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Systems Analysis and Development Approaches

Fact-finding techniques

  • 3 things to know
  • AS Unit 1

Overview

Fact-finding in systems analysis, how an interview is used as a fact-finding technique and how a questionnaire is used as a fact-finding technique.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Evaluation

Give two disadvantages of questionnaires.

Key term

Describe how an interview is used as a fact-finding technique.

Evaluation

Give two advantages of interviews over the other fact-finding techniques.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What is meant by fact-finding in systems analysis?

    Model answer

    Fact-finding is the gathering of information about how the current system works and what the users need, using techniques such as interviews, questionnaires, observation and document sampling.

  2. 2

    Describe how an interview is used as a fact-finding technique.

    Model answer

    An interview is a planned discussion in which the analyst asks a user prepared questions about their work, and follows up any answer that needs more detail.

  3. 3

    Give two advantages of interviews over the other fact-finding techniques.

    Model answer

    An interview lets the analyst ask follow-up questions and clear up misunderstandings immediately, and tone and hesitation reveal concerns a written answer would hide.

  4. 4

    Give two disadvantages of interviews.

    Model answer

    Interviews take a great deal of the analyst's and the user's time, and the answers can be biased by what the person being interviewed wants the analyst to hear.

  5. 5

    Why does an analyst interview staff at different levels of an organisation?

    Model answer

    Managers describe what the system should produce and the rules it must obey, while the staff who use it daily know the exceptions and the workarounds, so both views are needed for a complete picture.

  6. 6

    Describe how a questionnaire is used as a fact-finding technique.

    Model answer

    A questionnaire is a fixed set of written questions distributed to many users at once, and the returned answers are collated to show the common pattern of use and opinion.

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