REQUIRED DISCOVERY PART II CHAPTER 7 REQUIRED DISCOVERY PART II

Fact Finding Techniques Characteristics for good system analyst; Impertinence – you should question everything Impartiality – your role is to find the best solution to a business problem opportunity. Relax constraints – assume that everything is possible & eliminate the infeasible Attention to details – every fact must fit with every other fact Reframing – analysis is in part a creative process.

Interview Def : planned meeting during which you obtain information from another person. One must have the skill needed to plan, conduct & document interviews successfully. Interviews can be used, to achieve any of these goals; Find facts Verify facts Clarify facts Generate enthusiasm Get the end user involvement Identify requirements Solicit ideas & opinions.

Interview There are 2 roles assumed in an interview; Interviewer System analyst is the interviewer, responsible for organizing & conducting the interview. Interviewee System user / owner is the interviewee, who is asked to respond to a series of questions.

Advantages of Interview Gives the analyst an opportunity to motivate the interviewee to respond freely & openly to questions. Allow the system analyst to probe for more feedback from the interviewee. Permits the system analyst to adopt or reword questions for each individual. Give the analyst the opportunity to observe the interviewees nonverbal communication. (body movement & facial expression)

Disadvantages of Interview Time consuming & therefore costly fact-finding approach. Success of interviews is highly depends on the system analyst’s human relation skills. Interviewing may be practical due to the location of interviewees.

Interview types & techniques 2 types of interviews; Unstructured interviews – conducted with only a general goal or subject in mind & few specific questions. Relies on the interviewee to provide a framework & direct the conversation. Structured interviews – interviewer has a specific set of questions to ask the interviewee.

Interview Process Step 1: determine the people to interview Your knowledge of the company’s formal & informal structures helps you determine the people to interview during the system’s analysis phase. Step 2: Establish objectives for the interview Determine the general area to be discussed & list down the facts that you want to gather. Ask for ideas, suggestions & opinions during the session By setting specific objectives, you create a framework that helps you decide what questions to ask & how to phrase the questions. Step 3: Develop interview questions Helps you to keep on track & not deviate from the topic

Interview Process Types of questions; Range-of-response questions Open-ended questions Encourage spontaneous & unstructured responses. Useful when you want to understand a larger process, or to get interviewee’s opinions, attitudes or suggestions. Ex; how is this task performed?, why you perform the task this way? Closed-ended questions Limits or restricts the response. Useful when you want specific information or when you need to verify facts. ex; do you check the report daily?, how many computers is there in this department? Range-of-response questions Closed ended questions that asks a person to evaluate something Ex; rate your performance from the scale of 1 to 5

Interview Process Step 4: prepare for the interview Interview question guideline; Use clear & concise language Do not include your opinion as part of the question Avoid long or complex questions Avoid threatening questions Do not use “you” when you mean a group of people. Step 4: prepare for the interview Schedule day, time, venue for the interview & keep the interviewee informed about the interview. Interview guide – a list of specific questions the interviewer will ask the interviewee & time allocated for each question. Avoid : loaded questions, leading questions & biased questions

Interview Process Step 5: conduct the interview Begin by introducing yourself, describing the project & explaining your interview objectives. 3 ways to begin; Summarize the problem, & explain how the problem was discovered. Offer an incentive or reward for participation Ask the interviewee for advice / assistance Engaged listening – concentrate on what is being said & take notice of the nonverbal communication

Interview Process Do Avoid Be polite Continuing the interview unnecessarily Listen carefully Assuming an answer is finished / leading nowhere Maintain control Reveling verbal & non-verbal clues Probe Using jargon Observe mannerism & nonverbal communication Revealing your personal biases Be patient Talking instead of listening Keep interviewee at ease Assuming anything about the topic / interviewee Maintain self control Tape recording (a sign of poor listening)

Interview Process Guideline to conduct interview; Approach the session with a positive attitude Set the other person at ease Let them know you are listening Ask questions Do not assume anything Take notes Gives an impression that what he/she says is very important to you Helps you to remember the major points.

Interview Process Step 6: Document the interview Set aside time for you to record the facts & evaluate the information Tape recorders are effective but you should discuss its use with the interviewee. After interview, send a memo thanking the interviewee for his time & coorperation including a written summary on what has been discussed.

Interview Process Step 7: evaluate the interview Try to identify any possible biases Some interviewees might answer your question in an attempt to be helpful although they don’t have the necessary experience to provide accurate information.

Questionnaires & survey Questionnaire is also called survey; is a document containing a number of standard questions that can be sent to many individuals. Types of questions; Free format questions – subjective way where respondent records the answer in space provided. Fixed format questionnaires – objective way where respondents selects a predefined answer from the list. Multiple choice questions Rating questions Ranking questions

Advantages & Disadvantages of questionnaires Faster way in getting response Inexpensive means of gathering data from large group Allows respondent to maintain anonymity. Responses can be tabulated & analyzed quickly. Disadvantages Number of respondents is often low No guarantee that an individual will answer & expand on all the questions Questionnaires tend to be inflexible No way to observe non verbal communication Good questionnaires are hard to prepare.

Developing Questionnaires Guidelines to follow; Keep the questionnaires brief & user friendly Provide clear instructions that will answer all anticipated questions Arrange the questions in logical order, from easy to complex Use simple words & terms Try not to lead the response Limit the use of open ended questions Avoid questions that raises job security / other negative issues Include a section at the end of the questionnaire for general comments Test the questions on a small group before actually using it.

Comparison between observation & interview Characteristics Observation Document Review Information richness High low Time Extensive Low to moderate Cost Follow up / probing Good Limited Confidentially Moderate Moderate to high

Fact finding strategy Steps in fact finding strategies are; Learn all you can from existing document, forms & files. Observe the system in action Using the collected facts, design & distribute questionnaires to clear up things you don’t understand. Conduct your interviews Build discovery prototypes for any functional requirements that are not understood / to be validated. Follow up

Documenting Requirements Keeping accurate records of interviews, facts, ideas & observations is essential to successful systems development The need for recording facts ? Importance of single item can be overlooked or complex system may be forgotten! Principles to record facts; Record information as soon as you got it Record it in such a way that others may understand it too Organize your documents so that related material can be located easily.

Documenting Requirements Software tools – many software programs are available to help you to record & document information such as; CASE tools Can use at every stage of system development Word processing Helps to create reports, summaries, tables & forms. Spreadsheet Helps to track & manage numerical data or financial information Can generate graphs & charts that displays data & show possible pattern

Documenting Requirements Databases Allows you to manage information about events, observations & samples Presentation graphics Powerful tool for organizing & developing your formal presentation. Allows you to create charts to be used in modeling. Personal Information managers (PIM) Analyst needs to keep track of meetings, interviews, appointments & deadlines in advance. Use hand held computer & programs like microsoft outlook.