System Analysis & Design Lecture 12 PDF

# System Analysis & Design ## Chapter 5: Requirements Determination ### Part 3: Requirements Gathering Techniques This presentation covers the different techniques for gathering requirements for system analysis and design. The techniques discussed include: - **Questionnaires** - **Document analy...

# System Analysis & Design ## Chapter 5: Requirements Determination ### Part 3: Requirements Gathering Techniques This presentation covers the different techniques for gathering requirements for system analysis and design. The techniques discussed include: - **Questionnaires** - **Document analysis** - **Observation** - **Selecting the appropriate technique** ## Questionnaires A questionnaire is a set of written questions used to obtain information from individuals. Questionnaires are often used when there are many people from whom information and opinions are needed. In our experience, questionnaires are a common technique with systems intended for use outside the organization. Examples of this are systems that are used by customers or vendors, or systems with business users spread across many geographic locations. Today more questionnaires are being distributed in electronic form, either via e-mail or on the web. Electronic distribution can save a significant amount of money as compared to distributing paper questionnaires. ### Sections of a Questionnaire #### 1. Selecting Participants - As with interviews and JAD sessions, the first step is to identify the individuals to whom the questionnaire will be sent. - However, it is not usual to select every person who could provide useful information. - The standard approach is to select a sample, or subset, of people who are representative of an entire group. - The important point in selecting a sample, however, is to realize that not everyone who receives a questionnaire will complete it. - On average, only 30 to 50 percent of paper and e-mail questionnaires are returned. - Response rates for Web-based questionnaires tend to be significantly lower (often only 5 to 30 percent). #### 2. Designing a Questionnaire - Designing a questionnaire is critical because the information on a questionnaire cannot be immediately clarified for a confused respondent. - Questions on questionnaires must be very clearly written and leave little room for misunderstanding. - This is why closed-ended questions are preferred. - Questions must clearly enable the analyst to separate facts from opinions. - **Opinion questions** often ask the respondent the extent to which they agree or disagree. For example: "Are network problems common?" - **Factual questions** seek more precise values. For example: "How often does a network problem occur: once an hour, once a day, once a week?" - Perhaps the most obvious issue, but one that is sometimes overlooked, is to have a clear understanding of how the information collected from the questionnaire will be analyzed and used. - This issue must be addressed before the questionnaire is distributed, because it is too late afterward. - Questions should be relatively consistent in style, so that the respondent does not have to read instructions for each question before answering it. - Some experts suggest that questionnaires should start with questions important to respondents. This ensures that the questionnaire immediately grabs their interest and induces them to answer it. - Perhaps the most important step is to have several colleagues review the questionnaire and then pretest it with a few people drawn from the groups to whom it will be sent. It is surprising how often seemingly simple questions can be misunderstood. #### 3. Administering the Questionnaire - The key issue in administering the questionnaire is getting participants to complete the questionnaire and send it back. - Commonly used techniques include: - Clearly explaining why the questionnaire is being conducted and why the respondent has been selected. - Stating a date by which the questionnaire is to be returned. - Offering an inducement to complete the questionnaire (e.g., a free pen). - Offering to supply a summary of the questionnaire responses. - Systems analysts have additional techniques to improve response rates inside the organization: - Personally handing out the questionnaire. - Personally contacting those who have not returned the questionnaire after a week or two. - Requesting the respondents' supervisors to administer the questionnaires in a group meeting. #### 4. Questionnaire Follow-up - It is helpful to process the returned questionnaires and develop a questionnaire report soon after the questionnaire deadline. - This ensures that the analysis process proceeds in a timely fashion and that respondents who requested copies of the results receive them promptly. ## Document Analysis - Project teams often use document analysis to understand the as-is system. - Under ideal circumstances, the project team that developed the existing system will have produced documentation, which was then updated by all subsequent projects. In this case, the project team can start by reviewing the documentation and examining the system itself. - Unfortunately, most systems are not well-documented because project teams fail to document their projects along the way. - When the projects are over, there is no time to go back and document. - Therefore, there may not be much technical documentation about the current systems available, or it may not contain updated information about recent system changes. - However, there are many helpful documents that do exist in an organization: - Paper reports - Memorandums - Policy manuals - User-training manuals - Organization charts - Forms - The user interface with the existing system. ## Observation - Observation, the act of watching processes being performed, is a powerful tool for gathering information about the as-is system. - It enables the analyst to see the reality of a situation rather than listening to others describe it in interviews or JAD sessions. - Several research studies have shown that many managers really do not remember how they work and how they allocate their time. - Observation is a good way to check the validity of information gathered from indirect sources such as interviews and questionnaires. - In many ways, the analyst walks through the organization and observes the business system as it functions. - The goal is to keep a low profile, to not interrupt those working, and to not influence those being observed. - Nonetheless, it is important to understand that what analysts observe may not be the normal day-to-day routine because people tend to be extremely careful in their behavior when they are being watched. - Observation is often used to supplement interview information. - The location of a person's office and its furnishings give clues as to the person's power and influence in the organization and can be used to support or refute information given in an interview. - In most cases, observation will support the information that users provide in interviews. - When it does not, it is an important signal that extra care must be taken in analyzing the business system. - In general, document analysis and observation require the least amount of training, whereas JAD sessions are the most challenging. ## Selecting the Appropriate Techniques - Each of the requirements-gathering techniques discussed earlier has strengths and weaknesses. - No one technique is always better than the others. - In practice, most projects use a combination of techniques. - Thus, it is important to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each technique and when to use each. ### Factors to Consider - **Type of information:** - Understanding the as-is system - Identifying improvements - Developing the to-be system - Interviews and JAD are commonly used for all three stages. - In contrast, document analysis and observation usually are most helpful for understanding the as-is. - Questionnaires are often used to gather information about the as-is system as well as general information about improvements. - **Depth of information:** - The depth of information refers to how rich and detailed the information is that the technique usually produces. - It also considers the extent to which the technique is useful for obtaining not only facts and opinions but also an understanding of why those facts and opinions exist. - Interviews and JAD sessions are very useful for providing a good depth of rich and detailed information and helping the analyst to understand the reasons behind them. - At the other extreme, document analysis and observation are useful for obtaining facts but little beyond that. - Questionnaires can provide a medium depth of information, soliciting both facts and opinions with little understanding of why they exist. - **Breadth of information:** - Refers to the range of information and information sources that can be easily collected using the chosen technique. - Questionnaires and document analysis are both easily capable of soliciting a wide range of information from many information sources. - In contrast, interviews and observation require the analyst to visit each information source individually and, therefore, take more time. - JAD sessions are in the middle because many information sources are brought together at the same time. - **Integration of information:** - One of the most challenging aspects of requirements gathering is the integration of information from different sources. - Simply put, different people can provide conflicting information. - Combining this information and attempting to resolve differences in opinions or facts is usually very time consuming because it means contacting each information source in turn, explaining the discrepancy, and attempting to refine the information. - All techniques suffer integration problems to some degree but JAD sessions are designed to improve integration because all information is integrated when it is collected, not afterwards. - This is why most organizations use JAD for important projects. - **User involvement:** - Refers to the amount of time and energy the intended users of the new system must devote to the analysis process. - It is generally agreed that as users become more involved in the analysis process, the chance of success increases. - Questionnaires, document analysis, and observation place the least burden on users, whereas JAD sessions require the greatest effort. - **Cost:** - Cost is always an important consideration. - In general, questionnaires, document analysis, and observation are low-cost techniques (although observation can be quite time consuming). - Interviews and JAD sessions generally have moderate costs. - In general, JAD sessions are much more expensive initially because they require many users to be absent from their offices for significant periods of time. - They often involve highly paid consultants. ### Combining Techniques - In practice, requirements gathering combines a series of different techniques. - Most analysts start by using interviews with senior manager(s) to gain an understanding of the project and the big-picture issues. - These interviews are often followed with analysis of documents and policies to gain some understanding of the as-is system. - Usually, interviews come next to gather the rest of the information needed for the as-is picture. - In our experience, identifying improvements is most done using JAD sessions because the JAD session enables the users and key stakeholders to work together through an analysis technique and come to a shared understanding of the possibilities for the to-be system. - Occasionally, these JAD sessions are followed by questionnaires sent to a much wider set of users or potential users to see whether the opinions of those who participated in the JAD sessions are widely shared. ## Summary This presentation covered the following for requirements gathering: - Questionnaires - Document analysis - Observation - Selecting the appropriate techniques