Tài liệu Module 4: Gathering Information doc

Module 1: Course Overview Module 4: Gathering Information Module 5: Analyzing Information: Use Cases and Usage Scenarios Module 6: Analyzing Information: Rationalizing Information Module

Module 1: Course Overview

Module 4: Gathering Information

Module 5: Analyzing

Information: Use Cases

and Usage Scenarios

Module 6: Analyzing

Information: Rationalizing

Information

Module 7: Presenting

Information

Gathering and Analyzing Business Requirements

Module 2: Identifying Business Processes, Challenges, and Vision

Module 3:

Characteristics of Information

Information Collection Techniques

Process of Gathering Information

Activity 4.2: Gathering Information Review

Module 4: Gathering Information

! Overview

" Information Collection Techniques

" Process of Gathering Information

" Activity 4.2: Gathering Information

" Review

In this module

Now that you have identified the characteristics of the information that you need to gather about the business challenge and vision statement, you are ready

to look at a process for gathering the actual information You will use the information to determine the business and user requirements

First, you will learn about six techniques that you can use to collect information Then you will learn about a general process for gathering information that you can adapt to meet the needs of a project

After completing this module, you will be able to:

" Describe six techniques for gathering information

" Identify the information-gathering techniques that are most appropriate for a given situation

" Summarize the major steps that are involved in gathering information

" Develop a strategy for gathering information

Slide Objective

To provide an overview of

the module topics and

objectives

! Information Collection Techniques

" Shadowing

" Interviewing

" Focus Groups

" Surveys

" User Instruction

" Prototyping

" Activity 4.1: Choosing Techniques

In this section

In this section, you will learn about six information-gathering techniques that you can use to collect information about a business challenge and vision statement

Some of the techniques that you will learn about require specific training to use them effectively You may not always be the person who actually uses a particular technique It is important to know the different techniques that you can use and when they are appropriate Another team member may carry out the actual technique For example, most surveys require someone who has

knowledge about statistical analysis A representative of the marketing department may be able to lend expertise in this area

In Activity 4.1, you will identify the information-gathering techniques appropriate for the Ferguson and Bardell, Inc case study

Slide Objective

To provide an overview of

the section topics and

activities

Shadowing

" Passive or active observation of the user

" Implicit knowledge becomes explicitly known

" Benefits:

" Considerations:

Shadowing combines passive observation with active user interviews It typically involves an interviewer observing the user’s activities by following the user through daily tasks The information you can obtain is firsthand and in context At the same time, you encourage the user to explain the intent of his or her activities in as much detail as possible As the observer, you can be

passive—simply observing and listening—or active, asking directed questions

as the user offers explanations of events and activities

Team members observe the user at work and can interrupt at any time to ask questions Because you are observing users while they are doing actual work, they can discuss with you what is happening and why You can also collect relevant work artifacts, such as documents and screen shots of software, to use later in the process

Throughout shadowing, you can answer the following questions:

" How do users structure their work?

" What decisions do users make when completing a task?

" How does the current implementation determine how users do their jobs?

" How often does the system interfere with their jobs?

" How do interruptions impact users? Can users pick up where they left off?

" How many people do users interact with during a given activity?

In addition to observing, you can ask questions to learn about the user’s intent and sentiments: why the user performs a task in a certain way, and what frustrations or satisfaction the user feels at each point in the process

Slide Objective

To explain shadowing

Example questions that you can ask include:

" What are you doing? (to facilitate conversation)

" Is that what you expected? (regarding a system response)

" What is the purpose for doing this? (to explore process) Keep the following set of questions constantly in mind:

" What individual tasks are required by the activities under observation?

• How are they currently done?

• How can they be made more efficient?

• What related tasks might impact the design?

• What system features are needed to support the tasks?

• What are the performance criteria?

• How should the features be structured?

" How can we improve the current system?

• How do users currently use it?

• What features of the current system do they use often or infrequently?

• What do they like and dislike about the current system?

• How can we reduce training and support costs?

" What else do we not know about our users?

• What is the user’s working environment like?

• What characteristics/preferences do users have?

• What concepts and terminology do they use?

• What training do they have and what training might they need?

Make sure that you observe and question both management and users If there are external customers, include them in some of your observations External customers represent the ultimate end users

It may by difficult to record all of the information when a user performs activities rapidly Ask the user to repeat or explain any action as necessary Also, some activities are performed only once a month or once a quarter You need to ask users about related tasks that they may not do on a daily basis, so that you do not miss important information

Finally, a user may have performed an action so many times that they no longer think about the process It is important to convince the user to provide explicit steps for each task

Interviewing

" Collecting information from an individual by asking a series of questions

" Interview multiple individuals in similar functions

" Benefits:

" Considerations:

interviewing many people

While shadowing provides an effective means to discover what is currently being done in an organization, it will not provide all the necessary information You will need to gather additional information on management-level activities, long-lived activities (covering weeks, months, and years), and system-to-system processes that have little or no human intervention, such as automatic bill paying services in financial institutions

An interview is a one-on-one meeting between a member of the project team and a user or some other stakeholder The quality of the information a team gathers depends on the skills of the interviewer and the interviewee An interviewer who becomes an ally can learn a great deal about the difficulties and failings of the present system Interviews can also be a starting point for other information-gathering techniques

Structure questions carefully to avoid asking misleading questions or questions that ask for more than one item of information

Interviews provide an opportunity to ask a wide range of questions about topics that you will not be able to observe through shadowing Example questions you can ask include:

remotely?

" Do you have special needs that are not documented?

" What policies in the business help or constrain you from doing your job?

" What individuals or documents provide critical information that you need to

do your job?

" Are there hidden users, such as third-party suppliers or support specialists, who impact your work?

Slide Objective

To define the interviewing

technique for gathering

information

Focus Groups

" Facilitated session of similar individuals

" Benefits:

" Considerations:

effective

data

A focus group is a session in which individuals discuss a topic to provide feedback to a facilitator Focus groups concentrate on group interviewing techniques The participants in a focus group should be representative of the users or stakeholders associated with the business challenge You can use this method in cases in which there are many more users than you can involve directly in the information-gathering process

Focus groups allow you to gather detailed information about the activity, but also allow you to see how an activity fits into the larger picture of a business Individuals in a focus group can fill knowledge gaps for one another and provide a complete picture of a business process

For example, a focus group with support personnel can determine:

" Characteristics of the current computing infrastructure that can or cannot be changed from a business perspective

" Upcoming plans for technology that the final product will need to take into consideration

" Security and deployment requirements with which any new solution must conform to fit into the current computing infrastructure

" Current applications and systems, including legacy systems, that need to interact with a new business solution

" The volume of support calls, the major support issues, and the difference in support between existing applications and new ones

A focus group with management personnel can help determine:

" Financial constraints that determine the budget for a project

" Planned changes in business processes or the structure of an organization

" Future growth in the business or external customers that will affect scalability

Slide Objective

To define a focus group

Surveys

" Series of directed questions designed to gather information on a given topic

" Benefits:

" Considerations:

labor-intensive process

Surveys are a series of questions that are created to gather information They can provide close-ended and open-ended questions Examples of surveys include user registration forms and customer feedback or satisfaction forms Creating the survey questions can be a labor-intensive process and requires an individual with special skills to both prepare the survey and analyze the results You can use surveys as a means of gathering initial information that you can use to plan more detailed information-gathering activities

Surveys can provide anonymity, producing information that you cannot collect with any other technique Examples of information that can be collected through surveys include:

" Organizational structures, policies, or practices that interfere with tasks

" Frustrations with technical support structures or policies

" Special needs related to hardware or software

" Training issues, such as the effectiveness of current training programs, the types of training programs that users like best, and what training programs work best in users’ work environment

Slide Objective

To define surveys

User Instruction

" Participating in the activity with the source

" Benefits:

" Considerations:

that may now be automatic

Having users teach you about their work tasks allows you to participate in the activity and view each step of the process from the user’s perspective You can gather detailed and valuable information on the activity performed You may also gain knowledge that an individual has learned over time that will not be available from artifacts or systems

User instruction can be time consuming if the process is long or the user is not accustomed to teaching others Some people are uncomfortable teaching others and may not respond favorably to this technique Different users may perform the same activity differently Consequently, you should collect information from multiple users

Identify the experts in different activities within the business They may know shortcuts that overcome problems in a process Experts can serve as models for developing or improving new processes

User instruction can also provide information needed for determining:

" User interface design

" Training needs for both current and future processes

" System performance criteria

" Impact of the physical environment on a task

Slide Objective

To define user instruction

Prototyping

" Gathering information by generating a mock environment

" Benefits:

easier because of controlled environment

" Considerations:

Prototyping allows you to gather information by simulating the production environment

You can use several tools to collect information, such as a camera to monitor visual activity, or a computer program to monitor keystrokes The information you want to monitor will dictate the tool used to collect it

Prototypes are helpful when it is impossible to shadow a person in their normal work environment A drawback to prototyping is that the mock environment may not accurately reflect the actual production environment

Prototypes can help you to verify or document information from the user and business perspectives, including:

" Customer quality requirements

" Response-time requirements and goals

" Ease of use

" Integration of current technologies and applications

" User interface issues, such as what features are missing that users would like

to see added to an application

" Verification of workflow processes

Slide Objective

To define prototyping

Activity 4.1: Choosing Techniques

In this activity, you will review the case study and determine which information-gathering techniques are appropriate and what information you intend to collect with each technique

After completing this activity, you will be able to:

" Identify the information-gathering techniques that are most appropriate for a given situation

Slide Objective

To introduce the activity

Process of Gathering Information

" Use the business challenge, preliminary vision statement, and stakeholder perspectives to:

gather information

gather from sources

Planning the process

You should always approach the process of gathering information and input from users as a planned activity Ad hoc methods of obtaining user input do not yield the quality of information that you need to determine business and user requirements and wants

The quality of the information that you obtain is a function of the process and techniques that you use to collect information In any situation, practical constraints, such as availability of the users, cost, and schedule, play a major role

Ideally, the information-gathering process should:

" Have minimal intrusion in the daily routine of the users

" Have a high benefit-to-cost ratio

" Not be affected by organizational politics

" Build confidence and rapport with the users

Regardless of the technique, structure the process to ensure that you obtain information on all of the tasks that pertain to an activity This includes sequence, interactions with others, decision-making, thought processes, and reasons or motivations Attempt to contrast exceptional and unusual situations with normal situations

Slide Objective

To identify a general

process for gathering

information