Introduction

There are many ways a systems analyst can go about getting information needed to prepare for a project. Information gathering plays a big part in knowing your customer, their existing system, and what they are looking to accomplish. In the first portion of this assignment, we’ll make some decisions as to how to approach a client, picking an interview structure, and selecting questions for an interview. The second portion of this assignment will cover explaining to a customer why the information gathering technique known as Prototyping is a viable option, and how it can actually aid in users understanding and expressing their own needs.
Part 1 – Interviewing the Chief Accountant

The first step to approaching an interview is undoubtedly preparation. I would read as much information about the background of the company as I could from any number of sources. Some good suggestions on where I can find some of this information are places such as an annual report, a corporate newsletter, press releases, or even the internet (Kendall and Kendall, 2012). The better prepared I am, the more at ease I will be during the interview. I’m a firm believer that the more intelligently you can speak to someone about their products or company, the more at ease they become with you. For my interview approach, I have decided to use the funnel structure, beginning with some general, open ended questions, and then getting more detailed as the interview progresses. My reasoning behind this; top executives in a company, in my opinion, are very adamant about who’s in charge. They did not get to where they are by letting people step all over them and run any part of the show in their presence. The last thing they’d want is a systems analyst coming in and trying to lead a topic of conversation they may be very passionate about. According to Kendall and Kendall, “Using the funnel structure method provides and easy, nonthreatening way to begin an interview (2012, p. 109). I think if I start out this way, it may put them at ease, keeping them in the power position, but still getting me the information I need to proceed. I’d need to establish a few interview objectives as well. One key here is that I’m already interviewing the person that seems to be the most senior manager regarding an update to the company’s accounting system, the chief accountant. According to author Martin Modell, “From him or her the analyst will obtain an overview of the user area, an overview of the functions performed by that area, and an idea of how the area fits within the overall structure of the organization and its activities” (2007, p. 7). I’d like to get a feel for how information moves and is processed within the accounting department, how decisions are made and how often, and determine the quality of that information. There is also a need to consider as well many HCI concerns such as the usability of the system, how it fits a user’s capabilities, where their information sources come from, and what format it’s in (Kendall and Kendall, 2012). Knowing what I need to accomplish here, which is to obtain a detailed picture of the company and its use of their accounting system, I feel it necessary to not only interview the chief accountant, but also his four subordinates that use the system. As long as time provides me with that luxury, it would seem since there are only four of them, this should not be too much of an issue. I would however switch my interviewing techniques to that of the pyramid structure. Knowing that I may be seen more in an authoritative role in these interviews, this technique allows the interviewee time to warm up a bit to the topic at hand. Once I have them in a comfortable position, my questions can become a bit more open ended and allow for broader, more detailed responses (Kendall and Kendall, 2012). For this scenario, I will have chosen not to interview customers directly. Whether it would be by surveys, phone calls, direct mail, or online questionnaires, I have made the decision that time is of the essence, and I don’t have that luxury here. That’s not to say we can’t use some information from customers in determining the needs of the company’s automated accounting functions. An option would be for my team to take a look at any actual invoices from customers to determine any potential flaws that may be there. Missing payments, inverted account numbers, misspelled names, old accounts that have been closed for years and not needed anymore; these are just some things I feel can be found in documentation already on file with the company, and may provide some insight into why an upgrade is needed. Once again, the term preparedness comes up when choosing to send my initial interviewee a set of questions prior to our actual face to face interview. This time, instead of my preparedness, we’re speaking of the interviewee’s preparation. Again, since we’re speaking to the chief accountant, I feel it’s good to extend the courtesy of letting them think a bit about some of the questions they’ll be asked. They’ll be better prepared to speak to the issues, and again this may help them keep that sense of being “in control” of the process. With that in mind, the following are three questions I would present to the chief accountant:
1) What determining factors lead you to believe that your accounting system needed to be upgraded?
2) What are some of the functions you’d like to see improved upon in an upgraded system?
3) Describe several ways this new system could improve customer relations?
This should get me off to a great start and will hopefully lead to a very successful interview.
Part 2 – Prototyping as an Option for a Systems Analyst

From the scenario at hand, in which Flo Chart seems a bit frustrated when it comes to figuring out her users’ wants and needs, it seems she can use a little help understanding the benefits of prototyping. Employing this methodology will enable her to get a better grasp of what her users are looking for. How she can get this information is what we’ll discuss here. Prototyping itself is exactly what it sounds like, building a model of something. If you wanted to reinvent the toaster, you’d have to build several prototypes, or models, first, and then determine what works, and what still needs improvement. With information systems it is no different. According to Vicki Sauter, “Prototyping is the process of building a model of a system…and prototypes are employed to help system designers build an information system that’s intuitive and easy to manipulate for end users” (Sauter, 1999, paragraph 1). What Flo needs to understand is that by proceeding with the prototype method, her users would get “hands on” experience with it throughout the development process. They would get a working model, and would be able to test drive it, giving immediate feedback if something is not the way they want it. These users would be part of the building process for the entire project. Flo Chart would certainly get first hand reaction to exactly what the users are thinking. And, according the Kendall and Kendall, “Information gathered in the prototyping phase allows the analyst to set priorities and redirect plans inexpensively, with a minimum of disruption” (2012, p. 156). With a hands-on approach like this, it’s going to be much easier for the users to express what it is they actually need the system to do. Without it, it’s going to be much tougher for Flo Chart to understand their needs. Not everyone was an English major in college, and not everyone can write eloquent prose and give in depth analysis of what they want in written form. In Flo’s case, these users may be able to work the system blindfolded at a keyboard, but may struggle when it comes to describing it. Get them in front of a prototype, and let them “show” you what’s going on, and they’ll be much more productive.

References

Kendall, K. & Kendall, J. (2011), Systems Analysis and Design, 8E. Upper Saddle River, NJ; Pearson Education, Inc.; Prentice Hall.

Modell, M. (2007), A Professional’s Guide to Systems Analysis, 2nd Edition, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, NY; 1996. Retrieved March 3, 2012 from http://www.martymodell.com/pgsa2/pgsa07.html

Sauter, V. (May 26, 1999) University of Missouri-St. Louis, What is Prototyping? Retrieved March 18, 2012 from http://www.umsl.edu/~sauterv/analysis/prototyping/proto.html