Describe a time when you had to gather requirements from stakeholders with conflicting needs. How did you handle it?

Situation

In my previous role as a junior business analyst for a retail mobile-app project, the marketing team wanted a flashy, feature-rich checkout flow to boost engagement, while the legal and compliance team demanded a strict, minimal-step process to reduce liability. Both stakeholders were adamant and deadlines were tight.

Task

I had to elicit, prioritize, and reconcile these conflicting requirements into a single set of functional specifications that both sides would sign off on.

Action

First, I scheduled separate one-on-one interviews with each stakeholder to fully understand their underlying concerns and non-negotiables. Using MoSCoW prioritization, I categorized each requested feature as Must, Should, Could, or Won't have. Then I organized a joint workshop where I presented a compromise user flow that included the essential compliance steps but still allowed some marketing-driven personalization elements, backed by data from a mini competitor analysis and a quick prototype usability test with 5 internal users.

Result

Both sides agreed to the hybrid design after two rounds of iteration. The final solution reduced checkout drop-off by 12% in the first month while passing all compliance audits. It also fostered a more collaborative relationship between the two teams going forward.