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There are different methods that can be used to gather the information during the investigation and alaysis stage of the system life cycle. They include:

questionnaires

interviews

meetings

document analysis

observations.

The analyst will select the most appropriate method of investigation for the task. The choice will depend on:

the people involved

the type of information being gathered

the place in which the investigation is to be carried out.

Each method of investigation has benefits and limitations. Based on these, and the factors given above, the analyst may use more than one method during the investigation stage.

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Questionnaires are an excellent way of gathering information. However, the questionnaire must be structured correctly, the return of the questionnaires must be strictly controlled and the questionnaire must be sent to relevant end users.

The questionnaire should be structured clearly and provide opportunities for short answers based on facts and figures and descriptive answers. The balance of type of questions will ensure that all the information required by the analyst will be gathered.

The return of a questionnaire may cause a problem to the analyst. One idea may be to put a time constraint on the return of the questionnaire. Another idea may be to distribute the questionnaire at a meeting and collect them in at the end of the meeting - this is not always feasible and this approach should be carefully considered.

When designing a questionnaire it is important to consider who the questionnaire is aimed at. End users of a system can interpret questions differently depending on their job role within the organisation.

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The analyst can clarify that the information already gathered is correct by interviewing, or holding meetings with, users. IF the questions are well-planned, interviews can reveal new information and give the analyst the opportunity to understand the system with the end user's perspective. However, interviewing end users can be problematic if the organisation has a number of geographically distributed branches or offices.

The analyst should always carefully plan an interview. The questions to be asked must be unambiguous to ensure the information required is gathered.

One of the main benefits of interviewing is that the planned questions can be modified as the interview progresses. An answer might be given that raises some relevant and/or additional information that the analyst has not considered. If this occurs it may be beneficial for a checklist of points to be drawn up to ensure that all the points that need to be covered are covered.

Sometimes meetings and interviews do not go as planned. This may be because:

people are unable or unwilling to answer the questions

irrelevant or unnecessary information may be given in response to a question

insufficient information may be given in response to the question

inaccurate information may be given in response to a question. The interviewer may not be aware of any inaccuracy until the responses from other investigations are collated.

If the system to be designed is to meet the needs of the organisation, then it is important that the analyst has all the relevant information. This situation may mean that the interviewer has to ask more questions in order to gather the required information.

It is very important that the analyst talks to all different types of end user, from management to staff of all levels, and that the interviewee feels comfortable and at ease with the questioning. A good interview will enable a rapport to be developed between the interviewer and interviewee. This rapport may prove to be important if further interviews are needed or further information has to be gathered.

There are four factors that the analyst should consider when arranging interviews or meetings:

Who to interview or invite to the meeting.

Where and when to conduct the interview or meeting.

What questions to ask.

How to record the answers to the questions.

If all these points are carefully considered, then the interview or meeting will go well and all the information required by the analyst should be gathered.

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The analysis of documentation used in the current system is a good way of identifying the format of the input, processing and outputs that occur in that system.

The drawback is that this method of investigation can only be used when the information flow is document based. This method can be used to clarify the information given by the end user and can also trace the source and recipients of a particular piece of information used by the current system. The analyst should collect copies of all documents used by the current system.

The most common documents analysed include invoices, purchase orders, goods received notes, recepits, stock records and customer records.

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If several activities are taking place in the system being investigated, then observation may be the best methods for collecting the information.

Observing someone doing their job is better than asking someone to describe it. Over a period of time, the possibility of anything being forgotten or missed is reduced. Observation is suitable on a factory production line, for example, where there will not be much documentation for analysis and, because of the nature of the activity, interviewing or questionnaires are inappropriate.

The analyst observing a system will be able to identify all the processes that occur, how long the user takes to perform a specific task and what hardware, software and people are involved.

One thing the analyst must be aware of is that people are involved in a system. The analyst must always ask the permission of the people involved before beginning their observation or shadow. To ensure that the observation or shadow gathers the information required the following factors should be carefully considered:

How the findings will be recorded.

Where and when the observation/shadow will take place.

What part of the current system will be observed.

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Always keeping the user in mind to make sure the system is perfect for the users' needs and is easy for the user to work with.

The design is based upon an explicit understanding of users, tasks and environments. Users are involved throughout the design and development. The design is driven and refined by user-centred evaluation. The process is iterative. The design addresses the whole user experiences and the design team includes multidisciplinary skills and perspectives.