And one thing that usually is cheap - as an architect - is putting yourself into the other's shoes. understand them, their lingo, their model their immediate context (cash flows, promotion, trends, cultural signifiers, business vision, their own career dreams) ... it's the interface you need to be able to actually model the problem.

There’s at least overlap with needs but also what their biggest pain points are currently. One way I’ve often heard it put is sell aspirin not vitamins.