Imagine you are assigned to build a monthly BI report for SMIC's leadership, but the requirements from stakeholders are vague and conflicting. How would you proceed?
RoleBusiness Analyst
DifficultyDifficult
TopicCommunication
Asked at
Why This Is Asked
In a holding company, requests may come from different business units with competing views; the analyst must facilitate alignment.
General Approach
Emphasize proactive communication, rapid prototyping, and iterative refinement to converge on real needs.
General Answer
Rather than trying to finalize requirements up front from unclear input, run a short discovery round with each stakeholder group individually to capture what decisions they're trying to make with the report and what metrics matter most to them, since vague requirements often mean different groups haven't yet agreed among themselves what they need. Build a rough prototype or mockup, even a simple spreadsheet layout or wireframe, based on your best interpretation of the combined needs, and share it early rather than waiting for full alignment, since people find it much easier to react to something concrete than to describe requirements in the abstract. Use their feedback on the prototype to narrow disagreements, iterate quickly in a few short cycles rather than one long one, and explicitly flag any requirements that remain in conflict so leadership can make a call on priority. Once you converge on a version most stakeholders agree serves their needs, document it as the agreed specification and get a light sign-off before building the final report, so scope doesn't quietly drift again after launch.
PH Interview Gotcha
Gawa lang ako nang gawa ng charts, bahala na kung ano trip nila, importante mukhang marami.
Sample STAR Answer▾
S
Situation
During my internship at a digital marketing agency, a client asked for a performance dashboard but couldn't specify what metrics mattered.
T
Task
I needed to deliver a dashboard that actually helped them, without clear direction.
A
Action
I scheduled quick 15-minute calls with the client's marketing and sales leads to ask, 'What one number makes you know the week was good?' I then prototyped a mock-up in Excel with sample charts showing the top three metrics each team mentioned.
R
Result
The client saw the mock-up and immediately gave focused feedback, which let me build the final dashboard in two days. They later adopted it as their weekly reporting standard.
Key Takeaway
Clarity comes faster when you show an early draft rather than just asking for a list of requirements.
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