Which team role focuses on defining business needs and requirements?

The role that focuses on defining business needs and requirements is the Business Analyst. This position serves as a critical bridge between the stakeholders and the technical team, ensuring that the needs of the business are effectively captured and communicated.

A Business Analyst engages with various stakeholders—such as clients, users, and management—to gather detailed requirements and understand the underlying business processes. They analyze these needs and requirements to facilitate the development of solutions that align with organizational goals. This includes documenting functional specifications, maintaining requirements traceability, and ensuring that the developed system meets business objectives.

While other roles, such as Project Managers and Developers, have important functions in the project lifecycle, they do not primarily focus on gathering and defining business requirements. Project Managers typically oversee project timelines, budgets, and resource allocation. Developers are concerned with implementing the technical aspects of a solution based on the specifications provided. Testers, on the other hand, focus on verifying that the final product meets the defined requirements through quality assurance practices. Thus, the unique focus of a Business Analyst on understanding and articulating business needs makes them essential in the requirements-gathering phase of any project.