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CHAPTER 4 PART II
Information

Requirements
Information Gathering: Analysis

Interactive Methods

Learning Objectives
Once you have mastered the material in this chapter you will be able to:
1. Recognize the value of using interactive methods for information gathering.

2. Construct interview questions to elicit human information requirements and structure them
in a way that is meaningful to users.
3. Understand the purpose of stories and why they are useful in systems analysis.
4. Understand the concept of JAD and when to use it.

5. Write effective questions to survey users about their work.
6. Design and administer effective questionnaires.

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You can use three key interactive methods to elicit human informa-
tion requirements from organizational members. These three methods
are interviewing, joint application design (JAD), and surveying people
through questionnaires. Although different in their implementation,
these methods have a great deal in common, too. The basis of their
shared properties is talking with and listening to people in the organiza-
tion to understand their interactions with technology through a series of
carefully composed questions.
Each of the three interactive methods for information gathering possesses its own
established process for you to follow in interacting with users. If followed, these systematic
approaches will help ensure proper design and implementation of interviews, JAD work-
shops, and questionnaires, as well as support insightful analysis of the resulting data. Unob-
trusive methods (sampling, investigation, and observing a decision maker’s behavior and
physical environment) that do not require the same degree of interactivity between analysts
and users will be covered in an upcoming chapter. By using interactive methods with unob-
trusive methods, you will achieve a more complete portrait of the organization’s information
requirements.

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