Data Collection For Analysis And Design

 

What techniques are available to the design team for collecting data?  The objective is to develop an understanding of key decisions, communications and coordination requirements, and how they are supported with information. The team needs to examine decisions, the flow of information in the organization, communication patterns, and they types of process undertaken.

 

Observation: One technique for collecting data on a process is to observe that process.  Frequently in systems analysis and design we will “walk through” a system, observing crucial information flows and decision points.  Then we may use one of the graphical techniques described later in this chapter to document our understanding of how the system functions.

 

Observations can also be quite structured.  We may develop a rating form of some type to collect data on the frequency or inquiries, say, in a credit office.  The analyst prepares a form showing the possible inquiries and then, during a sample of different days and hours, codes the actual inquiries.

 

Interview: The system analyst spends a great deal of time interacting with other, particularly in interview settings.  Interviews have varying degrees of structure.  For a first meeting, there may be no structure at all; the analyst may be getting acquainted with the user and gaining a broad understanding of the problem areas.  Often, as the project progresses, more structured interview are conducted. The analyst may wish to prepare in advance an interview schedule containing the questions to be asked and the points to be covered. The main this is to be prepared.

 

Questionnaires: A questionnaire allows us to obtain data from a relatively large number of people at a reasonable cost. A questionnaire can be thought of as structured interview form with questions designed so they can be answered without face-to-face encounter.  The design of a good questionnaire is a difficult task.  Although the idea is an extension of a structured interview form, the questionnaire is, in principle,  capable of being completed by the respondent alone without an interviewer present.

 

Comparing the Alternatives: Both questionnaires and interviews are important for the analyst, though interviewing will probably be used more often. An interview makes it easy to follow a new tangent. The respondent is not constrained by the limitations of the questions but can expand in other directions.  If the question is ambiguous, the interviewer explains what is desired.  Interviews are the best technique in an unstructured setting and when it is necessary to probe issues in depth.

 

Questionnaires offer the advantage of being relatively inexpensive to administer to a large group of respondent. They are well suited to expanding data collection beyond the interview. For example, assume a system is developed to be used by a number of sales representatives nationwide. If the firm has five hundred sales representatives, it is impossible to include all of them on a design team.

 

Sample Interview / Questionnaire Items

Please describe your job. With whom do you interact in your work? What are the key factors in your work unit's success? What factors are critical for your personal success? What type of information and data do you use in your work? Where does it come from?  What do you do to change it in some way?  Where does it go after you have worked on it? What major bottlenecks exist in your sources and use of information and data? What kind of technology do you use? What do you like about your current technology platform? What are the drawbacks of your current technology platform? What problems do you have? How do you resolve them? If you could have any technology you wanted, what would it look like? If you could redesign the entire work unit here, what would the flow of work look like?