Information Gathering

Methods

Pearson Education, Inc.

Interactive Methods to Elicit
Human Information Requirements
1.Interviewing
2.Questionnaires
3.Observing
4.Studying business documents
5.Joint Application Design (JAD)
Major Topics
• Interviewing
• Interview preparation
• Question types
• Arranging questions
• The interview report
• Questionnaires
• Writing questions
• Using scales
• Design
• Administering
• Joint Application Design (JAD)
• Involvement
• Location
Interviewing

• Interviewing is an important method for

collecting data on human and system
information requirements.
• Interviews reveal information about:
• Interviewee opinions
• Interviewee feelings
• Goals (Personal and Organizational)
Interview Preparation

1.Reading background material

2.Establishing interview objectives
3.Deciding whom to interview
4.Preparing the interviewee
5.Deciding on question types and
structure
Question Types

• Open-ended
• Closed
Open-Ended Questions

• Open-ended interview questions allow

interviewees to respond how they wish,
and to what length they wish.
• Open-ended interview questions are
appropriate when the analyst is
interested in breadth and depth of
reply.
Open-Ended Questions
Examples:
• What are users saying about the new
systems?
• What added features would you like to
have in the new billing system?
• Why is this task important?
• Probing further: Is there anything else
you can tell me about this topic?
Advantages of
Open-Ended Questions
• Puts the interviewee at ease
• Allows the interviewer to pick up on
the interviewee’s vocabulary
• Provides richness of detail
• Reveals avenues of further
questioning that may have gone
untapped
Advantages of Open-Ended
Questions (Continued)
• Provides more interest for the
interviewee
• Allows more spontaneity
• Makes phrasing easier for the
interviewer
Disadvantages of
Open-Ended Questions
• May result in too much irrelevant detail
• Possibly losing control of the interview
• May take too much time for the amount
of useful information gained
• Possibly giving the impression that the
interviewer is on a “fishing expedition”
Closed Interview Questions

• limits the number of possible responses.

• appropriate for generating precise,
reliable data that is easy to analyze.
• efficient, and requires little skill for
interviewers to administer.
Closed-Ended Questions
Examples:
• How many personal computers do you
have in this department?
• Is the calculation procedure described
in the manual?
• How many customers ordered products
from the website last month?
Benefits of
Closed Interview Questions
• Saving interview time
• Easily comparing interviews
• Easily gets to the point
• Keeping control of the interview
• Covering a large area quickly
• Easily gets to relevant data
Disadvantages of
Closed Interview Questions
• Boring for the interviewee
• Failure to obtain rich detailing
• Missing main ideas
• Failing to build rapport between
interviewer and interviewee
Attributes of Open-Ended and Closed Questions
Bipolar Questions

• Bipolar questions are those that may be

answered with a “yes” or “no” or
“agree” or “disagree” or “true” or
“false”
• Bipolar questions should be used
sparingly.
Probes (Follow-up Questions)

• Probing questions elicit more detail

about previous questions.
• The purpose of probing questions is:
• To get more meaning
• To clarify
• To draw out and expand on the
interviewee’s point
• May be either open-ended or closed
Probes (Examples)

1.Why? (strongest probe)

2.What makes you feel that way?
3.You mentioned both an intranet and an
extranet solution. Please give an
example of how you think each differs?
Arranging Questions

• Pyramid
• Starting with closed questions and working toward
open-ended questions
• Funnel
• Starting with open-ended questions and working
toward closed questions
• Diamond
• Starting with closed, moving toward open-ended,
and ending with closed questions
Pyramid Structure

• Begins with very detailed, often closed

questions
• Expands by allowing open-ended
questions and more generalized
responses
• Is useful if interviewees need to be
warmed up to the topic or seem
reluctant to address the topic
Funnel Structure

• Begins with generalized, open-ended

questions
• Concludes by narrowing the possible
responses using closed questions
• Provides an easy, non threatening way
to begin an interview
• Is useful when the interviewee feels
emotionally about the topic and needs
freedom to express those emotions
Diamond Structure

• A diamond-shaped structure begins in a

very specific way.
• In the middle, more general issues are
examined
• Concludes with specific questions
• Combines the strength of both the
pyramid and funnel structures
• Takes longer than the other structures
Guidelines for Effective Interviewing

• Plan the interview.

• Prepare interviewees: appointment, priming
questions.
• Prepare agenda, checklist, questions.
• Listen carefully and take notes (voice record
if permitted).
• Review notes within 48 hours.
• Be neutral.
• Seek diverse views.
Interviewing Groups
• Interviewing several key people together
• Advantages
• More efficient use of time
• Can hear agreements and disagreements at
once
• Opportunity for synergies
• Disadvantages
• More difficult to schedule than individual
interviews
Interviewing Groups
• Drawbacks to individual interviews:
• Contradictions and inconsistencies between
interviewees
• Follow-up discussions are time consuming
• New interviews may reveal new questions
that may require additional interviews with
those interviewed earlier
Closing the Interview
1.Always ask “Is there anything else that
you would like to add?”
2.Summarize and provide feedback on
your impressions.
3.Ask whom you should talk with next.
4.Set up any future appointments.
5.Thank them for their time and shake
hands.
Interview Report
• Write as soon as possible after the
interview.
• Provide an initial summary, then more
detail.
• Review the report with the respondent.
Plan the use of Questionnaires if:

1.Organization members are widely

dispersed.
2.Too many members are involved with
the project.
3.When Exploratory work is needed.
4.Problem solving prior to interview is
necessary.
Question Types
Questions are designed as either:
• Open-ended
• Try to anticipate the response you will get.
• Well suited for getting opinions.
• Closed
• Use when all the options may be listed.
• When the options are mutually exclusive.
Tradeoffs between the Use of Open-Ended and
Closed Questions on Questionnaires
Questionnaire Language

• Simple
• Specific
• Short
• Free of bias
• Addressed to those who are knowledgeable
• Technically accurate
• Appropriate for the reading level of the
respondent
Measurement Scales

• Scaling is the process of assigning

numbers or other symbols to an attribute
or characteristic for the purpose of
measuring that attribute or characteristic.
• The two different forms of measurement
scales are:
• Nominal
• Interval
Nominal Scales

• Nominal scales are used to classify

things.
• Data can be totaled
What type of software do you use the most?
1 = Word Processor
2 = Spreadsheet
3 = Database
4 = An Email Program
Interval Scales

• An interval scale is used when the intervals

are equal.
• There is no absolute zero.
• Examples of interval scales include the
Fahrenheit or Centigrade scale
How useful is the support given by the Technical
Support Group?
NOT USEFUL
EXTREMELY
AT ALL
USEFUL
1 2 3 4 5
Designing the Questionnaire

• Allow ample white space.

• Allow ample space to write or type in
responses.
• Make it easy for respondents to clearly
mark their answers.
• Be consistent in style.
Guidelines for Ordering Questions

• Place most important questions first.

• Cluster items of similar content
together.
• Introduce less controversial questions
first.
Methods of Administering the
Questionnaire
• Convening all concerned respondents
together at one time
• Personally administering the
questionnaire
• Allowing respondents to self-administer
the questionnaire
• Mailing questionnaires
• Administering over the Web or via email
Electronically Submitting
Questionnaires
• Reduced costs
• Collect and store the results
electronically

Ex: Google Forms

Directly Observing Users

• Watching users do their jobs

• Obtaining more firsthand and objective
measures of employee interaction with
information systems
• Can cause people to change their
normal operating behavior
• Time-consuming and limited time to
observe
Analyzing Procedures and
Other Documents
• Review of existing business documents
• Can give a historical and “formal” view of
system requirements
Analyzing Procedures and
Other Documents
• Useful Documents:
• Written Work procedure
• Business Forms
• Reports
• Information Systems Manuals/documents
*Analyzing Procedures and
Other Documents (Cont.)
• Types of information to be discovered:
• Problems with existing system
• Opportunity to meet new need
• Organizational direction
• Names of key individuals
• Values of organization
• Special information processing circumstances
• Reasons for current system design
• Rules for processing data
 Analyzing Procedures and
Other Documents (Cont.)
• Useful document: Written work procedure
• For an individual or work group
• Describes how a particular job or task is
performed
• Includes data and information used and
created in the process
Analyzing Procedures and Other
Documents (Cont.)
• Potential Problems with Procedure
Documents:
• May involve duplication of effort.
• May have missing procedures.
• May be out of date.
• May contradict information obtained
through interviews.
Analyzing Procedures and
Other Documents (Cont.)
• Useful document: Business forms
• Used for all types of business functions
• Explicitly indicate what data flow in and out
of a system and data necessary for the
system to function
• Gives crucial information about the nature
of the organization
An example of a business
form—An invoice form for
QuickBooks, from
jnk.btobsource.com. Reprinted
by permission.
Source:
http://jnk.btobsource.com/
NASApp/enduser/products/pro
duct_
detail.jsp?pc513050M#
Analyzing Procedures and
Other Documents (Cont.)
• Useful document: Report
• Primary output of current system
• Enables you to work backwards from the
report to the data needed to generate it
• Useful document: Description of current
information system
*Contemporary Method for Determining
System Requirements
• Joint Application Design (JAD)
• A methodology that involves the client or
end-user in the design and development of
an application, through a succession of
collaborative workshops called JAD
sessions.
• Brings together key users, managers, and
systems analysts
• Purpose: collect system requirements
simultaneously from key people
Joint Application Design (JAD)

• Intensive group-oriented requirements

determination technique
• Team members meet in isolation for an
extended period of time
• Highly focused
• Resource intensive
• Started by IBM in 1970s
Joint Application Design (JAD)

• Joint Application Design (JAD) can

replace a series of interviews with the
user community.
• JAD is a technique that allows the
analyst to accomplish requirements,
analysis and design the user interface
with the users in a group setting.
Who Is Involved

• Executive sponsor
• IS analyst
• Users
• Session Leader
• Observers
• Scribe (Secretary)
Conditions that Support the Use
of JAD
1.Users are restless and want something
new.
2.The organizational culture supports
joint problem-solving behaviors.
3.Analysts forecast an increase in the
number of ideas using JAD.
4.Organizational workflow permits the
absence of personnel during jad
sessions.
Benefits of JAD

1.Time is saved, compared with

traditional interviewing
2.Rapid development of systems
3.Improved user ownership of the
system
4.Creative idea production is improved
Drawbacks of Using JAD

1.JAD requires a large block of time to be

available for all session participants.
2.If preparation or the follow-up report is
incomplete, the session may not be
successful.
3.The organizational skills and culture
may not be conducive to a JAD session.
JAD (Cont.)

Illustration of the typical room layout for a JAD

Source: Based on Wood and Silver, 1995