Ch 4 - Information Gathering: Interactive Methods

Interviewing. What kinds of information should be sought in interviews?

• An info gathering interview is a directed conversation with a specific purpose that uses a question and answer format 

• Get opinions of interviewee and feelings about the current state of the system, organizational and personal goals, and informal procedures for interacting with information technologies

• SEEK OPINIONS

• CAPTURE FEELING

• GOALS PROJECT FUTURE

• HCI CONCERNS

Five Steps in Interview Preparation

1) Reading Background Material

1. Corporate web, annual report, newletter or publications

2. Optomize time you spend in interviews

2) Establishing Interviewing Objectives

1. 4-6 key areas concerning HCI, info processing, and decision making behavior about which you will want to ask questions

2. Usefulness of system, how it fits in physical aspects, how it suits users’ cognitive capabilities, engaging, system is rewarded, information sources, formations, etc

3) Deciding Whom to Interview

1. People at all levels 

4) Preparing the Interviewee

1. Call ahead and allow interview time to think about the interview

2. Email questions ahead of time to allow the interviews time to think over their responses

3. Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, etc

5) Deciding on Question Types and Structure

• Open and closed questions, Probes

• Pyramid, funnel, and diamond structure

List two popular video-conferencing platforms. What is “Zoom fatigue”?

Two video conferencing options are Google Meet and Zoom. Zoom fatigue is that overusing video conferencing can lead to exhaustion in unexpected ways. In person and online meetings should be kept 45 minutes.

Question Types

• Open Ended

  • Those such as “What do you think about putting all the managers on an intranet?”

  • Option is open

• Closed Ended

  • Closed responses

  • Dichotomous closed question

    • This type of question limits the interviewee even further by allowing only a choice on either pole (yes/no,true/false)

• Probes

  • The purpose of a proble is to go beyond the inital answer to get more meaning, to clarify, and to draw out and expand on the interviewwe’s point

Open-Ended Questions. List eight benefits and five drawbacks of using them? When are open-ended questions appropriate for use in interviewing?

Benefits:

1) Puts the interviewee at ease

2) Allowing the interviewer to pick up on the interviewee’s vocabulary, which reflects

3) Providing richness of detail

4) Revealing avenues of further questioning that otherwise may go untapped

5) Making the interview more interesting for the interviewee

6) Allowing more spontaneity

7) Making phrasing easier for the interviewer

8) Using them in a pinch if the interviewer is caught unprepared

Drawbacks:

1) Asking questions that may result in too much irrelevant details

2) Possibly losing control of the interview

3) Allowing responses that may take too much time for the amount of useful information gained

4) Potentially seeming that the interviewer is unprepared

5) Possibly giving the impression that the interviewer is on a “fishing expedition,” with no real objective for the interview

Define what is meant by closed interview questions. List six benefits and four drawbacks of using them. When are closed-ended questions appropriate for use in interviewing?

Benefits:

1. Saving Time

2. Easily comparing interviews

3. Getting to the point

4. Keeping control over the interview

5. Covering lots of ground quickly

6. Getting to relevant data

Drawbacks:

1. Boring for the intervieww

2. Failing to obtain rich detail

3. Failing to address the main ideas for the preceding reason

4. Failing to build rapport between interviewer and interviewee

What is a probing question? What is the purpose of using a probing question in interviews?

Probes allow a systems analyst to follow up on questions to get more detailed responses. These examples were selected from different interviews and are not shown in any particular order

Arranging Questions in a Logical Sequence

• Using a pyramid structure

• Using a Funnel structure

• Using a diamond-shaped structure

Define what is meant by pyramid structure. When is it useful to employ this structure in interviews?

Interview begins with very detailed, often closed, questions. The interviewer then expands the topics by allowing open-ended questions and more generalized responses.

Uses

• Interviewee needs to warm up to the topic

• Ending determination about the toic

Define what is meant by funnel structure. When is it useful to employ this structure in interviews?

Begins with generalized, open-ended questions and then narrowing the possible responses by using closed questions. The interview structure can be thought of as funnel shaped, as depicted

Uses

• Easy, nonthreatening way to begin an interview

• When interviewee feels emotional about the topic and needs freedom to express those emotions

Define what is meant by diamond-shaped structure. When is it useful to employ this structure in interviews?

This structure entails beginning in a very specific way, then examining general issues, and finally coming to a very specific conclusion

Uses:

• combines the strengths of the other two approaches but has the disadvantage of taking longer to implement than either other structure

• Summarize and provide feedback on your overall impressions

• Inform the interviewee about the subsequent steps to take and what you and other team members will do next.

• Ask the interviewee with whom you should talk next

Writing the Interview Report

• Written ASAP, Better quality data

• Note main points and own opinions

• Follow up meeting review the report

Listening to Stories. What are seven elements common to stories told by users in the organization?

• Stories are made up of elements

• Reasons for telling stories

1) The call to adventure

• Problem stats with a reason an opportunity was noticed or problem needed addressing

2) The quest

• There is something worth finding or achieving

3) The struggle

• Who the storyteller names as villains

• Obstacles

4) The transformation

• Storyteller reveal their own weaknesses. The storyteller describes overcoming this weakness

5) The resolution

6) The Moral

• Tells others how to behave

7) The epilogue

What are the four reasons users tell stories to analysts?

1. Experiential stories

   1. Describe what life is like in the org

2. Explanatory stories

   1. Suggest that there is an explanation for behavior or a reason for the decisions made

3. Validating stories

   1. Convince people that the org made the correct decision, or they are used to express and maintain the existing values of the org

4. Prescriptive stories

   1. Childhood fables, suggest how everyone in the org should behave

Define joint application design (JAD).

Focus group. Technique that allows analyst to accomplish requirements analysis and design the user interface with the in a group setting

• Cut time required for personal interviews

• improve the quality of the results of information requirements assessment

• Create more user identification with IS as a result of the participative processes

Who is Involved?

• Analysts, users, executives

• Outside management consultant to serve as a session leader

• Observes who are analysts or techical experts

Where?

• 2 to 4 day sessions off-site

• Executive centers

• Group decision support facilities that are available at major universities

• Video call

List the situations that warrant use of JAD in place of personal organization interviews. (Conditions that support the use of JAD, Who is Involved?)

1. User groups are restless and want something new, not a standard solution to a typical problem

2. The org culture supports joint problem-solving behaviors among multiple level of employees

3. Forecaast that the number of ideas generated via one-on-one interviews will not be as plentiful as the number of ideas possible from ann extended group exercise

4. Org workflow permits the absence of key personnel during. two-to four day block of time

List the potential benefits of using JAD. List the three potential drawbacks of using JAD as an alternative to personal interviews.

Benefits:

• Time savings over traditional one-on-one interviews

• Rapid development

• Weigh the possibility of improved ownership of the IS (users involved early in systems projects)

• Creative development of designs

Drawbacks:

• Commitment of large block of time from all participants (2-4 day commitment)

• Preparation for the JAD sessions is inadequate in any regard or the followup report is incomplete

• Necessary organizational skills and org culture may not be sufficiently developed

Using Questionnaries. What kinds of information is a systems analyst seeking by using questionnaires or surveys?

Definition:

• Info gathering technique that allows system analysts to study attitudes, beliefs, behavior, and characteristics of several key people in the organization who may be affected by the current and proposed systems

• Planning for the Use of Questionnaires

1) Decide what you are attempting to gain through using a survey

2)Questionnaire better for quantifying vs Interviewing in depth analysis

Uses

• People widely dispersed

• Many ppl involved

• Exploratory study

• Certain about problems

  Writing Questions

  • Open-Ended

    • Opinions

  • Closed

    • list all possible responses to ?

    • large sample

  • Word Choice

  • Using Scales in Questionnaires

  • Measurement

  • Validity and Reliability

  • Constructing Scales

1. List four situations in which the use of questionnaires is appropriate.

Designing Questionnaires

• Question Order

List two reasons a systems analyst would use a closed question on a questionnaire.

List two reasons a systems analyst would use an open-ended question on a questionnaire.

• Open-Ended

  • Opinions

  • When it’s impossible to list effectively all possible responses

  • When exploratory situation occurs

• Closed

  • list all possible responses to ?

  • large sample

What are the two basic question types used on questionnaires?

• Closed

• Open

What are the seven guidelines for choosing language for a questionnaire?

• Use language of respondents whenever possible. keep wording simple

• Be specific

• Keep questions short

• Do not patronize respondents by talking down to them through low-level language

• Avoid bias

• Target questions to correct respondents

• Ensure questions are accurate

• Use software to check if reading level is appropriate

Define what is meant by scaling. What are two kinds of information or scales that systems analysts most commonly use?

The process of assigning number sor other symbols to an attribute or a characteristic for the purpose of measuring the attribute or characteristic

1. Nominal scales

2. Interval scales

What are nominal scales used for?

Used to classify things. A question such as the following uses a nominal scale:

What type of software do you use the most?

1 = a word processor

2 = a spreadsheet

3 = a database

4 = an email program

Give an example of an interval scale.

When should an analyst use an interval scale?

• Examples are the farenheit and celsius scales

• Intervals between each pair are equal, analyst should assume that the respondent perceives the intervals to be equal when they respond to this question:

Define reliability as it refers to the construction of scales.

Measures consistency

• External consistency

• Internal consistency

Define validity as it refers to the construction of scales.

Degree to which a question measures what the analyst intends for it to measure

• Does it measure that?

List three problems that can occur because of careless construction of scales.

1. Leniency

   1. Respondents who are easy raters

2. Central tendency

   1. Problem that occurs when respondents rate everything as average

3. Halo effect

What four actions can be taken to ensure that a questionnaire’s format is conducive to a good response rate?

A. Allowing ample white space
B. Allowing adequate space for responses
C. Asking respondents to circle their answers
D. Using objectives to help determine format

Which questions should be placed first on a questionnaire?

Questions of importance to respondents go first.

Why should questions on similar topics be clustered together?

Similar topics should be clustered together to build a frame of reference for respondents.

What is an appropriate placement for controversial questions?

Controversial questions should be positioned after less controversial questions.

Administering Questionaries. List five methods for administering a questionnaire.

A. Convening all concerned respondents together at one time
B. Personally handing out blank questionnaires and taking back completed ones
C. Allowing respondents to self-administer the questionnaire at work and drop it in a centrally located box
D. Mailing questionnaires to employees and supplying a deadline, instructions, and return postage
E. Administrating the questionnaire electronically and receiving and storing the responses electronically

Requirements Prioritization

Definition:

• Involves the client or customer as well. Interviewing and administering questionaires are not effective ways to ask a customers which features they desire

What considerations are necessary when questionnaires are web based?

When designing Web-based questionnaires, there must be ample space for open-ended questions and the appropriate use of check boxes, radio buttons, and drop-down menus. It is important to have both Submit and Clear buttons. The Web survey should provide a password system to help ensure confidentiality.

What are the six methods of requirements prioritization an analyst can use to help users prioritize software features?

Methods for RP:

• Simple Ranking

  • Assign a 1 to most desirable requirement, assign a 10 to least desirable requirement

• 100-Token Method

  • How many tokens is a requirement?

  • Loses sight of which deparment, as it is anonymous

• MoSCoW Method

  • Puts requirements into the four buckets

    • Must

    • Should

    • Could

    • Won’t

• Urgent/Important Matrix

  • Horizontal X is meant to show urgency and the vertical y-axis represents importance

• Analytic Hierarchy Processing (AHP)

  • Presents pairs of alternatives to participants and has the participant decide which of the two are most important.

  • Shown good results for large, important decisions

• Q-Sorts

  • sorting a deck of cards of requirements into piles and therefore is similar to the 100-token and MoSCoW methods

    • No pressure on getting it right the first time. Requirements can be moved interactively from one pile to another

    • Issues associated with questionaries are avoided

    • Can identify participants that have similar attitudes by examing how they sorted the deck of requirements, even if they are from different departments or units

Which method is preferred for determining requirements prioritization?

MoSCow prioritization

List a drawback of each of the six requirements prioritization methods.

Simple Ranking

• Con: Boring, Futile. Most people aren’t good at making and ordering a long list of any sort

100-Token Method

• Con: It’s anonymous

MoSCoW method

• Con: Once a requirement is considered a won’t requirement, it will never have a chance of being important.

• Categories are too broad and hard to tell priorities within the large categories

Urgent/Important Matrix

• Con: Analyst might also want to consider those requirements that are marked “Not important but urgent” so that additional goals can be met before the release date

Analytic Hierarchy Processing (AHP)

• time consuming

• March Madness

Q-Sorts

• Con: All the requirements must be pre-printed on cards so that they can sorted easily

What are the four advantages of Q-sorting?

1. There is no pressure on getting it right the first time

2. By requiring the participants to sort statements into a forced normal distribution many of the problems associated with questionnaires (central tendency, leniency) can be avoided

3. An analyst can identify participants that have similar attitudes by examining how they sorted the deck of requirements, even if they are from different departments or units

4. Participants usually think it’s fun to arrange and rearrange these requirements from one pile to another

Human Computer Interaction

• Ergonomic aspects, system usability, how pleasing and enjoyable the system is, and how useful it is in supporting individual tasks