We do not need business analysts – the users can define their own requirements Despite this position, a common statement in the agile community, the business analyst position and role is not going away. Perhaps members of a solution team can meet across a table with the users directly and garner the requirements from them. That implies the following:

The users know what the problem they are solving is,
The users know what the information system requirements are that will solve their problem,
The solution team technicians can understand the entire business process when many process workers only understand their part of the business process,
The people sitting at that table are able to gauge the impact of the changes they are introducing on other constituencies in the business,
The people at the table collectively can determine the actual increase in value to the organization by making this change.
The people at the table know enough about the entire organization to understand the related impacts to other departments and units in the business and adjust a solution accordingly

When all of these conditions are met, the results of the development will satisfy the business community, add value to the organization, and not cause a negative impact elsewhere. This is not impossible, or even improbable. Such a meeting might require a moderator or facilitator to assist the business and solution team to understand the problem and come to the valid solution. That moderator or facilitator is the business analyst. Eventually it might be possible for a group of department level business people to meet a group of developers and clearly and completely define the solution to a business problem such that the developers can implement the solution to the organization’s satisfaction. At that point the business analyst is no longer needed in that meeting. Then the business analyst can move on to more fulfilling activities such as defining improvements to the business processes.  ¶ 6:41 AM