Topic3 Information Gathering.pptx

INFORMATION GATHERING Systems Analysis and Design, Chapters 4 & 5 Kendall & Kendall Weeks 4& 5  Kendall & Kendall OBJECTIVES  Recognize the value of interactive methods for information gathering  Construct interview questions to elicit hu...

INFORMATION GATHERING Systems Analysis and Design, Chapters 4 & 5 Kendall & Kendall Weeks 4& 5  Kendall & Kendall OBJECTIVES  Recognize the value of interactive methods for information gathering  Construct interview questions to elicit human information requirements  Structure interviews in a way that is meaningful to users  Understand the concept of JAD and when to use it  Write effective questions to survey users about their work  Design and administer effective questionnaires 2 INTERACTIVE METHODS TO ELICIT Kendall & Kendall HUMAN INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS  Interviewing  Joint application design (JAD)  questionnaires 3  Kendall & Kendall MAJOR TOPICS  Interviewing  Interview preparation  Question types  Arranging Questions  The interview report  Joint Application Design (JAD)  Involvement  location  Questionnaires  Writing questions  Using Scales  Design  Administering 4  Kendall & Kendall INTERVIEWING  Interviewing is an important method for collecting data on human and system information requirements  Interviews reveal information about:  Interviewee opinions  Interviewee feelings  Goals  Key HCI concerns 5  Kendall & Kendall INTERVIEW PREPARATION  Reading background material  Establishing interview objectives  Deciding whom to interview  Preparing the interviewee  Deciding on question types and structure 6  Kendall & Kendall QUESTION TYPES  Open-ended  Closed 7  Kendall & Kendall 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 8 ADVANTAGES OF OPEN-ENDED Kendall & Kendall 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 been unquestioned 9 ADVANTAGES OF OPEN-ENDED Kendall & Kendall QUESTIONS (CONTINUED) Provides more interest for the interviewee Makes phrasing easier for the interviewer Useful if the interviewer is unprepared 10 DISADVANTAGES OF OPEN-ENDED Kendall & Kendall 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  Potentially seeming that the interviewer is unprepared 11  Kendall & Kendall CLOSED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS  Closed interview questions limit the number of possible responses  Closed interview questions are appropriate for generating precise, reliable data that is easy to analyze  The methodology is efficient, and it requires little skill for interviewers to administer 12 BENEFITS OF CLOSED INTERVIEW Kendall & Kendall QUESTIONS  Saving interview time  Easily comparing interviews  Getting to the point and relevant data  Keeping control of the interview  Covering a large area quickly 13 DISADVANTAGES OF CLOSED Kendall & Kendall INTERVIEW QUESTIONS  Boring for the interviewee  Failure to obtain rich detailing  Missing main ideas  Failing to build relationship between interviewer and interviewee 14  Kendall & Kendall BIPOLAR QUESTIONS  Bipolar questions are those that may be answered with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ or ‘agree’ or ‘disagree’  Bipolar questions should be used sparingly  A special kind of closed question 15  Kendall & Kendall PROBES  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 16  Kendall & Kendall 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 17  Kendall & Kendall 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 18  Kendall & Kendall 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 19  Kendall & Kendall DIAMOND STRUCTURE  A diamond-shaped structure begins in a very specific way  Then 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 20  Kendall & Kendall CLOSING THE INTERVIEW  Always ask “Is there anything else that you would like to add?”  Summarize and provide feedback on your impressions  Ask whom you should talk with next  Set up any future appointments  Thank them for their time and shake hands 21  Kendall & Kendall INTERVIEW REPORT  Write as soon as possible after the interview  Provide an initial summary, then more detail  Review the report with the respondent 22 INTERVIEW REPORT  Writeit as soon as possible  Captures the important points in Interview  Kendall & Kendall JOINT APPLICATION DESIGN (JAD)  Joint Application Design (JAD) JAD is a requirements-definition and software system design methodology in which stakeholders, subject matter experts (SME), end-users, business analysts, software architects and developers attend collaborative workshops (called JAD sessions) to work out a system's details.  JAD is a technique that allows the analyst to accomplish requirements analysis and design the user interface with the users in a group setting 24 CONDITIONS THAT SUPPORT Kendall & Kendall THE USE OF JAD  Users are restless and want something new  The organizational culture supports joint problem-solving behaviors  Analysts forecast an increase in the number of ideas using JAD  Personnel may be absent from their jobs for the length of time required 25  Kendall & Kendall WHO IS INVOLVED Executive sponsor: a senior person who will introduce and conclude the JAD session. IS Analyst: gives an expert opinion about any disproportionate costs of solutions proposed Users: try to select users that can articulate what information they need to perform their jobs as well as what they desire in anew or improved computer system. Session leader: someone who has excellent communication skills to facilitate appropriate interactions. Observers analysts or technical experts from other functional areas to offer technical explanations and advice Scribe: formally write down everything that is done 26  Kendall & Kendall WHERE TO HOLD JAD MEETINGS  Offsite  Comfortable surroundings  Minimize distractions  Attendance  Schedule when participants can attend  Agenda  Orientation meeting 27  Kendall & Kendall BENEFITS OF JAD Time is saved, compared with traditional interviewing Rapid development of systems Improved user ownership of the system Creative idea production is improved 28  Kendall & Kendall DRAWBACKS OF USING JAD  JAD requires a large block of time to be available for all session participants  If preparation or the follow-up report is incomplete, the session may not be successful  The organizational skills and culture may not be conducive to a JAD session 29 QUESTIONNAIRES Kendall & Kendall Questionnaires are useful in gathering information from key organization members about:  Attitudes  Beliefs  Behaviors  Characteristics 30 PLANNING FOR THE USE OF Kendall & Kendall QUESTIONNAIRES  Organization members are widely dispersed  Many members are involved with the project  Exploratory work is needed  Problem solving prior to interviews is necessary 31  Kendall & Kendall 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 32  Kendall & Kendall QUESTIONNAIRE LANGUAGE  Simple  Specific  Short  Not patronizing  Free of bias  Addressed to those who are knowledgeable  Technically accurate  Appropriate for the reading level of the respondent 33  Kendall & Kendall MEASUREMENT SCALES  The two different forms of measurement scales are:  Nominal  Interval 34  Kendall & Kendall NOMINAL SCALES  Nominal scales are used to classify things  It is the weakest form of measurement  Data may be totaled What type of software do you use the most? 1 = Word Processor 2 = Spreadsheet 3 = Database 4 = An Email Program 35  Kendall & Kendall 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 36  Kendall & Kendall VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY  Reliability of scales refers to consistency in response— getting the same results if the same questionnaire was administered again under the same conditions  Validity is the degree to which the question measures what the analyst intends to measure 37  Kendall & Kendall PROBLEMS WITH SCALES  Leniency  Caused by easy raters  Solution is to move the “average” category to the left or right of center  Central tendency  Occurs when respondents rate everything as average  Improve by making the differences smaller at the two ends  Adjust the strength of the descriptors  Create a scale with more points  Halo effect  When the impression formed in one question carries into the next question 38  Solution is to place one trait and several items on each page  Kendall & Kendall DESIGNING THE QUESTIONNAIRE  Allow plenty/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 39  Kendall & Kendall ORDER OF QUESTIONS  Place most important questions first  Cluster items of similar content together  Introduce less controversial questions first 40 METHODS OF ADMINISTERING THE Kendall & Kendall 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  Reduced costs  Collecting and storing the results electronically 41  Kendall & Kendall UNREMARKABLE METHODS  Methods are :  Sampling  Investigation  Observing Used in conjunction with interactive methods. Using both interactive and unobtrusive (unremarkable) methods will result in a more complete picture of human information requirements. 42 SAMPLING  A process of systematically selecting representative elements of a population  Involves two key decisions:  What to examine  Which people to consider NEED FOR SAMPLING The reasons systems analysts do sampling are:  Containing costs  Speeding up the data gathering  Improving effectiveness  Reducing bias SAMPLING DESIGN  To design a good sample, a systems analyst must follow four steps:  Determining the data to be collected or described  Determining the population to be sampled  Choosing the type of sample  Random Sample  Sample with specific criteria  Deciding on the sample size 46 INVESTIGATION  The act of discovery and analysis of data  Hard data  Quantitative  Qualitative 46 ANALYZING QUANTITATIVE DOCUMENTS  Reports used for decision making  Performance reports  Records  Data capture forms  Ecommerce and other transactions 47 ANALYZING QUALITATIVE DOCUMENTS  Email messages and memos  Signs or posters on bulletin boards  Corporate Web sites  Manuals  Policy handbooks 48 OBSERVATION  Observation provides insight on what organizational members actually do  See firsthand the relationships that exist between decision makers and other organizational members  Can also reveal important clues regarding HCI concerns 49 OBSERVATION ANALYST’S PLAYSCRIPT  Involves observing the decision-makers behavior and recording their actions using a series of action verbs  Examples:  Talking  Sampling  Corresponding  Deciding 50 OBSERVATION STROBE  STRuctured OBservation of the Environment —a technique for observing the decision-maker's physical environment.  STROBE Elements  Office location  Desk placement  Stationary equipment  External information sources  Office lighting and color  Clothing worn by decision makers 51  Kendall & Kendall SUMMARY  Interviewing  Interview preparation  Question types  Arranging Questions  The interview report  Joint Application Design (JAD)  Involvement and location  Questionnaires  Writing questions  Using Scales and overcoming problems  Design and order  Administering and submitting 52 SUMMARY  Sampling  Designing a good sample  Types of samples  Sample size  Hard data  Quantitative document analysis  Qualitative document analysis  Observation  Playscript  STROBE  STROBE elements  Applying STROBE 53