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Fact-Finding Techniques For Requirement Discovery

The document discusses techniques for requirement discovery such as sampling existing documentation, observation, questionnaires, interviews, and prototyping. It describes the process of requirements discovery which includes problem analysis, identifying requirements, documenting requirements, and managing changes to requirements over the project lifetime. Fact-finding involves using these techniques to formally collect information about system problems and requirements from users.

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Rajesh
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718 views21 pages

Fact-Finding Techniques For Requirement Discovery

The document discusses techniques for requirement discovery such as sampling existing documentation, observation, questionnaires, interviews, and prototyping. It describes the process of requirements discovery which includes problem analysis, identifying requirements, documenting requirements, and managing changes to requirements over the project lifetime. Fact-finding involves using these techniques to formally collect information about system problems and requirements from users.

Uploaded by

Rajesh
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Fact-Finding

Techniques for
Requirement
Discovery

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Rajesh Kumar, Muzaffarpur 1
Key Concepts
 System Requirements

 Functional and Nonfunctional Requirements

 Fact-Finding Techniques.

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Rajesh Kumar, Muzaffarpur 2
Introduction to Requirements
Discovery
Requirements discovery – the process and techniques
used by systems analysts to identify or extract system
problems and solution requirements from the user
community.
 It is a formal process of using techniques to collect
information about system requirements
 It is also called information gathering.

System requirement – something that the information


system must do or a property that it must have. Also
called a business requirement.
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Rajesh Kumar, Muzaffarpur 3
Introduction to Requirements
Discovery
Requirements discovery includes those
techniques to be used by systems analysts to
identify or extract system problems and solution
requirements from the user community.

Problem analysis is the activity of identifying the


problem, understanding the problem (including
causes and effects), and understanding any
constraints that may limit the solution.

Rajesh Kumar, Muzaffarpur 4


Criteria to Define System
Requirements
 Consistent
 Complete
 Feasible
 Required
 Accurate
 Traceable
 Verifiable
Rajesh Kumar, Muzaffarpur 5
Functional vs. Nonfunctional
Requirements
Functional requirement - something the
information system must do

Nonfunctional requirement - a property or


quality the system must have
 Performance
 Security

 Costs

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Rajesh Kumar, Muzaffarpur 6
Results of Incorrect
Requirements
 The system may cost more than projected.
 The system may be delivered later than promised.
 The system may not meet the users’ expectations and
they may not to use it.
 Once in production, costs of maintaining and enhancing
system may be excessively high.
 The system may be unreliable and prone to errors and
downtime.
 Reputation of IT staff is tarnished as failure will be
perceived as a mistake by the team.
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Process of Requirements Discovery
 Problem discovery and analysis
 Requirements discovery

 Documenting and analyzing requirements

 Requirements management

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Rajesh Kumar, Muzaffarpur 8
Requirements Discovery
 Given an understand of problems, the systems
analyst can start to define requirements.

Fact-finding – the formal process of using


research, meetings, interviews, questionnaires,
sampling, and other techniques to collect
information about system problems,
requirements, and preferences. It is also called
information gathering or data collection.
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Rajesh Kumar, Muzaffarpur 9
Requirements Management
Requirements management - the process of
managing change to the requirements.

 Over the lifetime of the project it is very common


for new requirements to emerge and existing
requirements to change.

 Studies have shown that over the life of a project as


much as 50 percent or more of the requirements will
change before the system is put into production.
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Rajesh Kumar, Muzaffarpur 10
Fact-Finding Ethics
 Fact-Finding often brings systems analysts into
contact with sensitive information.
 Company plans
 Employee salaries or medical history
 Customer credit card, social security, or other information

 Ethical behavior
 Systems analysts must not misuse information.
 Systems analysts must protect information from people
who would misuse it.

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Rajesh Kumar, Muzaffarpur 11
Five Fact-Finding Methods
 Sampling of existing documentation, forms,
and databases.
 Research and site visits and observation.
 Questionnaires.
 Interviews.
 Presentation or Prototyping.

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Sampling Existing Documentation,
Forms, & Files
Sampling –process of collecting a representative sample
of documents, forms, and records.
 Organization chart
 Memos and other documents that describe the problem
 Standard operating procedures for current system
 Completed forms
 Manual and computerized screens and reports
 Samples of databases
 Flowcharts and other system documentation
 And more
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Rajesh Kumar, Muzaffarpur 13
Observation
Observation – a fact-finding technique wherein the
systems analyst either participates in or watches a
person perform activities to learn about the system.
Advantages?
Disadvantages?

Work sampling - a fact-finding technique that


involves a large number of observations taken at
random intervals.

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Rajesh Kumar, Muzaffarpur 14
Questionnaires
 Questionnaire – a special-purpose document that
allows the analyst to collect information and opinions
from respondents.

 Free-format questionnaire – a questionnaire designed


to offer the respondent greater latitude in the answer. A
question is asked, and the respondent records the
answer in the space provided after the question.

 Fixed-format questionnaire – a questionnaire


containing questions that require selecting an answer
from predefined available responses.
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Rajesh Kumar, Muzaffarpur 15
Types of Fixed-Format
Questions
 Multiple-choice questions
 Rating questions
 Ranking questions
Rank the following transactions according to the amount of time you
spend processing them.
___ % new customer orders
___ % order cancellations The implementation of quality discounts would
___ % order modifications cause an increase in customer orders.
___ % payments ___ Strongly agree
___ Agree
___ No opinion Is the current accounts receivable
___ Disagree report that you receive useful?
___ Strongly disagree ___ Yes
___ No 16
Rajesh Kumar, Muzaffarpur 16
Interviews
Interview - a fact-finding technique whereby the systems
analysts collect information from individuals through face-
to-face interaction.

 Find facts
 Verify facts
 Clarify facts
 Generate enthusiasm
 Get the end-user involved
 Identify requirements
 Solicit ideas and opinions
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Types of Interviews and
Questions
Unstructured interview –conducted with only a general goal or
subject in mind and with few, if any, specific questions. The
interviewer counts on the interviewee to provide a framework and
direct the conversation.

Structured interview –interviewer has a specific set of questions to


ask of the interviewee.

Open-ended question – question that allows the interviewee to


respond in any way.

Closed-ended question – a question that restricts answers to either


specific choices or short, direct responses.
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Prepare for the Interview
 Types of Questions to Avoid
 Loaded questions
 Leading questions
 Biased questions
 Interview Question Guidelines
 Use clear and concise language.
 Don’t include your opinion as part of the question.
 Avoid long or complex questions.
 Avoid threatening questions.
 Don’t use “you” when you mean a group of people.
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Discovery Prototyping
Discovery prototyping – the act of building a
small-scale, representative or working model
of the users’ requirements in order to discover
or verify those requirements.

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