Information System Design: Req. Analysis

Cheatsheet Content

Requirement Gathering Methods Direct User Engagement Observation Interviews Focus Groups Contextual Inquiries Surveys & Questionnaires Collaborative and Participatory Methods Participatory Design JAD/JDP (Joint Application Development / Joint Design Planning) Analytical and Modelling Methods Task Analysis BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation) Journey Mapping/Experience Mapping Secondary Methods Document & Artifact Analysis Domain/Market Analysis Competitive Analysis Observation A method where a team member observes stakeholders' behavior while using a product (similar or competitor's). Useful for identifying pain points and areas for improvement. Participant Observation Researcher actively takes part in the observed activity. Pros: Hands-on experience, insights where questioning is ineffective. Cons: Potential bias, ethical concerns, time-consuming. Non-Participant Observation Researcher observes from a distance, completely separate from the activity. Pros: More open-minded, allows judgment and observation of body language. Cons: Risk of inaccurate data, time-consuming, observed people may change behavior. Hawthorne Effect (Observer Effect) Individuals modify behavior when aware of being observed. To avoid: Build rapport, normalize observation, use multiple methods. Interviews Gathering information directly from individuals. Interview Formats Unstructured Interview Semi-Structured Interview Structured Interview Little knowledge of topic Some knowledge of topic Lots of knowledge of topic No guide, exploratory, high flexibility, "off the cuff" Less strictly defined guide with themes/questions Strictly defined list of questions "Go with the flow," interviewer is apprentice/learner Deviations allowed, probing encouraged (staying on topic) No deviations allowed across interviews/participants Interview Tips Aim for participants to be comfortable; let them finish thoughts. Make them feel heard: take notes, eye contact, acknowledgments. Show genuine empathy. Have questions prepared (a guide), but allow going off-script. Anticipate different responses. Avoid leading questions (e.g., "Why do you enjoy X so much?" → "Why do you use X?"). Avoid closed questions (e.g., "So, you use X every morning?" → "Can you tell me about how you use X?"). Practice follow-up questions. Use prompts to encourage more detail (silence, echo, agree, clarify). Interview Stages: Preparation Research your participant and topic. Prepare a set of themes and draft an interview protocol. Be participant-centered (ask what works for them). Be early, be prepared (know location, be 10 mins early). Define roles beforehand (one leads, one takes notes/photos; ask permission to record). Interview Stages: Execution Introduce the project and yourselves; describe research and goals. Dig for stories, feelings, and emotion: Ask "why," use open-ended questions, ask for concrete examples. Notice inconsistencies but don't correct them. Pay attention to nonverbal cues . Interview Stages: Common Mistakes (Don't do these) Avoid compound questions. Avoid leading/directive/binary questions. Don't fall into the trap of leading expressions (e.g., nodding, "aha," "that's great"). Don't suggest answers. Don't be afraid of silence. Focus Groups A qualitative research method where a facilitator conducts a meeting (1-2 hours) with 6-9 people. Discusses issues and concerns about experiences with a product/service. Facilitator maintains the group's focus on certain topics. Benefits Participants can build on each other's responses, recall experiences in detail. Help clarify users' mental models and language. Time-efficient for the researcher. Can yield rich qualitative insights. Risks Group dynamics may impact how much people share. Effective Focus Groups Recruit representative participants. Treat it like a workshop: make participants comfortable with verbal/nonverbal participation. Easy warmup activity. Both written and verbal participation opportunities. Have a written plan and guide. Contextual Inquiry (CI) Can be thought of as applied design ethnography . "The core premise of contextual inquiry is very simple: Go where the customer works. Observe the customer as he or she works. Talk to the customer about the work. Do that, and you can't help but gain a better understanding of your customer." Effectively, observation + interview. Four Principles of CI Context: Must be "where the work happens." Useful for understanding underlying work structures. Partnership: Aim to follow a master/apprenticeship model. Researcher is the apprentice, watching and asking questions. Knowledge transfer happens when people talk about work while doing it. Interpretation: All data must be interpreted for meaning. Merge observations with interview insights. Double-check interpretations with participants. Focus: Start with a narrower focus, but be open to expanding. Surprises or odd actions are opportunities to ask questions. Aim to see their perspective. Contextual Inquiry Guidelines Gaining access and building rapport Gain access to the site and informants. Gain confidence and trust. Recognize potential reactions (excitement, culture shock, emotional impact of entering/leaving). Recording your observation Video recording. Note taking and memos. Interviewing. Be mindful of access permissions and participant's comfort levels. What to record Begin with research questions. Don't overly constrain yourself. Take notes on what's directly relevant, what strikes you as interesting, and everything else. Process of recording Your data quality depends on your presence. Record in the moment if possible; otherwise, do it after the event. Write down important things first, then replay and slot into order. Contextual Inquiry Strengths Extremely rich data (watching and talking to people). "Real world" and unfiltered insights. Methods are led by participant needs/interests, not preconceived notions. Contextual Inquiry Weaknesses Participants may not know what's important; probing/observation may be insufficient. People's memories are warped/flawed (say one thing, do another). Resource-intensive. Difficult to generalize from a small number of participants. Participants may find it awkward to be watched or open up. Surveys and Questionnaires Structured set of questions a person responds to. More structured than most qualitative techniques. Doesn't have to be strictly quantitative. Easy to design a bad questionnaire. Getting people to respond Increase perceived rewards: Provide info, ask for help, say thank you, give tangible rewards, support values, make interesting. Establish trust: Lean on role/organization, provide payment in advance, make task feel important, ensure confidentiality/security/anonymity. Decrease perceived costs: Make convenient, make short, minimize requests for sensitive info. Survey & Questionnaire Design Answers can lead to "question forks" (use flowcharts, online tools). For each question, ask: Do I need to know this? At what level of detail? How you word the question impacts results (pilot with friends, then non-friends). Open-ended questions. Close-ended (scalar) questions: Nominal: compare categories (e.g., colors). Ordinal: ordered categories (e.g., strongly disagree, agree). Partially closed questions (has an "other" option). Survey & Questionnaire Tips Ensure questions apply to respondent and require an answer. Ask one question at a time. Use simple, familiar words, no acronyms, well-defined words, complete sentences. Avoid double negatives. Match questions to responses. Avoid accidental biases (color, bolding, fonts). Check spacing/alignment across screen sizes. Participants will infer relationships/groupings based on layout.