1. What kinds of information should be sought in interviews?

• Open- ended questions

• Closed Questions
• Probe

2. List the five steps in interview preparation.

• Read Background Material
• Establish Interviewing Objectives
• Decide Whom To Interview
• Prepare The Interviewee
• Decide On Question Types And Structure

3. Define what is meant by open-ended interview questions. Give eight benefits and five drawbacks
of using them.
Open- ended interview questions leave open all response options for the
interviewee.
Eight Benefits of Open-ended interview questions
1. Putting the interviewee at ease.
2. Allowing the interviewer to pick up on the interviewee’s vocabulary, which reflects his or
her education, values, attitudes, and beliefs.
3. Providing richness of detail.
4. Revealing avenues of further questioning that may have gone untapped.
5. Making it more interesting for the interviewee.
6. Allowing more spontaneity.
7. Making phrasing easier for the interviewer.
8. Using them in a pinch if the interviewer is caught unprepared.
Drawbacks of Open-ended interview questions
1. Asking questions that may result in too much irrelevant detail.
2. Possibly losing control of the interview.
3. Allowing responses that may take too much time for the amount of useful information
gained.
4. Potentially seeming that the interviewer is unprepared.
5. Possibly giving the impression that the interviewer is on a “fishing expedition” with no real
objective for the interview.

4. When are open-ended questions appropriate for use in interviewing?

When interviewing, Open-ended questions when the analyst is interested in
breadth and depth of reply
 5. Define what is meant by closed interview questions. Give six benefits and four drawbacks of using them.
Closed interview questions limit the respondent’s options

Six Benefits of Closed Questions

• Saving interview time
• Easily comparing interviews
• Getting to the point
• Keeping control of the interview
• Covering a large area quickly
• Getting to relevant data

Four Drawbacks of Closed Questions

• Boring for the interviewee
• Failure to obtain rich detailing
• Missing main ideas
• Failing to build rapport between interviewer and interviewee

6. When are closed questions appropriate for use in interviewing?

Closed interview questions are appropriate for generating precise, reliable data
that is easy to analyze

7. What is a probing question? What is the purpose of using a probing question in interviews?
Probes allow the systems analyst to follow up on questions to get more detailed
responses.
The purpose of using a probing question in interviews are the following:
 To get more meaning
 To clarify
 To draw out and expand on the interviewee's point

8. Define what is meant by pyramid structure. When is it useful to employ it in interviews?

Pyramid Structure starts with closed questions and working toward open-ended
questions Is useful if interviewees need to be warmed up to the topic or seem reluctant to address the
topic.

9.Define what is meant by funnel structure. When is it useful to employ it in interviews?

Funnel Structure starts with open-ended questions and working toward closed
questions Is useful when the interviewee feels emotionally about the topic.

10.Define what is meant by diamond-shaped structure. When is it useful to employ it in interviews?

Diamond-shaped Structure starts with closed, moving toward open-ended, and
ending with closed questions Is useful when the interviewee feels emotionally about the topic.

11.Define joint application design (JAD).

JAD is a technique that allows the analyst to accomplish requirements analysis
and design the user interface with the users in a group setting
12. List the situations that warrant use of JAD in place of personal organizational interviews.
• Users are restless and want something new
• The organizational culture supports joint problem-solving behaviors
• Analysts forecast an increase in the number of ideas using JAD
• Personnel may be absent from their jobs for the length of time required.

13. List the potential benefits of using joint application design.

• Time is saved, compared with traditional interviewing
• Rapid development of systems
• Improved user ownership of the system
• Creative idea production is improved

14. List the three potential drawbacks of using JAD as an alternative to personal interviews.
• JAD requires a large block of time to be available for all session participants
• If preparation or the follow-up report is incomplete, the session may not be successful
• The organizational skills and culture may not be conducive to a JAD session

15. What kinds of information is the systems analyst seeking through the use of questionnaires or surveys?
 Attitudes
 Beliefs
 Behaviors
 Characteristics

16. List four situations that make the use of questionnaires appropriate.
17. What are the two basic question types used on questionnaires?
18. List two reasons why a systems analyst would use a closed question on a questionnaire.
19. List two reasons why a systems analyst would use an open-ended question on a questionnaire.
20. What are the seven guidelines for choosing language for the questionnaire?
21. Define what is meant by scaling.
22. What are two kinds of information or scales that are most commonly used by systems analysts?
23. What are nominal scales used for?
24. Give an example of an interval scale.
25. When should the analyst use interval scales?
26. Define reliability as it refers to the construction of scales.
27. Define validity as it refers to the construction of scales.
28. List three problems that can occur because of careless construction of scales.
29. What are four actions that can be taken to ensure that the questionnaire format is conducive to a
good response rate?
30. Which questions should be placed first on the questionnaire?
31. Why should questions on similar topics be clustered together?
32. What is an appropriate placement of controversial questions?
33. List five methods for administering the questionnaire.
34. What considerations are necessary when questionnaires are Web-based?