CHAPTER 5: INVESTIGATION TECHNIQUES

Prior Research-

Prior Research-

should be conducted when there is unfamiliar client organization

Prior Research

1.     Study the company website

2.     Study company reports

3.     Study procedure manuals and documentation

4.     Study the organizational chart

Qualitative

understanding what is needed

Quantitative

concerned with volumes and frequencies

QUALITATIVE

1.     Interviews

2.     Observation

3.     Workshops

4.     Focus Groups

5.     Scenarios

6.     Prototyping

Interviews

well-run interview can be vital in achieving a number of objectives (contact with key stakeholders, building and developing rapport with diff business users and managers, acquiring a range of information about the business situation)

S- Strategic level of management

Reference, management information and to agree the investigation approach

T- tactical level, or middle mgmt.

Understanding issues of performance, targets and mgmt. control

OP- Operational level

People who perform the actual tasks of the department

Observation

very useful in obtaining information about the business environment and the work practices; understand the task, not to judge their performance.

Formal observation

watching a specific task being performed

Protocol analysis

asking the members to perform a task and describe each step as they perform

Shadowing

following a business user

Ethnographic studies

spending an extended period of time

Workshops

provide an excellent collaborative form in which issues can be discussed, conflicts resolved, and requirements elicited.

Focus Groups

tend to be concerned with business and market research. They bring together a group of people with a common interest to discuss a topic.

Scenarios

telling the story of a task or transaction. Its value is that it helps a user who is uncertain about what is needed form a new business process or system to visualize it more clearly

Prototyping

important technique for eliciting, analysing, demonstrating and validating requirements

Scenarios + Prototyping=

Scenarios as the basis for developing prototypes

QUANTITATIVE

1.     Questionnaires- to get limited amount of information from a lot of people

2.     Activity Sampling- focus on observation + a range of activities

Questionnaires

to get limited amount of information from a lot of people

Activity Sampling

focus on observation + a range of activities

Documenting the Current Business Situation

Analyst will need to record the findings to understand the range of issues and business needs

DOCUMENTS

1.     Rich Pictures-

2.     Mind maps-

3.     Spaghetti maps-

4.     Fishbone diagrams-

5.     Business needs log-

Rich Pictures

provide an overview of an entire business situation; reflect areas such as the culture of the org

Mind maps

summarizing a lot of info in a simple visual form; connections between different ideas and topics

Spaghetti maps

show the movement and interactions of the stakeholders when performing particular tasks and processes

Fishbone diagrams

understand the underlying causes of an inefficient process or a business problem

Business needs log

helps to ensure that any findings at this early stage are documented and are not lost once more detailed requirements work commences