How Business Analysts Can Support Human-Centred Design (HCD)

Here are five practical ways Business Analysts can meaningfully contribute to — and elevate — Human-Centred Design throughout the product and delivery lifecycle

Photo by Amélie Mourichon on Unsplash

Hello fellow BAs! Have you ever delivered a solution that ticked every requirement, hit every milestone, and passed every test… only for the users to say, “Thanks, but we’ll keep using the spreadsheet”? Yep. That stings. Because it turns out: meeting business needs isn’t enough — we have to meet human needs too. That’s where Human-Centred Design (HCD) comes in. And while it might sound like a UX buzzword, it’s actually something Business Analysts are uniquely positioned to support — and even lead!

Human-Centred Design (HCD) originated in disciplines like human-computer interaction and industrial design. It gained traction through the work of organisations like IDEO and the Stanford d.school. HCD is about solving the right problems, for the right people, in the right way. It means starting with empathy, involving users early, testing often, and iterating until the solution actually works — not just technically, but practically and emotionally.

Now, if that sounds familiar to you as a BA… it should. Because while designers might…