Tutorial 2 – Information Gathering (Interactive Method) 2%
1. As part of your systems analysis project to update the automated accounting functions
for Xanadu Corporation, a maker of digital cameras, you will interview Leo Blum, the
chief accountant. Write four to six interview objectives covering his use of
information sources, information formats, decision-making frequency, desired
qualities of information, and decision-making style.
a. In a paragraph, write down how you will approach Leo to set up an interview.
The user will make a phone call to Leo so that he can think for conducting the
interview. The user will make an appointment with Leo for the interview. The
general objectives and expected outcomes must be specified to Leo by user.
The user also has to reaffirm the time and venue to Leo one day before the
interview.
b. State which structure you will choose for this interview. Why?
Diamond-shaped structure will be chosen for this interview by the user. It is
supported with the evidence below:
1. This structure is a combination of funnel and pyramid structure.
2. The interview is started in a specific way.
3. After the starting phase, the objectives are examined.
4. In final step, a conclusion related to all the objectives is obtained.
c. Leo has four subordinates who also use the system. Would you interview them
also? Why or why not?
I will interview all the four subordinates. This is because all the users play
important roles in the system development. Normally the lower management
level is being interviewed, but we have only four subordinates which is not
enough for the data collection, so we can interview all of them.
d. Write three open-ended questions that you will email to Leo prior to your
interview. Write a sentence explaining why it is preferable to conduct an
interview in person rather than via email.
Objectives:
More efficient information retrieval system
Standardized inputs and outputs
Efficient decision making with decision support
Reliability and speed of information
Flexibility to accommodate decision style
The three open-ended questions which I will email to Leo are:
1. How can the quality of the received information improve?
2. What are the problems currently facing for receiving the information?
3. What type of the information is desired by Leo for making the decisions?
Conducting an interview in person is preferred because in personal face-to-
face interview, the answer given by the user can lead to other additional
probing questions which are not on the interview question list. The user
becomes more focus and dynamic when answering interview questions.
2. Examine the interview structure presented in the sequencing of the following
questions:
1. How long have you been in this position?
2. What are your key responsibilities?
3. What reports do you receive?
4. How do you view the goals of your department?
5. How would you describe your decision-making process?
6. How can that process best be supported?
7. How frequently do you make those decisions?
8. Who is consulted when you make a decision?
9. What is the one decision you make that is essential to departmental
functioning?
a. What structure is being used? How can you tell?
b. Restructure the interview by changing the sequence of the questions (you may
omit some if necessary). Label the reordered questions with the name of the
structure you have used.
3. A sample question from the draft of the Pohattan Power Company questionnaire
reads:
I have been with the company:
20 years or upward
10 to 15 years upward
5 to 10 years upward
Less than a year
Check one that most applies.
a. What kind of a scale is the question’s author using?
b. What errors have been made in the construction of the question, and what
might be the possible responses?
c. Rewrite the question to achieve clearer results.
d. Where should the question you’ve written appear on the questionnaire?
4. Also included on the PPC questionnaire is this question:
When residential customers call, I always direct them to our Web site to get an
answer.
Sometimes Never Always Usually
1 2 3 4
a. What type of scale is this one intended to be?
b. Rewrite the question and possible responses to achieve better results.
5. Cab Wheeler is a newly hired systems analyst with your group. Cab has always felt
that questionnaires are a waste. Now that you will be doing a systems project for
MegaTrucks, Inc., a national trucking firm with branches and employees in 130 cities, you
want to use a questionnaire to elicit some opinions about the current and proposed systems.
a. Based on what you know about Cab and MegaTrucks, give three persuasive
reasons why he should use a survey for this study.
b. Given your careful arguments, Cab has agreed to use a questionnaire but
strongly urges that all questions be open-ended so as not to constrain the
respondents. In a paragraph, persuade Cab that closed questions are useful as
well. Be sure to point out tradeoffs involved with each question type.
