The starting point for any change is an understanding of why the change is needed. Potential change is triggered by problems or opportunities that cannot be addressed without altering the current state. Business analysts work to help stakeholders enable change by exploring and articulating the business needs that drive the desire to change. Without clearly understood business needs, it is impossible to develop a coherent strategy, and the resulting change initiative is almost certain to be driven by a mix of conflicting stakeholder demands.
Change always occurs in a context of existing stakeholders, processes, technology, and policies which constitute the current state of the enterprise. Business analysts examine the current state in the context of the business need to understand what may influence proposed changes, and what will be affected by them. The current state is explored in just enough detail to validate the need for a change and/or the change strategy.
Understanding the current state of the enterprise prior to the change is necessary to identify what will need to change to achieve a desired future state and how the effect of the change will be assessed.