BA Discovery Cockpit — Guided Workflow

1 Surface — Iceberg Scan Move from what was said to what's really going on

▲ Above Surface — What They Said

Probe:

▼ Below Surface — What's Really Going On

Probe:

Layer 1:

Layer 2:

Layer 3:

📖 Reference — Iceberg Mindset & 5 Whys

4 Mindset Shifts (Session 1)

Judge → Curious Suspend judgment. Ask before assuming.

Fix → Understand Don't jump to solutions. Explore the problem space.

Surface → Deep Look past the feature request to the real need.

Tell → Ask The stakeholder has the answers — your job is to draw them out.

5 Whys Cascade

"I need a dashboard" → Why? → "To see metrics" → Why? → "To track performance" → Why? → "To report to my boss" → Why? → "To prove my team's value" → Why? → "To secure next year's budget"

Probe Questions to Use

“Tell me more about why this feature?” “What happens if this isn't solved?” “Who else is affected?” “What have you tried before?” “Why now?” “What does success look like?”

2 Self — Stance Diagnosis Recognize your communication stance and shift toward congruent

My dominant stance this session:

Trigger:

Pattern:

Target:

Shift:

📖 Reference — The 5 Stances & Shifting

The 5 Stances (Session 4)

Stance	Behavior	Cost
Placating	I agree to avoid conflict	Resentment builds, real issues stay hidden
Blaming	I point fingers to assert control	Trust erodes, defensiveness rises
Super Reasonable	I hide behind logic & data	Connection lost, feels cold/distant
Irrelevant	I distract to avoid discomfort	Nothing gets resolved, wastes time
Congruent	I stay authentic & present	Vulnerability — but builds real trust

Stance Shifting Approach

Recognize your stance → Pause & breathe → Choose a congruent alternative → Shift intentionally

Congruent Alternatives

Instead of placating: "I hear you, and I also want to share a concern..." Instead of blaming: "Let's look at what happened and what we can learn." Instead of super reasonable: "I have the data, but more importantly — how does this feel to you?" Instead of irrelevant: "This is uncomfortable, and I think we need to stay with it."

3 Depth — 7 Levels Reverse Map Start from vision, work down to the feature request

Vision & Identity

"Where is this company/team heading?"

Business Value

"What is the impact on the bottom line?"

Core Need

"What worries you most if this remains unsolved?"

Expectations

"What does success look like? How will you measure it?"

Perception & Assumptions

"Why do you believe this is the right solution?"

Pain & Frustration

"What happened that made this urgent now?"

Behavior (Feature Request)

"What specifically was asked for?"

💡 Start from L7 (Vision) → work down to L1 (Feature). The real need is always deeper.

📖 Reference — The 7 Levels of Needs

The Pyramid (Session 2) Key Insight

The feature request (L1) is almost never the real need. Your job is to reverse-map: start at L7 Vision and ask "What would need to be true at each level for this Vision to be realized?" The answer at L5 is your real discovery target.

Key Questions by Level

L7: "Who do you want to become?" L6: "What's the business impact?" L5: "What worries you most?" L4: "What does success look like?" L3: "Why this solution?" L2: "What triggered this now?" L1: "What exactly was asked?"

4 Structure — MHUI Discovery Explore the 4 dimensions of every stakeholder problem

M Masalah — Problem / Root Cause

▸

H Harapan — Real Expectations

▸

U Usaha — Audit of Prior Attempts

▸

I Ide — Consultative Solution

▸

📖 Reference — MHUI Framework & Probes

The 4 Dimensions (Session 3)

M — Masalah Problem mapping & root cause. Map the issue, its origin, who's affected, and the cost of inaction.

H — Harapan Real expectations. Distinguish must-have from nice-to-have. Define success criteria and timeline drivers.

U — Usaha Prior attempt audit. What was tried, what worked/didn't, what lessons were learned, at what cost.

I — Ide Consultative solution. Based on all findings, what's the best path? What alternatives exist? How to validate?

Adapted 5 Whys for BA

Instead of asking why five times mechanically, use each "why" to move through the MHUI dimensions:
M: Why is this happening? → H: Why does success look like that? → U: Why did previous attempts fail? → I: Why would this approach be different?

5 Synthesize & Act Capture observations, extract insights, commit to next steps

💬 Observe — Key Quotes & Dynamics

Tensions & contradictions:

Energy:

Trust:

Pressure:

Hidden:

💡 Discover — Top Insights

What is the one thing I must not forget?

📋 Decide — Next Steps

☐

Next Q:

📖 Reference — What to Look For

Observation Cues

Energy Shifts When did they light up? When did they shut down? That's where the real issues are.

Mismatches Words say one thing, body language says another. Trust the non-verbal.

Repetition What they keep coming back to — that's usually the real concern.

Avoidance What they steer away from — that's the pain point they're not ready to name.

Synthesis Reminder

Your insights from Phases 1-4 should now converge here. The Iceberg gave you the hidden layer. The Stance check kept you congruent. The 7 Levels gave you depth. The MHUI gave you structure. Now — what's the story?

🔥 Ready for self-reflection? Complete the key fields above, then unlock the Coaching Insights section.

★ Coaching Insights For the BA — not for the client. Reflect on your own growth.

📈 Session Self-Assessment

Iceberg Scan

Stance Awareness

7 Levels Depth

MHUI Structure

Synthesis

📝 Reflection Log

What was hardest for me this session?

What stance did I default to most?

One thing to focus on next session:

📜 Growth Snapshot

Your path from Scribe → Consultant. Track your progress across sessions.

🔗 View your full Mindset Journey →

✍ BA Discovery Cockpit

📄 Discovery Brief