus on building product teams that can truly deliver value.

What’s your experience with this? Have you seen POs stretched too thin or teams suffer without a BA? Share your thoughts in the comments below!