Page 139 -

106 Part 2 • InformatIon requIrements analysIs

Figure 4.2
Open-Ended Interview Questions
Open-ended interview questions
allow the respondent open options • What’s your opinion of the current state of business-to-business
for responding. These examples ecommerce in your firm?
were selected from different • What are the critical objectives of your department?
interviews and are not shown in • Once the data are submitted via the Web site, how are they processed?
any particular order. • Describe the monitoring process that is available online.
• What are some of the common data entry errors made in this department?
• What are the biggest frustrations you’ve experienced during the transition
to ecommerce?

4. Revealing avenues of further questioning that may have otherwise gone untapped
5. Making the interview more interesting for the interviewee
6. Allowing more spontaneity
7. Making phrasing easier for the interviewer
8. Using them in a pinch if the interviewer is caught unprepared
As you can see, there are several advantages to using open-ended questions. There are, how-
ever, also many drawbacks:
1. Asking questions that may result in too much irrelevant detail
2. Possibly losing control of the interview
3. Allowing responses that may take too much time for the amount of useful information gained
4. Potentially seeming that the interviewer is unprepared
5. Possibly giving the impression that the interviewer is on a “fishing expedition,” with no
real objective for the interview
You must carefully consider the implications of using open-ended questions for interviewing.
closed Questions. The alternative to open-ended questions is found in the other basic
question type: closed questions. Such questions are of the basic form “Is it easy to use the current
system?” and “How many subordinates do you have?” The possible responses are closed to the
interviewee because he or she can only reply with a finite number, such as “None,” “One,” or
“Fifteen.” Some examples of closed questions can be found in Figure 4.3.
A closed question limits the responses available to the interviewee. You may be familiar
with closed questions through multiple-choice exams in college. You are given a question and
five responses, but you are not allowed to write down your own response and get credit for cor-
rectly answering the question.
A special kind of closed question is the bipolar question. This type of question limits the
interviewee even further by allowing only a choice on either pole, such as yes or no, true or false,
or agree or disagree. Examples of bipolar questions can be found in Figure 4.4.
The benefits of using closed questions of either type include the following:

1. Saving time
2. Easily comparing interviews
3. Getting to the point

Figure 4.3
Closed Interview Questions
Closed interview questions limit
the respondent’s options. These • How many times a week is the project repository updated?
examples were selected from • On average, how many calls does the call center receive monthly?
different interviews and are not • Which of the following sources of information is most valuable to you?
shown in any particular order. ° Completed customer complaint forms
° Email complaints from consumers who visit the Web site
° Face-to-face interaction with customers
° Returned merchandise
• List your top two priorities for improving the technology infrastructure.
• Who receives this input?