Asking the right questions: inside Klaudia Swierkot’s role at Spyrosoft

A good question can change the direction of a project. For Klaudia Swierkot, Senior Business Analyst at Spyrosoft, knowing which questions to ask is at the heart of the role.

With more than seven years’ experience across enterprise and automotive products, Klaudia helps teams understand what users need, bring different perspectives together, and find clarity before development begins.

Klaudia’s days are filled with collaboration, curiosity, and the occasional change of plan – often after a ‘quick question’ pops up on Teams. She takes us through a typical day working on OS Maps and shares what her role is really like.

Starting the day: plans, coffee, and changing priorities

As usual, I plan to be at the office by 9:00, enjoying a coffee with my colleagues.

Instead, at 9:00, I’m getting on my bike.

Tomorrow will be different. Probably.

Once I arrive, I grab a coffee and check Teams, Jira, and my emails. Working with colleagues in different locations means there’s usually something waiting for me. Sometimes it’s a straightforward question. At other times, one look at Teams tells me that the day’s priorities have already changed.

My first meeting is a daily catch-up with the project managers and tech leads. We review progress across the teams, discuss what’s coming next, and, most importantly, identify anything that is blocked and needs attention.

It’s also my first opportunity to find out whether the plan I made half an hour earlier still holds.

Understanding the problem before solving it

A large part of being a business analyst is asking the right questions.

A feature may sound simple at first. Before I document the requirements, however, I need to understand why we’re building it, who needs it, and how it should work in less obvious scenarios.
Often, the most useful question is simply, “What happens if…?”

The answer frequently reveals more complexity than anyone expected.

I work closely with product owners and designers to turn an idea or user problem into a solution that the development teams can build. Together, we review the user flow, explore different scenarios, and check whether the proposed solution will work across the OS Maps platforms.

This is usually the point at which “it’s just a small feature” becomes a slightly larger piece of work.
And that’s before we get to the edge cases.

What if the user is logged out? What if they have a subscription? What if the feature already behaves differently on Web, iOS, and Android?

Identifying these dependencies before development begins can save a great deal of time later. It’s also why I keep asking, “But what if…?” even when everyone else is ready to move on.

From lunch negotiations to requirements

Then comes the most important decision of the day: what to have for lunch.

First, we have our daily debate about where to go and which part of the world’s cuisine to explore. Once negotiations are complete, I have lunch with colleagues from the office and enjoy 45 minutes away from Jira.

After lunch, it’s back to work.

Once the problem and proposed solution are clear enough, I translate them into requirements for the development teams. The challenge is to describe the expected behaviour precisely while leaving the technical implementation to the developers’ expertise.

This is one of the quieter parts of the day. Usually.

Where requirements meet reality

Because OS Maps, the project I lead, spans several platforms, a single refinement session is rarely enough. This is where requirements meet reality.

Developers challenge assumptions, highlight technical dependencies, and bring questions and perspectives that help us strengthen the solution. A seemingly small requirement can affect several applications or teams.

Sometimes refinement confirms the proposed approach. At other times, the discussion reveals a simpler way to solve the original problem.

And sometimes we identify another edge case.

Of course we do.

OS Maps is more than one application. A change may involve the Web, iOS, Android, Platform, Data, and other teams, sometimes all at once.

Part of my role is to connect these moving parts and make sure that one team’s change doesn’t break or contradict another part of the user experience.

At times, being a business analyst feels surprisingly similar to detective work, except that most of the evidence is hidden somewhere in Jira.

The “quick question” that is rarely quick

Towards the end of the day, I review my list, realise I’ve completed everything I planned, and briefly think that I might leave the office on time.

That’s when a Teams notification appears.

“Can you just quickly confirm how this should work?”

There is no such thing as a quick question for a Business Analyst.

Twenty minutes later, we’ve uncovered a dependency between several teams that wasn’t previously visible. My to-do list has grown again.

I update the requirements, follow up on outstanding questions, and prepare for the next day.

One of the things I value most about being a business analyst is working at the intersection of product and technology, solving problems with people from different disciplines, and watching ideas become features that people can use. And no two days are exactly the same.

Finally, I close Jira.
Until tomorrow!

The curiosity behind the role

For Klaudia, being a business analyst is about more than documenting requirements. It’s about staying curious, challenging assumptions, and asking questions that help teams see the bigger picture.

That curiosity doesn’t end when she closes Jira. Whether she’s uncovering hidden dependencies at work or building automations for her personal smart home project, she enjoys understanding how things work and finding ways to make them better.

Her story also offers a glimpse into life at Spyrosoft, where collaboration often means navigating changing priorities, sharing knowledge, and occasionally asking a “quick question” that turns into a much longer discussion.

As someone who often asks those quick questions, I may pause before sending the next one.

Interested in joining Spyrosoft? Visit our careers page to explore current opportunities and find a role that suits you.