Guides · free
Free BA guides, with worked banking examples.
Ten guides, a 30-day plan, a cheat sheet and three practice cases. Most are worked through on a mock UK bank, so you see the finished document, not just the theory.
Ten guides
Read one before your next workshop.
- Guide
BRD or user stories? How to choose, and when to use both
When a business requirements document fits, when stories fit, and how to combine them.
Read the guide → - Guide
The traceability matrix that's still useful after sign-off
A six-row matrix with a source column and a check for gaps.
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UAT test scripts business users can run
How to write steps and expected results that someone outside the project can follow.
Read the guide → - Guide
Acceptance criteria a tester and an owner will both sign
Rewrite vague criteria into ones testers and owners both accept, with Given/When/Then.
Read the guide → - Guide
Requirement types explained, and when to use each one
Business, stakeholder and solution requirements, rules, constraints, stories and test scenarios, each with when to use it.
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Find out who really decides, in week one
Build a map in week one and find out who actually decides.
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BA interview questions
The questions UK financial-services interviews ask, and how to answer with evidence.
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What not to paste into an AI tool on a regulated change
What not to paste, how to check output against sources, and who decides.
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Automation bias: why reviewers rubber-stamp AI answers, and how to stop
A blind-first review step and a short checklist, so the AI's answer does not become yours by default.
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Writing requirements for an AI agent
Scope, permissions, stop rules and tests for an agent, worked on a payments repair queue.
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Free downloads
Free sample: a filled project status report (Word)
One completed example from Complete, on a fictional project. No email needed.
Filled traceability matrix (Excel)
The Northgate example with sources, decisions, tests, a change log and the gap checks built in.
Interview practice: three AI-played stakeholders
A case, a ready-made prompt for any AI tool you are allowed to use, a write-up template and a debrief. The AI plays the stakeholders, so expect it to be more agreeable and more consistent than real people, and to carry biases from its training; use it to practise your questions, not to predict how real stakeholders behave.
Free PDF: The First 30 Days on a New BA Assignment
A week-by-week plan for your first month. Free PDF, no sign-up needed.
Free BA Quick Reference Cheat Sheet
One reference for everyday BA work. A separate download: Payhip asks for your email address to send it.
Payments mapping case: two rules that can't both be true.
Find the conflict before build.
Service-desk case: should every request close after seven days?
Write your questions, then compare them with a senior BA’s.
