How can AI automate the boring parts of Business Analysis?

All answers to this question.

Privacy is the big hurdle here, Kimberly. My firm uses a private instance of Azure OpenAI, which ensures our data doesn't train public models. I use it primarily for generating the first draft of User Stories and Acceptance Criteria based on my interview notes. For data cleaning, ChatGPT’s Advanced Data Analysis feature is incredible for Python-based cleaning, but if you're on a public plan, you must anonymize your data first. Removing PII (Personally Identifiable Information) before uploading is a must, but it still saves me hours of manual formatting and VLOOKUPs.

   Answered 2025-02-12 by Rebecca Foster

Rebecca, regarding that private Azure instance, was the implementation process difficult for a non-IT person to initiate? I’m struggling to convince my management that the efficiency gains outweigh the setup complexity. Did you have to present a specific cost-benefit analysis or a proof-of-concept to get them to bite on the enterprise-grade security features?

   Answered 2025-02-15 by Kevin Bryant

• Kevin, I actually started by showing them how much time I was losing. I tracked my manual "cleanup" hours for two weeks and presented it as a lost opportunity cost. Once they saw I was spending 15 hours a week on tasks a $20/mo tool could do, they were more open to the IT department setting up a secure sandbox. It’s all about speaking the language of ROI to the stakeholders, as that's what usually moves the needle for budget approvals.

     Commented 2025-02-17 by Rebecca Foster

I use a tool called Otter.ai for stakeholder meetings. It transcribes everything so I don't have to take notes, allowing me to focus entirely on the conversation.

   Answered 2025-02-20 by Brian Douglas

• Brian is spot on. Being able to go back and search for a specific "requirement" in a transcript rather than relying on handwritten notes has saved me from countless follow-up emails.

     Commented 2025-02-21 by Kimberly Evans