1. SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND
DESIGN-
COLLECTING DATA
Diana Oommachan

2. Topics covered..
• Introduction
• Fact-finding interviews
• Planning the interview
• Conducting the interview
• Questionnaires
• Observation
• Record Searching
• Document Analysis

3. Introduction
• Second stage in system analysis model-asking questions
and collecting data
• To collect data and related information, following fact
finding methods can be used:
• Interviewing
• Questionnaires
• Observation
• Searching records
• Document analysis

4. Interviews
• Interview is defined as ‘a conversation with a specific
purpose’
• Purpose can be :
• Selection in a recruitment interview
• Counseling in a performance appraisal interview
• Collecting information in a fact finding interview
• Two way communication
• Interviewer should
• Have good interpersonal skills
• Be a good listener
• Skillful in using the questions so that conversation flows smoothly

5. 3 stages of interview
1. Planning the interview
2. Conducting the interview
3. Recording the interview

6. I Planning the interview
• In this, we are trying to answer 5 questions:

7. • Answer to
• Question 1: helps to identify a set of objectives
• Question 2: leads to a list of interviewees and the
sequence in which they will be interviewed
• Question 3: gives a format or structure for the interview
• Question 4: gives the agenda
• Question 5: gives the location of interview

8. • First stage is to set clear, specific and
measurable objectives
• An objective can be : passive or active
• Passive objective: concerned with collecting information from the
interviewee
• Active objective: is about decisions or actions that the interviewee
must take

9. Structure of an interview
• 4 stages :-
• Social chat
• Overview
• Questions and answers
• Closing
• Length of each stage depends on
• The individual being interviewed
• Amount of detail required

10. 1 Social chat
• Interview begins with a casual, friendly opening to create
a relaxed atmosphere and put interviewee at their ease
• In this stage interviewer can give the interviewee some
background information about the reasons for the
investigation and answer any questions they have
• Early minutes of an interview are critical in building
rapport with the interviewee

11. 2 Overview
• Outlining the various parts of the interview
• Also explains:
• Objectives of the interview
• Time you will need
• Main topics to be covered
• Asking for interviewee’s permission to take notes

12. 3 Questions and answers
• Fact finding part of the interview
• In this stage, we ask questions to find out as much as
possible about the interviewee and their role in
organisation
• By listening carefully to the answers, making notes &
checking understanding of the information collected, a lot
of useful information can be gathered
• It is important to keep control and direct the interview to
ensure objectives are met
• It is important to maintain rapport with the interviewee

13. Model for structuring question & answer
stage

14. • Context questions:
• Contains the words ‘tell’, ‘explain’, ‘describe’
• Information about the background and work environment of the
interviewee within the organisation
• Detailed questions:
• helps to obtain specific information about the areas explored in step
one
• This contain facts & figures that indicate volume as well as
operational peaks and troughs
• Context and detailed questions helps to understand the
current system & enables to identify the nature and cause
of specific problems
• Once problems have been identified, ask further
questions to find out what effects the interviewee believes
each problem has on the organisation

15. • Next step ,which can take place alongside step three, is to
explore user’s views about the solution to a problem and
to find out what the user needs to correct the problem
• Then discover what the user’s real needs are so that any
solution developed will be effective and efficient
4 Closing
• In closing the interview:
• Summarize the points discussed
• Checking key facts with the interviewee
• Describe what will happen next as a result of the information
obtained

16. • As a final step in planning-
• The location of the interview should also considered
• There is usually a choice of location-either on client
premises or at analyst’s office

17. II Conducting the interview
• Listening
• Is an essential component of any effective face to face
communication
• Questioning
• Asking the appropriate question to obtain the information
required is central to fact finding interviewing

18. III Recording the interview
• No matter how skilled the interviewer, or how good their
questioning and listening, the interview is likely to be less
than successful if the recording techniques are incomplete
or inappropriate
• Some general guidelines for note taking include:
• Always asks for permission to take notes
• Use an ‘open’ note taking style, and don’t hide what we are writing
from the interviewee
• Pause during the interview while recording important information;
don’t try to listen and write at the same time
• Check with the interviewee that the information recorded is correct
and make sure that any actions required by either party are
accurately recorded

19. • A formal record should contain the following
information as a minimum:
• Date, location & duration of the interview
• Names of attendees
• Agenda or objectives
• Main points discussed
• Any conclusions
• Any actions
• The date of next meeting if appropriate

21. Questionnaires
• Data can be collected from a lot of people without having
to visit them all
• It is difficult to design a questionnaire that is both simple
and comprehensive
• Questions should be kept short and clear otherwise it will
be misunderstood by those questioned, making data
collected unreliable
• Questionnaire is most effective method of fact finding to
collect small amount of data from a lot of people:
• For eg: when staffs are located over a widely spread geographical
area,
• When time is short etc..

22. Contd..
• Questionnaire can also be used
• as a means for verifying data collected using other methods or
• As the basis for question & answer section of a fact finding
interview
• When designing questionnaire, 3 sections are to be
considered:
• Heading section: describes the purpose of questionnaire and
contains the main references-name, staff identification no:, date
etc..
• Classification section: for collecting information that can later be
used for analysing & summarizing the total data such as age,
gender, grade, job title
• Data section: made up of questions designed to elicit the specific
information being sought by the analyst

23. Heading section
Classification
section
Data
section

24. • Open and closed questions can be used
• One way of avoiding misunderstanding & gaining
cooperation is to write a covering letter explaining the
purpose of the questionnaire & emphasising the date by
which the questionnaire should be returned

25. Observation
• Observation provide clues about why the current system
is not functioning properly
• Observation is good for tracing bottlenecks and checking
facts that have already been noted
• Analyst does planned or conscious observations-
watching an operation for a period to see exactly what
happens
• Formal observation is done if agreement is given & users
are prepared to cooperate
• Systematic activity sampling:- making observations of a
particular operation at predetermined times
• Time is chosen initially by some random device

26. Record Searching
• Involves looking through written records to obtain
quantitative information, & to confirm information already
supplied by user staff or management
• Information can be collected about:
• Volume of file data & transactions, frequencies and trends
• Frequency with which files are updated
• Accuracy of data held in the system
• Unused forms
• Exceptions & omissions
• Using this information
• Assessment of volatility of information can be made
• Usefulness of existing information can be questioned

27. • If there is large number of documents, statistical sampling
can be used
• Statistical sampling- sampling randomly or systematically
to provide the required quantitative and qualitative
information

28. Document Analysis
• Involves collecting documents that show how the
information is organized in the system
• Different documents include:
• Reports
• Forms
• Organisation charts
• Formal lists
• Document analysis is powerful when used with other
techniques
• Analyst must ask questions about how, where, why and
when the document is used-helps in understanding the
purpose of document and its importance to business