The MOST Interesting Requirement I got in my BA Career

"Our Color Management System should support the pizza delivery approach".

I was truly baffled. I received a very unusual requirement from a stakeholder, “Our Color Management System should support Pizza delivery approach”.

What has paint manufacturing got to do with pizza delivery?

My client didn’t make Pizzas. It is into the manufacturing of paint.

However, while discussing with the stakeholder, I understood a very interesting story behind the requirement.

“L N, do you like pizza?” “Of course”.

“But do you make Pizzas at home?”

“I did try once but it turned out to be a biscuit instead of Pizza”.

“Exactly, many people love Pizza, but they don’t make Pizza at home. When they try to make Pizza at home, it doesn’t come out very well. Hence, most people order Pizza by phone, or online, and it gets delivered at their doorsteps. They order pizza to their taste, such as with single cheese, double cheese, or with extra toppings".

Our stakeholders also need exactly the same convenience - Get colors of their choice. Currently, they are buying ingredients from us. They are mixing it to make a color. In this process, they often make mistakes, and the blame comes on us, the ingredient maker.

So, instead of selling them ingredients, if we could actually make the finished product and get delivered to them, they will be very happy and will be willing to pay more. Paint quality will be better. We will also make better margins as well.

The requirement made so much sense to me.

This was so fundamental to the way the client ran its business.

Moving from selling ingredients to selling finished products on demand.

Not that selling paint can follow the very same approach as pizza delivery as there are safety regulations.

But with proper safety mechanisms in place, this may be possible in the future.

What are some of the most interesting requirements you received as a Business Analyst?

You can read many more such interesting stories in my book Stories for Trainers.