Chapter 3-Collecting Required Docs Flashcards
What to talk to business users about?
-Their Job
-Their Objectives
-Their Challenges
Interviews are
-Conducted with either individuals or very small groups
Advantages of Interviews
-You take a limited amount of time
-Easier to coordinate since one or few people are involved
-Encourage high degree of participations from the interviewees which generated detailed data
Facilitated Sessions
-Used to encourage creative brain storming
-Can reduce the elapsed time to gather information
-Require greater time commitment from each participant
What technique should be used?
The one that is more effective given your organization expertise, challenges and what you have already subjected your users to
How to prepare for Interview?
- Identify the Interview team:
-Lead Interviewer
- Scribe
-Observer
Identifying Interview Team
Determine the roles and responsibilities within the interview team
Lead Interviewer
-Directs the questioning
-takes notes
-usually a business analyst is key candidate
-
characteristics of Lead Interviewer?
has basic business knowledge and good verbal communication skills
Scribe
-Takes copious notes during the interview
-captures as much details as possible regarding the interview content
-develops the initial draft of deliverables from the requirements definition activities
Observer
-Optional part of the interview team
-DW team members might what to sit in
-no more than 2 observers
-Only spectators
Conduct the pre-interview Research
-Read company’s annual report
-be familiar with the strategic corporate initiatives, external marketing, website, reports
Selecting Interviewees
-Work with IS management to decide
-have a documented org chart to review with sponsor
-Figure out political ramifications
-work to prioritize potential interviewees
Select IS Data Audit Interviewees
-Speak with people responsible for core operational system
-Conduct preliminary interviews with programmers, DB administrators and data modelers
-Meet with IS laisons to the user community
Develop the interview questionnaires
-Lead interviewer develops multiple questions
-questions from teh data audit sessions are different from business requirement questions
-should all fit in one page and have a flow
- Lead interviewer should be able to create question on the fly
Scheduling Interviews
-Get administrator to help you
-Plan lead time that might be required by the interviewees
Sequencing Interviews
- Interview the business driver and follow it by a meeting with the business sponsor
-Initially interview in the middle of the hierarchy
-scramble interviews if interviewing several teams
Establish Interview time and place
- Execs private interviews in their office or adjacent office
-All other on users turf
-Schedule an hour meeting with 30 in between
-no more than 3 to 4 meetings a day
-Small groups schedule 1.5 to 2 hours
General Interviewing rules
-Remember Roles
-Verify Communications
-Define Terminology
-Establish Peer Basis
-Maintain Schedule Flexible
-Avoid Interview Burnout
-manage Expectation Continuously
Very Commu;nications
-Make sure you comprehend what interviewee is saying
-Address any confusion during interview
Define Terminology
-Do not take the vocabulary for granted
-Beware that the same work might have multiple meanings and that different words are frequently used to mean the same thing
Establishing peer Basis
Ignore differences in hierarchy
-establish peer relationship with interviewee
Maintain Interview Schedule Flexibility
-Anticipate additional interviews or other interviews suggest for you to meet with someone else.
-Interviews grow from 10 to 25 people
Avoiding Interviewing Burnout
Rotate lead interviewer and scribe responsibilities
