Fabian von Karais · Business Analyst for digital products
Turning user needs and business goals into clear requirements.
I’m Fabian von Karais, Business Analyst at CENDAS. I translate requirements from practice, processes and data into functional concepts that development teams can work with – built on more than twelve years of UX experience.
Fabian von Karais
Business Analyst · CENDAS
Experience in UX & product development
12+ years
User interviews & usability tests
100+
Companies supported
10+
Industries, incl. construction, logistics, retail
6
Tools I use every day
Currently
Business Analyst at CENDAS
Since September 2026
CENDAS is a SaaS scale-up powered by Würth whose software digitalizes construction projects end to end. I analyze requirements from construction practice and translate them into functional concepts for new features – at the intersection of customer needs, business goals and technical implementation.
Why business analysis
Clarity before building makes the difference.
In my product projects, the biggest lever was rarely the interface but the work before it: a shared understanding of the problem, clearly described processes, measurable success criteria and traceable decisions. I took on more and more of this work – today it is my focus.
My UX experience remains my tool: I don’t just align requirements with stakeholders, I also test them with the people who use the product every day.
How I work
What makes my requirements robust
The craft – elicitation, modeling, alignment and validation – is the foundation. What makes the difference are four principles that have proven themselves in my projects.
01 · Outcome over output
First the outcome, then the requirement
Before I write requirements, I clarify what should measurably improve, and for whom. Success criteria and guardrails are set before anything is built – so we can check later whether a feature works.
02 · Context over meetings
Validate requirements in the real environment
Workshops show what stakeholders expect. On-site observation shows what really happens. That’s why I complement alignment sessions with shadowing and tests with the people who use the product.
03 · Complete business logic
Describe the edge cases, too
The happy path is specified quickly. Effort and risk lie in exceptions, states and dependencies – I make them explicit before development discovers them.
04 · Deliberate scope
Make decisions visible
Not everything belongs in the first step. I document what is prioritized or deliberately postponed, and why – so scope discussions rest on facts rather than memory.
Selected projects
The principles in practice
Process & requirements analysis · Retail
Consulting Center
Step-by-step evolution of a consultation-heavy sales tool in live operation: analyzed the consultation process, rebuilt the structure along real consultation phases and reduced the ordering process to a few unambiguous states.
Higher conversion rate · faster quotes · shorter onboarding
Read the Consulting Center case studyDiscovery & prioritization · Retail
Dig(g)A
A mobile assistant for sales-floor staff, built from scratch: requirements gathered right at the shelf, prioritized into lean delivery steps and rolled out in live operation.
Significantly shorter walking routes · faster answers in customer conversations · broad adoption on the sales floor
Read the Dig(g)A case studyResults of my work
What teams get from me
For product owners & development
Clear functional foundations that make it possible to estimate, slice and build.
For decision-makers
Clarity about which problem is being solved, what it is worth and how success is measured.
For the whole team
A shared picture of the process, the users and the decisions made.
Gathered through interviews, workshops, shadowing, usability tests and data analysis.
AI in my workflow
AI speeds up drafts. The judgment stays with me.
I use AI where it speeds up routine work – and stay accountable wherever professional judgment matters. It doesn’t replace solid elicitation, modeling and alignment; it frees up more time for them.
Artifacts
Custom skills for BA artifacts
An AI skill I built myself pre-structures use cases in Cockburn format, including business rules and acceptance criteria. I review, complete and finalize them.
Research
Condense insights faster
AI helps cluster interview notes and spot patterns. I do the interpretation and draw the conclusions myself.
Validation
Make requirements tangible early
With Lovable and Figma, clickable drafts come together quickly, so users and stakeholders can test requirements before development starts.
Analysis
Make sense of data and documents
Support with analyses, formulas and SQL, and with summarizing long domain documents and customer requests.
Next step
Let’s talk.
I’m in a permanent position and not looking for a new job – but I’m always happy to make time for a professional exchange on business analysis and requirements engineering.
Open to conversations
As a recruiter, hiring manager or fellow BA, I want to talk with Fabian so that we can find out whether and how we can benefit from each other.
Acceptance criteria
30 minutes, no strings attached
Book directly via Calendly
Or send a message on LinkedIn