A business analyst (BA) has completed requirements elicitation and modeling on a project to implement a new case management system. During analysis of the requirements, the BA notices that one of…

Requesting policy modification is outside the BA's scope of authority, and classifying such a change as an assumption or dependency misrepresents its nature in the project documentation.

Creating a requirement to drive a policy change oversteps the BA role - requirements describe solution behavior, not directives to alter organizational governance.

Organizational policies function as constraints that requirements must operate within, so a conflicting requirement must be adjusted rather than the policy challenged. Modifying the requirement to adhere to the existing policy ensures the solution remains compliant with organizational governance. Noting the change in the models maintains traceability and transparency so stakeholders understand why the requirement was adjusted.

Identifying the policy as a potential constraint and deferring to management does not resolve the conflict; the BA is responsible for aligning requirements to known constraints within their analysis work.