ICTICT509 SW 1of1

Student workbook
ICTICT509
Gather data to identify business requirements
(Release 1)
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Version: 20191114
Date created: [24 June 2019]
Date modified: 22 February 2022
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Contents
Icon legends................................................................................................................................5
Getting started............................................................................................................................6
What will I learn by completing this workbook?....................................................................6
Topic 1: Information elicitation............................................................................................7
Overview.....................................................................................................................................8
Information and information sources....................................................................................8
Additional resources...............................................................................................................9
Additional resources.............................................................................................................11
Information repository.........................................................................................................12
Video: Repository.................................................................................................................14
Activity 1.1: Guide to data classification..............................................................................15
Information elicitation techniques............................................................................................16
Information gathering or information elicitation?...............................................................17
Video: Elicitation overview...................................................................................................17
Video: Reduce design debt...................................................................................................21
Activity 1.2: Discussion on real-world prototypes...............................................................22
Reviewing organisational information.................................................................................25
Activity 1.3: Performance management and information review.......................................27
Developing critical questions...............................................................................................28
Activity 1.4: Question techniques........................................................................................30
Video: Use the 5 whys of critical thinking............................................................................37
Summary...................................................................................................................................38
How did you go?...................................................................................................................39
Topic 2: Response analysis and report writing...................................................................40
Overview...................................................................................................................................41
Critical business factors.............................................................................................................41
History..................................................................................................................................42
Activity 2.1: Examples of critical success factors.................................................................42
Video: Critical success factors..............................................................................................43
Common critical success factors..........................................................................................43
Activity 2.2: Customer service..............................................................................................45
Video: Telling a customer what you can do.........................................................................45
Activity 2.3: Communication................................................................................................47
Video: Research and Development – LinkedIn Learning.....................................................48
Document title: ICTICT509_SW_1of1
Resource ID: TBS_19_004_ICTICT509_SW_1of1 Page 3 of 62
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Response analysis......................................................................................................................49
Activity 2.4: Scenario: Feedback Analysis............................................................................49
Video: Understanding roles in data analysis........................................................................50
Activity 2.5: Response analysis: survey................................................................................52
Report writing...........................................................................................................................53
Structure of a data analysis report.......................................................................................54
How did you go?...................................................................................................................56
References.................................................................................................................................57
Appendices................................................................................................................................58
Websites...............................................................................................................................58
Videos...................................................................................................................................59
Image attributions.....................................................................................................................60
Document checklist...................................................................................................................61

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Icon legends
Icon Description
Practice activity
Learning activities help you to gain a clear understanding of the

content in this resource. It is important for you to complete these
activities, as they will enhance your learning. The activities will
prepare you for assessments.
Collaboration
You will have opportunities to collaborate with others during your

study. This could involve group activities such as mini projects or
discussions that will enable you to explore and expand your
understanding of the content.
Self-check
An activity that allows you to check your learning progress. The

self-check activity gives you the opportunity to identify areas of
learning where you could improve. If you identify these, you could
review the relevant content or activities.
Resources (required and suggested)
Additional resources throughout this workbook such as chapters

from textbooks, online articles, videos etc. These are
supplementary resources, which will enhance your learning
experience and may help you complete the unit.
Assessment task
At different stages throughout the workbook, after you have

completed the readings and activities, you may be prompted to
complete one or more of your assessment tasks.
Video
Videos will give you a deeper insight into the content covered in
this workbook. If you are working from a printed version, you will
need to look these up using the URL provided.

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Getting started
What will I learn by completing this workbook?
This workbook has been developed for the unit of competency ICTICT509 Gather data to
identify business requirements (Release 1).
Successfully completing this unit of competency will give you the skills and knowledge to
review and gather information using a range of information elicitation techniques and
analyse the gathered information help defining business priorities through a formally
documented report.
In this workbook, you will learn:
 identification of the key information sources

 developing critical questions and applying various information gathering techniques
 response analysis and report writing.
Each topic includes opportunities to check your progress and understanding as well as
activities that will help you to complete the formal assessments.
There are two topics to complete within this workbook. They are:
1. Information elicitation.
2. Response analysis and report writing.
Alright, let’s get started!

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Topic 1: Information elicitation

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Overview
In this topic, you will learn about:
 information sources including information repositories

 information elicitation techniques
 reviewing organisational information
 developing critical questions.
The activities throughout this resource will assist you in your learning. These activities do not
form a part of your final assessment however they will contribute to your understanding of
the topic area.
Information and information sources

The businessdictionary.com defines information as of the data that is:
 accurate and timely

 specific and organized for a purpose
 presented within a context that gives it meaning and relevance
 can lead to an increase in understanding and decrease in uncertainty.
Information is valuable because it can affect behaviour, a decision, or an outcome. For

example, if a manager is told their company's net profit decreased in the past month, they
may use this information as a reason to cut financial spending for the next month.
A piece of information is considered valueless if, after receiving it, things remain unchanged.
For a technical definition of information see information theory.

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Resources
Additional resources
Read more about What is information? at BusinessDirectory website.
Information sources
Information sources can be categorised into two categories and regardless of the type of
information sources being looked at; or investigated will always essentially come from either
of these two categories.
Internal
External
Figure 1 Information sources.
A quick online search shows that information may be sourced into 27 different sources but
will be either coming from the internal or the external category. Internal information
consists of data created for the sole use of the business such as trade secrets, personal files
etc.

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Other internal sources of information can be:
 IT department
 finance department
 sales
 colleagues
 researchers
 business library
 market research
 internal formal and informal communication tools
 internal statistics
 meeting minutes.
External information is where documentation is made available to the public from a third
party. Other external sources can be wide-ranging and may include:
 events
 competitors
 stakeholders
 publications
 press releases
 consultants
 external researchers
 government departments
 professional accreditation organisations
 industry registration organisations
 universities and other academic institutions
 internet
 social media
 research publications and books
 industry news and newsletters.

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Resources
27 Information Sources for Your Business Decisions has more information for your reference.

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Information repository
According to the Wiki definition of a repository is,
…..a central place in which an aggregation of data is kept and maintained in an

organized way, usually in computer storage and maybe just the aggregation of data
itself into some accessible place of storage or it may also imply some ability to
selectively extract data.
Figure 2 Isometric concept of database.
There are different types of repositories depending on the source of the material stored. The
repository can be an information repository, data repository, business information
repository, business rule repository or corporate repository. Regardless of the type of
repository, it is a place where data or documents that carry meaningful information to a
business are stored.
A data repository is also known as a data library or data archive. This is a general term to
refer to a data set isolated to be mined for reporting and analysis. The data repository is a
large database infrastructure that may include several databases (that collect, manage, and
store data sets) for data analysis, sharing and reporting.
Chris Brook in the Digital Guardian’s Blog writes a data repository is a tool that is common in
scientific research but also useful for managing business data (2018).

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Examples of data repositories include:
 A data warehouse is a large data repository that aggregates data usually from
multiple sources or segments of a business, without the data being necessarily
related.
 A data lake is a large data repository that stores unstructured data that is classified
and tagged with metadata.
 Data marts are subsets of the data repository. These data marts are more targeted to
what the data user needs and easier to use. Data marts also are more secure because
they limit authorized users to isolated data sets. Those users cannot access all the
data in the data repository.
 Metadata repositories store data about data and databases. The metadata explains
where the data source, how it was captured, and what it represents.
 Data cubes are lists of data with three or more dimensions stored as a table you find
in a spreadsheet.
Advantages and disadvantages of data repositories

There is value in storing and analysing data. Businesses can make decisions based on more
than anecdote and instinct. However, using data repositories as part of data management is
another level of investment that can improve business decisions, such as:
 isolation allows for easier and faster data reporting or analysis because the data is
clustered together
 database administrators have easier time tracking problems because data
repositories are compartmentalized
 data is preserved and archived.
There are several vulnerabilities that exist in data repositories that enterprises must manage
effectively to mitigate potential data security risks, including:
 Growing data sets could slow down systems. Therefore, making sure database
management systems can scale with data growth is necessary.
 A system crash could affect all the data. Backup the databases and isolate access
applications so system risk is restrained.
 Unauthorized users can access all sensitive data more easily than if it was distributed
across several locations.

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Chris Brook (2018) in the same blog wrote about best practices for working with data
repositories. Some of the key points mentioned in applying the best practices when
working with data repositories are the following.
All stakeholders using the data repository must be involved in the decision-making
process but there should be one clearly identified person in the lead role taking the
responsibility.
Data repositories grow and evolve over time. Adequate buffers to accommodate
growth and evolution should be considered at the time of data repository planning.
This can be achieved by starting with a moderate data repository scope and
elaborating as more and complex data sets are added.
Ongoing education, training and support should be available to the users of the
repository.
Access control should be clearly established (read, write, edit, delete permissions)
from the planning phase of the repository.
Figure 3 Best practices.
Watch
Video: Repository
Watch the video Repository from the course Practical Application Architecture with Entity
Framework Core on LinkedIn Learning (duration 07:13).
What is a repository and how does it integrate with business functions?

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Practice activity
Activity 1.1: Guide to data classification

Data can be classified in numerous ways. Use the internet to conduct research to write a
brief summary of how you should classify data, why data classification is foundational and an
overview of different classification methods.

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Information elicitation techniques
Numerous information gathering techniques are used to collect, organise and analyse
information for a business. It is impossible to imagine that one technique can provide all
information about a business for information elicitation purposes. A combination of different
information gathering techniques works well in real-world business scenarios.
The question, however, arises that why and when the business information is required to be
analysed?
The answer is simple. The business is not a small corner store anymore (although it may still
appear as a corner store). The inventory, invoicing, tax obligations, regulatory and
compliance requirements, work health and safety (WHS) and many more.
All this makes a small corner store a complicated workout. Other factors include scenarios
where a business is performing better than planned requiring the need for expansion or
another way around when it is not performing to expectations. Different requirements will
apply in all situations as the scenario is constantly changing.
Imagine a big business. Same factors but at a much larger scale. Imagine a different type of
business. Factors will be the same or similar but from a different perspective. The point is to
understand the business or more correctly, the business requirements as it is requirements
that are constantly changing resulting in changes in business directions, strategy, future
planning and many more.
This makes understanding the business requirements a key to understanding a business and
to investigate any future planning. It becomes even more important when we consider the
variety of requirements of the different stakeholders in a business.

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Information gathering or information elicitation?
The two terms, while they appear similar, may still be significantly different (mainly in the
methods used in different contexts). Historically, the term information gathering was used to
gather or collect or capture requirements but that changed with the publication of the 2 nd
Edition of the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK) Guide in 2009.
Since then the term eliciting requirements is used instead of capture, gather or collect
requirements. The term elicitation gives a wider meaning to the replaced terms of gather,
collect and capture. Elicitation is thus trying to uncover unstated and implied needs, not just
what the information is provided by the stakeholders about their requirement(s).
This probes more than the “told information” as it asks you to have to work at it to discover
what information is not given or not understood (in a way, sometimes reading in between
the lines).
Sometimes, in a situation called as conflicting requirements, it is not always possible to elicit

useful information by using conversation techniques alone as just asking more questions
may not shed any more light on the conflict.
In such situation, the very first thing to do is to verify that they are expressing a requirement
that represents a need and not a solution; then be clear whether they are describing the
current state or the future state.
Asking the question “why does it have to be that way?” or “why is it that way?” can often
differentiate between a requirement and a design; and their perspective of the current or
future state. Once you have confirmed that there really is a conflict about the requirement,
consider using other elicitation techniques to provide independent corroboration, such as
research (web searches, reports from expert consultants, current process documentation,
statistical reports of transactions), benchmarking to learn what other organisations do, and
surveys (Phil Vincent, 2018).
Watch
Video: Elicitation overview

Watch the video Elicitation overview from the course Requirements Elicitation and Analysis
on Linkedin Learning (duration 20:06).

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Now that you have watched the video that describes some elicitation techniques, you can
look in relative detail about these and additional information elicitation techniques.
Brainstorming
It is used to gather a good number of ideas from a group of people. Usually brainstorming is
used in identifying all possible solutions to problems and simplifies the detail of
opportunities. It casts a broad net, determining various discreet possibilities. Prioritisation of
such possibilities is vital to locate needles in a haystack.
In a brainstorming session, a group of stakeholders produce a whole bunch of ideas around a

specific topic. If it is done correctly, it inspires creative thinking, new ideas, or a new
approach to a problem. Idea generation is critical for all areas of the work. Brainstorming is
useful to know about:
 stakeholders who are impacted

 features of solution
 options and alternatives
 risks
 ways to resolve issues
 reactions and feelings that users might have when using the product.
Brainstorming works on both the scenarios and exception paths. When brainstorming you
need to remember that an effective session requires planning and good techniques.
Document analysis
Document Analysis is an important gathering and elicitation technique. Evaluating the
documentation of a present system can assist when making AS-IS* process documents and
also when driving the gap analysis for scoping of the migration projects. In the business
world today, it is important to analyse the primary documents: the documents that provide
the early days of the business.
This gives an understanding of the business requirements at the start of the business as a
beginning point for documenting current requirements. Once this is achieved, it is easy to
understand business requirements today and the future requirements predictions become
relatively easy.
In a way, it is looking at the business from where it started, where it is today and where it
wishes to be tomorrow. Chunks of information are mostly buried in present documents that
assist in putting questions as a part of validating the requirement completeness.

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* AS-IS also called as “As Is” business process defines the current state of the business
process in an organisation. Typically the analysis goal in putting together the current state
process is to clarify exactly how the business process works today, kinks and all. (definition
from bridiging-the-gap.com).
Focus groups
A focus group is actually gathering of people who are customers or users representatives for
a product to gain its feedback. The feedback can be collected about opportunities, needs,
and problems to determine requirements or it can be collected to refine and validate the
already elicited requirements. This type of market research is different from brainstorming
in which it is a managed process with particular participants.
There is a risk in following the crowd and some people think that focus groups are at best
unproductive. One danger that we usually end up with is with the least common
denominator features. To achieve the maximum in terms of gathering and understanding
requirements, it is always better to have a structured or facilitated focus group meeting,
whereas a facilitator you can exercise some control (particularly in situations when
momentum is either going unidirectional or becoming too broad to evade the actual
purpose of the focus group).
Interface analysis
Interface for any software product will either be human or machine. Integration with
external devices and systems is another interface. The user-centric design approaches are
quite effective to ensure that you make usable software.
Interface analysis basically is analysing the touchpoints with another external system and is
vital to ensure that instantly invisible requirements are not overlooked. A change of shoes
from a requirements analyst to user works effectively. The technique works well in
combination with document analysis (the two non-conversant techniques).
Interview
Interviews of users and stakeholders are important in creating wonderful software. Without
knowing the expectations and goal of the stakeholders and users, it is highly unlikely to
satiate them. It is important to understand the perspective of every interviewee, in order to
properly address and weigh their inputs. Like a good reporter, listening is a quality that
assists an excellent analyst to gain better value through an interview as compared to an
average analyst.

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For an interview to be effective, when interviewing a key stakeholder, it is a great practical
idea to split the interview into three steps:
Follow-
Prepare Conduct
up
Figure 4 Interview process.
When preparing, think from both positions. What is your purpose of the interview and what
is the role of the interviewee?
The questions should be both engaging and probing as engaging questions open up the
client and probing questions elicit more detail. If the interview is being recorded, that is
better but if not; it is always advisable not to take too extensive notes (as it disconnects the
interviewer and interviewee) – bullet points are good enough. Interviews should always have
a good mix of open-ended and close-ended questions.
What is the best technique for conducting the most successful and productive interviews? It
is not an easy question to answer as the answer depends on the scenario where the
interview is being conducted. Preparation for the interview and following-up on the
interview are two key elements of conducting successful interviews. The outcomes of the
interview must be clearly documented, understood and agreed by the interviewee (and the
interviewer as well). Such documents help the integration of the information elicited from
one technique into other techniques as a composite requirements document.
Observation
The observation covers the study of users in their natural habitat. By watching users, a
process flow, pain points, awkward steps and opportunities can be determined by an analyst
for improvement. Observation can be of two types: it is either passive or active.
When using passive observation, direct user interaction is not needed rather the users are
observed for the process they use and their emotions. It tells more about their behaviour in
using a particular product: their frustrations and delighting high points for example. Passive
observation provides better feedback to refine the requirements.

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When doing an active observation, the observation is on-site and together working with the
user. Questions are asked during the process to better understand or confirm what we are
seeing. Active observation takes a lot longer and interrupts the user. The results might be
more accurate or less accurate depending on the context and on the person being observed.
Active observation works best for obtaining an understanding of an existing business
process. Any of these approaches can be used to uncover the implicit requirements that are
often overlooked.
7. Prototyping
Prototyping can be very helpful at gathering feedback. Low fidelity prototypes make a good
listening tool. Many times, people are not able to articulate a specific need in the abstract.
They can swiftly review whether a design approach would satisfy the need. Prototypes are
very effectively done with fast sketches of storyboards and interfaces. Prototypes in some
situations are also used as official requirements.
Prototypes can be categorised into four categories based on the purpose:
 Generate new ideas

 Convey complex interactions
 Document design intent and
 User reaction / feedback to the idea/s
Watch
Video: Reduce design debt

Watch the video Reduce design debt from the course Design Thinking: Prototyping on
Linkedin Learning (duration 11m:09s).
This video gives you a better insight into the modern-day use of prototyping to understand a
product from all aspects of stakeholder requirements.

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Collaboration
Activity 1.2: Discussion on real-world prototypes

Conduct a discussion in small groups or with the entire class on any examples of real-world
prototypes that you can think about, for example, Google glasses, driverless cars etc.
During the discussion consider:
 Customer Perspective
 Innovative technology
 Practicality
Requirements workshop
Popularly known as joint application design (JAD), these workshops can be efficient for
gathering requirements. The requirements workshops are more organized and structured
than a brainstorming session where the involved parties get together to document
requirements. Creation of domain model artefacts like activity programs or static diagrams is
one of the ways to capture the collaboration. A workshop with two analysts is more effective
than one in which one works as a facilitator and the other scribes the work together.
Effectively in the current business environment, the requirements workshops are not about
gathering and documenting requirements, rather they are about elicitation which is
strategically drawing out information from stakeholders and customers. The goal is to
develop workshops that include high impact collaboration, deep dialogue, and learning, as
well as exploring ideas and details.
A great modern requirements workshop requires a lot of planning, excellent facilitation

skills, and value-focused follow-up. When planning a requirements workshop, it is always
best to start with a clear definition of the goal. This will help in understanding the purpose of
the workshop, information elicitation requirements and how the workshop can be valuable
to the stakeholders.
A clear set agenda, with roles of attendees defined, helps a great deal. The best workshops
include engaging activities, games, small group work sessions, and some large group
discussion. Including the interactive and visual activities, like brainstorming with sticky
notes, group modelling and diagramming, and/or collaborative games always help
stakeholders getting engaged better and opening up about their requirements.

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Reverse engineering
It is a technique which is more commonly used in Is this a last resort or starting point? When
a migration project is not having enough documentation of the current system, reverse
engineering will determine what system does? It will not determine what the thing went
wrong with the system and what a system must do? Reverse engineering is considered a
useful requirement gathering technique when documentation is not available and the
project team has to work backwards to know and understand the system requirements.
The use of this elicitation technique is increasing across the field because of all the legacy
systems (old computer systems) sitting around. These systems need to be updated or
replaced. Applications built on the mainframe 30 years ago were never expected to last as
long as they have, and technology has progressed so far that these systems have to be
reverse-engineered so people can figure out how they work. Some examples of the
situations when reverse engineering works better as an information elicitation tool than
other techniques are:
1. When you are not sure what is happening within your code or need to understand
how an old computer system calculates a certain field.
2. When the software documentation is out of date.
3. When business users are not aware of the business rules being enforced.
4. When you’re interfacing systems and need to know the correctness of data in each
system.
Resources
Further details on reverse engineering in simple learning material are available in the article
Introduction to reverse engineering for business analysis. written by Kupe Kupersmith.

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Survey
Consider a scenario, when information is to be collected from too many stakeholders. A
good screening and starting point for eliciting requirements information would be a survey.
It is particularly useful when:
 gathering information from many people

 too many to interview with
 time and constraints.
The survey insists the users choose from the given options agree or disagree, or rate
something. You can make a survey on your own and try to add meaningful insight into it. A
well-designed survey must give qualitative guidance for characterizing the market. It should
not be used for prioritizing of requirements or features nor should it be used as a stand-
alone technique to gather requirements.
It should be used in combination with other information elicitation techniques.
Figure 5 Questionaire form.

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Reviewing organisational information
Organisational information review is an essential component in the current business
environment. National Archives of Australia defines an information review as a,
Process for identifying and evaluating the ability of your agency's core information
assets to meet your business needs.
The term agency used in this definition essentially refers to a business as well. An
information asset is information in any format which supports a business process.
Main and secondary outcomes of an information review are:
 Improving understanding of the business information needs. Includes identification

of what information is captured, created, used, who uses it, whether it meets user
and business needs, and who is responsible for the information asset.
 Identifying both strategic and operational opportunities and risks. Includes new
opportunities, potential business benefits and efficiencies, information that is being
underused or areas where insufficient or untrustworthy information is a barrier to
efficient business practices or public trust.
 Creating a shared understanding of information assets within the business. This can
support your Information governance framework.
 Identifying silos of information. Information closely held by one part of an
organisation, but which has wider use within a business. By breaking down those silos
and encouraging information to be freely shared within your organisation, business
benefits will be optimised.
 Assisting in the development of information architecture. Will aid in the
understanding of the information structure and the forward planning use of
information in your business.
 Identifying information handling and processing mechanism. Includes disposal and/or
making it free for public access.

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Organisational review
An organisational review is a process to collect, organize, analyse, interpret, and share
relevant information to enable the strengthening of the organisation. The purpose of the
organisational review is to enhance organisational success through the development of
insight and intelligence about the organisation.
There are three main purposes for organisational assessment or review.
1. Strategic—providing critical insights needed to develop and launch new directions,

goals, objectives, and priorities. Serves as a foundation for strategy development and
implementation.
2. Foundational—ideal for launching new projects or initiatives. This type of assessment
collects and analyses information needed about the goals, stakeholders, expected
benefits, impacts, and other related information that is key to the success of the
project and change management efforts.
3. Improvement—focused on identifying ways to improve organisational performance
and results. Results often lead to improvements in processes, structure, skill
development, revenue generation, and cost reduction initiatives.
Other scenarios where organisational information can be subjected to review may include:
 growing business needs

 change in business goals
 legislation changes
 acquisition by another organisation
 major infrastructure upgrades including relocation
 technology change mandated requirements.
Each of the above scenarios will have a different underlying set of requirements to review
organisational information but the process will essentially be similar, if not same.

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Practice activity
Activity 1.3: Performance management and information

review
Conduct online research to understand the relationship between performance management
and information review. How does this add a different dimension to information review
requirements to the ones discussed above?
Record your findings below.

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Developing critical questions
Regardless of the technique or a combination of techniques used for information elicitation,
the success of the entire effort will be dependent on asking the right questions.
Garbage in, garbage out is a popular phrase used in relation to computer systems. It is an
input and output relationship. If the input is wrong, the output cannot be right; it will
essentially be wrong.
Exactly the same applies to the questions that are being prepared and will be asked for a
response by various stakeholders in a business. If you ask the wrong questions, you will
probably get the wrong answer, or at least not quite what you are hoping for. That is why it
is important to not only have the questions right but also the type of questioning technique
being employed has to be right too. Remember: it is not about the information elicitation
technique rather it about the type of questions being asked to elicit information.
Questioning techniques
There are numerous questioning techniques that are available to elicit information. The
problem, therefore, is not knowing how to ask: rather it is what to ask to obtain the required
information. Some of the questioning techniques are discussed below.
Open and closed questions

Closed questions warrant a yes or no or right or wrong answer, basically a one-word
response only. Open questions elicit longer answers. They usually begin with terms like
‘What’, ‘Why’ and ‘How’. The following examples describe both of these types of questions.
Table 1 Question examples.
Question Open or closed?
Do you use a tablet for work? It is a close-ended question. There can be

only one answer. It is either yes or no.
Why do you prefer an android tablet over The answer to this question cannot be one
other platforms? word. The respondent will talk about the
reasons for his preference for one type of
platform over the other.

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Closed questions are good for starting a conversation but bad when the conversation is
flowing.
Open questions are good for developing an open conversation, finding out more detail and
specifically knowing the opinion of a stakeholder on a concern or issue.
Closed questions should be used as a trigger to lead to open questions although these are
not the same as leading questions.
Leading questions
These are the types of questions where you are leading the respondent to your way of
thinking.
Do you have an estimate of the increase in the project budget?
This question carries the information that project is going over budget and in all probability
prepares the respondent for the next question.
How much additional funding would be reasonable for this project?
Choosing a Mac over PC is a better option. Isn’t it?
This is another example of a leading question. Such questions are based on the assumption
that our natural tendency is to prefer to say yes over saying no. The way, such questions are
structured play a major role in getting the response you are anticipating.
Would you like me to go ahead with a Mac purchase? or Should I buy a Mac or not?
The question is the same about purchasing a laptop. Here there is just a slight rewording
that can have a different response. In the second question you are giving a no option where
in the first question, the option of no is not obvious rather hidden under a yes.
Probing Questions
Probing questions build on open questions and ask for more details with direct and indirect
questions. The word exactly is key to asking such questions.
What exactly you mean by the efficient use of this software?
Exactly what is expected from this report?
What exactly is missing from this document?
These are some of the common examples of probing questions.

© TAFE NSW 2019
Probing questions are good to gain clarification that you know the whole story and
thoroughly understand it as well. Sometimes people do not want to tell you something or
are trying to avoid in providing information: in such situations probing questions can be a
great help.
Rhetorical questions
Rhetorical questions are not really the questions as an answer is not expected. This is more
about engaging in a conversation that is designed to gain insight into a business system
requirements or a stakeholder opinion on a particular matter.
Isn’t Geoff proving to be an excellent project manager? or alternatively, I think Geoff is

proving his worth as project manager.
Both are rhetorical questions but the second one is not even asked in a question format.
These questions are always good for engaging the respondent with an opportunity to open
up. Consider if the above question was phrased as Geoff is an excellent project manager, as
an assertive statement. It is understandable that the motive of such a statement was to
inform rather than enquire or to know.
Since the answer is generally embedded in the question, rhetorical questions are good for
getting the people to agree with your point of view.
Collaboration
Activity 1.4: Question techniques

Visit the LinkedIn Learning website from your learner portal and search for videos on
questioning techniques.
Select and watch any short video (three to four minutes long).
Share and discuss the video content in relation to questioning techniques with other
students in your class.

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Examples of critical questions
The information elicitation techniques that may be used for any business or project; are just
one part of the process. A business analyst or project manager may have worked hard to
decide on the information elicitation techniques, but once the implementation of the
techniques begins, does not have the right questions to ask. This is a familiar situation in
real-world scenarios and a major reason for either poor understanding of the requirements
or too much time consumption to sort something otherwise not that difficult if the
preparations were appropriate.
The following examples provide a start of the creation of critical questions that apply to
most scenarios. Clearly, there will be variations based on the scenario and that must be
considered when creating specific scenario-based questions.
Question one
What points of pain are we trying to look into or investigate with this proposed work
(project)? or What is the primary concerns that we will be trying to address with the work?
Using this or a similarly worded question helps to discover the true business problem and to
begin progress toward identifying the root cause. Using the phrase like ‘points of pain’ draws
out more useful and specific information than just asking what is the business problem, for
example.
Depending on the scenario, however, a direct question may also be a good idea but it can be
phrase something like:
 What specific business problems is this work or project aimed at resolving?
The response will trigger some follow-up thoughts resulting in more questions like:
 Why does a particular problem exist? You are trying to elicit information about the
systems and processes.
 What specific requirements will, the solution to the problem address? You are asking
about the requirements without discussing any probable solution.
 Which sections or departments of the organisation are more affected? Here you are
trying to have information about stakeholders at this early stage.

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Question two
How does the business requirement add value to your team or organisation?
The goal is to understand the business a bit more and allowing the stakeholders to provide
their input in the process. The point is to elicit the feedback at this stage about the
significance of the business requirements as viewed by the stakeholders. Is it just a
requirement that is a nice to have feature benefiting a certain group of people or will it add
business value to the organisation?
The answer to this question is useful in determining what the ultimate priority level of the
requirement will be. Ultimately, you want to focus on the requirements that provide the
most business value to the entire organisation.
The response can trigger some follow-up questions as well. For example, if it is only a nice-
to-have feature, a question can be:
 Have you considered integrating the feature into long-term business goals?
Here you are trying to elicit undocumented in-between-the-lines information about the
requirement and its relationship to the business goals. A motive is one word that you are
looking for this particular requirement.
If however, it is a situation where the requirement adds value to the business organisation,
the follow-up question can be different like:
 Have you considered priority levels for this requirement as it relates to adding value
to the entire business or organisation?
Here you are eliciting information about relevant details that the business has considered or
considering this requirement in relation to other business requirements.
Question three
What will happen to the business if we choose to not implement this requirement?
What would happen if we do not go through with this project?
What would be the worst possible result (outcome), if the project is not implemented?
These questions elicit information on two aspects. One, it is enquiring about the what-if
scenario and two it is looking the requirement from the outcome (of implementation)
perspective.
Depending on the way, the question has been phrased, the response will trigger follow up
questions accordingly.

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A series of questions can include:
 Which of the following areas, this requirement or project is going to improve:

o operational effectiveness
o customer satisfaction
o increased revenue or decreased costs
o compliance or other regulatory requirements.
If it is none of the above, then a logical follow-up question would be:
 What specific outcomes are expected from this requirement or project?
Here is a direct question The reason is to elicit clarity about the requirement as it is not
relevant to any of the above-mentioned improvements].
Question four
What does successfully meeting the requirement or completing the project mean to you? or
How will you define success for the required outcome or the project?
This can be a question that can provide a lot more information, not just about a specific
requirement but on the entire purpose. Primarily, you are looking at the scope of work here.
Remember the scope: It is all and only work required to complete a project from start to
finish.
This question can be answered in many ways. As a questioning technique, it should be

thoroughly discussed with all relevant stakeholders. It is through this question that
objectives will be determined, success criteria will be established and discussion about what
will and what will not be included will be carried out. The question thus may need breaking
in a number of short questions or opportunity be provided to the stakeholder to go over it in
detail.
The response to this question will be different from each stakeholder and thus the follow-up
questions will be highly dependent on the stakeholder response. Some possible follow-up
questions will be:
 What is the single most important outcome that you want to make sure happens as a
result of the work?

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You are trying to get an insight into the stakeholder minds as success can have different
meanings for different stakeholders. You are also trying to understand the business
environment and looking into the conflicting interests of stakeholders through such
elicitation question.
 Have you created a checklist enlisting success factors or acceptance criteria to which
the work will be matched post-implementation?
This is again an example of eliciting details about the project success criteria]. Logical follow
up to this question would be:
 Is the list (if available) arranged in any order of importance or priority?
Question five
 Who are the people, departments or business units in the organisation who are most
excited to see the requirement or project work through?
 Which areas or units are going to be benefited most from the implementation of this
requirement or project work?
The question can be phrased in different ways. The point is to know the major stakeholders
of the requirement or project. Identification of the key stakeholders is carried out through
this question. The questions also work well as a starting point for identifying major players
and high-level use cases or user stories. The way the question is phrased will have a major
impact too. A question like:
 Who is going to be impacted by the project?
Is too generic to draw too much attention or get a detailed response that provides useful
and enough information.
The response will trigger follow up questions. Some of such follow up questions can be:
 How is the problem or situation dealt with, currently?
Here you are trying to elicit information about the current situation including existing
resources (indirectly) and business processes as operating today. It is an important element
to understand as it helps in identifying existing gaps that may not be limited to the scope of
a set of requirements or a project alone.
 Who else might I speak with to get additional perspective on how this
process/function/etc. should work?
Here you are trying to elicit information about more stakeholders that may or may not have
been identified to this stage or their roles may not have been fully elucidated by this stage.

© TAFE NSW 2019
© TAFE NSW 2019
Question six
 What are the key business data requirements to capture and store for future use?
Stakeholders have, acquire, process and store business information at various stages of their
engagement with the business. It is important to elicit from your stakeholders what key
business information will need to be captured and stored for future use.
This question is eliciting information from the stakeholders to understand their own business
information handling processes. This is what it appears to be the case. But in reality, the
question is more about uncovering what information is most important to the stakeholders
and in turn helping understand their business processes. Gaps may be found in the current
business process and requirements might surface that needed to get to the desired future
state of the business.
Eliciting the key business data requirements will be useful when creating a data model, data
dictionary, database, or business report that will contain this key information. Collaboration
is the key to success in such work. After eliciting the business data requirements, it is
important to validate with the stakeholders that all data required that will provide the most
value to the business has been captured.
If not already addressed in the response, a follow-up question will be:
 Do you have appropriate data waste disposal processes?
This is a question about the way information will be disposed at the end of a classification
period; for example. In-depth, it is also reviewing business information handling practices
and reconfirming the information provided by the stakeholders.
Question seven
 How will this requirement help the business become more efficient?
This appears to be a repeat question in the list, but actually, it is an attempt to provoke the
stakeholders to think from the business processes first and then about the overall business.
Asking how this requirement will help the business become more efficient will get your
stakeholders to think about their current process and help determine the business value and
priority of the new requirement.
Consider a currently practised time-consuming manual process. The proposed project is

about the automation of this manual process. In such a scenario, it is important to elicit
requirements information to automate the process and validate that the elicited business
requirements truly will result in creating a more efficient automated business process that
delivers value and return on the investment.

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Working together with the stakeholders to understand the gain in efficiency and eliciting the
requirements necessary to make this efficiency gains a reality is the only way forward.
Question eight
 What are the key business resources (people and processes) involved with this
business process or project?
It is extremely important to identify all key business stakeholders with whom to elicit and
collaborate on requirements. An easy first step is to begin eliciting requirements with a
single known stakeholder, such as a department supervisor, who has an overall
understanding of the changes the business desires.
However, you should ask up front as to who will be the key business resources involved with
the current process and look at the process resources of the business that will be involved in
the requirements gathering process. This may require asking a question more than once or
rephrasing the same question with minor variations to gain more insight.
In the above example of automating a manual business process, it is better to find out who is
the resource that is currently manually performing this process. Eliciting information from
this resource will provide you with a deep insight into the process as well as expected
outcomes through a set of requirements to be completed through an automation project.
People, processes and technology are the three broad categories of assets (resources) for
any business. It is important to understand the relevance of the requirement to the resource
as otherwise even after all this hard work, unclear or incomplete requirements may be
gathered in an outcome nobody in industry would prefer.
The follow-up questions in such a scenario will be dependent on the resource identification.
For example, if the resource is a finance process, the follow-up questions will be related to
finance not technology or people resources.

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Question nine
 Is there anything else that needs to be documented as part of information elicitation
process?
 Is there anything that has not been covered in our discussions?
It is always better to close the elicitation of information process with a question like this. It
ensures that everything has been covered. It provides another opportunity for the
stakeholders to review the entire requirements elicitation process.
Ideally, a checklist verification and sign-off can be an informal close-out of requirements

gathering process.
Regardless of how well planned the process is or how well have you brainstormed the
possible questions, almost inevitably something will be missing. That is just what happens in
the real world. Asking if there is anything else almost always uncovers a couple of items of
value.
Watch
Video: Use the 5 whys of critical thinking

Watch the LinkedIn Learning video Use the 5 whys of critical thinking (duration 03:10).

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Resources
For further information review 5 Critical Business Requirements Elicitation and Collaboration
Questions located at skyline technology website.
You can search for additional websites that discuss the elicitation of information through
critical questioning about business requirements.
Summary
Information is necessary for any business to operate in today’s world. As such information is
collected, processed, analysed, used, stored and disposed of: processes that are being
carried out at all type, nature or size of businesses. As such, information is required to be
organised in a way that it is available when needed and integrity is maintained through all
the processes information collection to disposal.
Information repositories is not a new concept although it has evolved over the years.
Identifying the information sources, the way it is organised is the first step in understanding
information repositories and storage concept.
Information gathering has been replaced by information elicitation. Information gathering is

about direct open or close-ended questions getting set answers. Information elicitation, on
the other hand, uses questioning techniques that provide a lot more detailed information
about the business, business processes, resources, stakeholders, future directions, interests
etc. Information elicitation starts with simple straight forward questions gradually narrowing
down to the specific requirements. There are many information elicitation techniques that
are currently used in the industry.
Organisations need to review information at regular intervals for various reasons.

Compliance being one issue, regular reviewing also lets the business evaluate its standing in
current market conditions. Strategic directions might need a slight or major change, for
example.
Asking the right questions is critical to obtaining the right information. Examples of some
critical questions and the way, these questions should be asked, are given in the last part of
the topic.

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In summary, while information elicitation is a tedious and formal process, in fact, if planned
and prepared properly, it can be a quick and effective way of collecting customer/business
requirements that are not only correct but current and relevant to the specific industry in
which the business operates.
Self-check
How did you go?

You have completed the topic on Information elicitation. Check the boxes for the tasks you
feel confident you can complete.
☐ I understand what an information repository is and what it contains while reviewing

organisational documentation.
☐ I understand and can utilise a wide range of information gathering techniques.
☐ I can develop critical questions using a mixture of open and closed methods to elicit
information from key stakeholders.

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Topic 2: Response analysis and
report writing

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Overview
In this topic, you will learn about:
 critical business factors

 response analysis, individual and group responses
 report writing, documentation.
The activities throughout this resource will assist you in your learning. These activities do
not form a part of your final assessment however they will contribute to your understanding
of the topic area.
Critical business factors

The critical business success factors (CSF) are defined by dictionary.com as the factors that
have,
….a limited number (usually between three to eight) of characteristics, conditions, or

variables that have a direct and serious impact on the effectiveness, efficiency, and
viability of an organisation, program, or project.
Activities associated with CSF must be performed at the highest possible level of excellence
to achieve the intended overall objectives. Also called key success factors (KSF) or key result
areas (KRA). A simple example to consider is the scenario of an environmental study in the
middle of a desert. In this scenario, while your study may have clearly defined and unique
critical success factors particular to the study domain, you must consider plans for obtaining
sustained water supply as another critical success factor.
Resources
Read more about What is critical success factors (CSF)? at the Business Dictionary website.

© TAFE NSW 2019
© TAFE NSW 2019
History
In his article published on the bizfluent website, Mariel Loveland (2019) briefly talks about
the history of critical factors of a business. He writes that,
The idea of critical factors of success has been around for decades. Its first incarnation
stemmed from military psychologist John Flanagan, who called it the ‘Critical Incident
Technique’
The idea is, therefore, not new. Imagine a business start-up 100 years ago. The reasons to
start the business, the plans, working to achieve what the business wished to achieve; in all
probability is very similar to what may be considered for a business start-up today. For
example, why, what for, for who, how, where to, these fundamental questions should be
the same regardless of the 100 years gap.
What certainly has changed during this time, are the tools and techniques to address these
questions. Critical business success factors, therefore, should be considered prevalent as
early as the first business might have started.
Practice activity
Activity 2.1: Examples of critical success factors

Conduct online research with the term “Examples of Critical Success Factors” and list about
three to five such examples for business.
Watch
Video: Critical success factors

Watch the video Critical success factors on LinkedIn Learning (duration 05:09).

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Common critical success factors
The critical success factors for any business will vary based on the industry, type, nature,
size and scope of the business. There are, however, some common critical success factors
that should almost always be considered for all businesses to operate successfully and
achieve the desired outcomes. Such common critical success factors are discussed below:
Strong identity
It may be considered as symbolic from a project management perspective but having a
unique and business-linked identity immediately adds value to the business. Simply, to
succeed to the highest level of potential, a business needs a strong identity. This should be
so well thought out that it is easily reflected in training manuals and relayed to staff and
investors.
Having a strong company identity makes it easier for employees to work towards business
goals. Imagine practising what you preach without exactly knowing what you are preaching.
Customer is the key to the success of any business. A strong company identity helps the
customers to easily identify compared to a business not having a strong identity. Imagine a
formal dressing brand (or any other brand for that matter), the more customers identify and
closer they feel to the brand, more likely it is to foster the brand loyalty. In other words, not
only the customers will keep coming back but will be a strong source of advertisement
(word of mouth) for the brand.
The question, however, is:
 What to consider in order to create a strong business identity?

© TAFE NSW 2019
Answering a few simple questions can help. For example, think about the following
questions:
 What makes your business idea different from anyone else business?
 How do you succeed where other similar companies fail?
 Why should someone choose you?
 What are your core principles?
This list can go on, but keep in mind that it is not about business objectives; rather in an
extremely brief description, a business is trying to link the objectives with the identity.
Business growth
Every business needs to achieve sustained and measurable growth to continue successful
operations. Growth in revenue is not essentially a translation of success in business. It
actually is only a measure of success.
Growth is important for any business in many ways. If there is no growth in a financial year
(i.e. the business made the same money in a full year), it is considered as a first sign of the
business backslide. Thousands of jobs have been lost worldwide in the publishing industry
alone, for example. Still, there are media houses that have been growing steadily. A
business may have to adjust to new market demands and change its strategy accordingly.
The businesses that fail, eventually phase-out of the market. Lack of growth also does not
help a small business or start-up to find investors.
Growth translating into steady revenue for the business must be an essential component for
any business plan. The business plan must also contain a strategy to achieve a defined
revenue growth target.
Customer service
Without customers there cannot be a business. For this reason, customer service is one of
the most important critical factors of a business. Quality customer service requires the
complaints to kept to a minimum while maintaining and attempting to increase the existing
customer base. It is an established fact that businesses with great customer service are
consistently successful in generating more revenue than the rest of the market.
To develop the best customer service possible, keep the lines of communication open and
consider using multiple platforms like live chats, social media and the phone. Hiring
individuals with great problem-solving skills and a can-do attitude is a must.

© TAFE NSW 2019
Practice activity
Activity 2.2: Customer service

Carry out online research about customer service and answer the following questions:
1. What are the major attributes of Customer service? Name and briefly explain at least
three such attributes.
2. How does a can-do attitude help in improving customer service skills?
Watch
Video: Telling a customer what you can do

Watch the video Telling a customer what you can do from LinkedIn Learning about creating
positive conversations with challenging customers (duration 33:20).

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Quality and innovation
Quality and price competitiveness have a direct correlation. No one is going to buy poor
quality goods or endure poor quality services that they can get better from somewhere else.
This is why it is important to focus on innovation and quality, which should always be
competitive for the price point. If things are slightly more expensive than the competition
but way higher quality, customers are generally willing to pay that premium.
Personal preferences and what is being purchased, do come in play more in some industries
than others. For example, buying a bridal address from an online store is different from
buying a laptop from an online store.
With constantly changing market trends, it is paramount for a business to maintain quality
while remaining competitive on price. This brings in innovation from both, the product and
service perspectives. Quality and innovation thus go hand in hand for any business these
days.
Open communication
Communication is the key to success for any major business or even for small business
activity. Communication applies to both, the internal (to the business) and external
(customers, stakeholders). For a business to succeed, all parts have to be moving in the right
direction. This is impossible without adequate communication.
There can be a business with multiple management tiers and employees struggling to get
the message through. Such businesses will continue to struggle and constantly and rapidly
changing market conditions.
There can be another business that exhibits open lines of communication or at least has a
concise and clear communication process. Such business can adeptly make changes and
adjustments based on the market. Internally, the employees will be more satisfied (that can
translate into increased productivity).
The point to remember is that success is constantly building and never stalling (a dynamic
process). The faster the cogs move, the greater the potential business has for success.
Communication remains the key in the entire set of processes that lead to success.

© TAFE NSW 2019
Collaboration
Activity 2.3: Communication

Carry out online research about communication techniques used in business.
In small groups, discuss various techniques with particular reference to various

communication techniques that help a business in keeping its employees informed.
Flexibility
Flexibility is one of the most important and major factors in business success. The
ability/flexibility of a business to roll with the punches of a volatile industry and change with
consumer needs and desires can be a business that never bottoms out. Nokia is a classical
example. A phone manufacturer that dominated mobile phone markets year after year
almost became extinct for not adapting to the changing market requirements.
Online advertising a few years ago, relied on pop-ups, sidebar and email lists. With ad-
blocking software now being used on almost every computer, phone or tablet, that mode of
advertising had to change. The result is the paid Facebook, YouTube, Google, Apple etc.,
adds that now work seamlessly reaching millions of customers every minute.
Flexibility to changing market needs, therefore, is one of the most, if not the most critical
success factor for any business. All business plans including strategy, action plans, and short
and long-term goals should, therefore, must have the buffers and adaptability options,
addressing constantly changing market conditions.
Research and development

Another important critical success factor for a business is research and development. It goes
together with flexibility as research and development will most likely be based on market
trends and requirements incorporated in business plans through flexibility.
To find out how a business needs to change, it is imperative to look for changes in the
industry. It is research and development that gives a greater understanding of a changing
and/or growing market. This, in turn, helps the business to find more innovative and brand-
new ways to address such changes. It also opens up the opportunity to reach existing
customers with new products.

© TAFE NSW 2019
Watch
Video: Research and Development – LinkedIn Learning

Watch the video Understand Research and Development from LinkedIn learning (duration
03:36).

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Response analysis
Information elicited using any technique, means nothing without analysis. It is an analysis
that transforms the information into knowledge that can then be used for the required
purposes. Analysis can be simple involving direct result-oriented information elicitation,
complicated requiring multiple data sets to be analysed or complex that requires specialised
statistical packages for analysis.
Analysing stakeholder responses will be directly dependent on two main factors:
1. The role of the stakeholder in the business or project team.

2. Type of stakeholder.
Let’s consider a couple of scenarios through the following activities.
Practice activity
Activity 2.4: Scenario: Feedback Analysis

You submitted a proposal to a business for initial feedback on confirming your
understanding of the business requirements. The feedback you received was vague and
inconsistent to your understanding. What could be the probable reasons for such a
response?
The class activity will be conducted as follows:
The class will be divided into two groups with one group being your team and the other
group being a data analyst team to help you out (the teacher will be part of the data analyst
team). You should discuss the following questions:
Question 1. (Data Analyst group): Was a proper data analysis (requirements) followed
before sending the proposal for feedback?
Guide: A proper data analysis plan should classify stakeholders based on their roles and the
most important business requirements for each stakeholder.
There will be some common high priority requirements among all stakeholders; e.g. do we
need an upgrade or will an upgrade improve the consistency of data storage across business
units etc.

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Question 2. (Data Analyst group): Did the business goals, proposed project and information
made available, all align with each other?
Guide: This refers back to the actual information elicitation techniques. Indirectly, you are
trying to understand what the primary trigger for the project was.
This is an important aspect. If the information available is inadequate, the stakeholders are
not sure about going forward and business goals are ambitious – clearly, there is a mismatch
between “Want-to and Should-have”.
This should take approximately 15 to 20 minutes for a good discussion amongst the two
groups.
The following websites provide useful information about the concepts:
 surveymonkey.com
 intercom.com
Watch
Video: Understanding roles in data analysis

Watch the video Understanding roles in data analysis from LinkedIn learning (duration
01:16).

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Response analysis: key points
In carrying out the individual and group responses, the following are the key points to
consider in order to obtain the useful meaning of information and correct understanding of
business/stakeholder requirements:
 Group the data in a way where common stakeholder requirements and key business
requirements are clearly stated.
 Identify any conflicts in the gathered information.
 Summarise requirements in an easy to understand (preferably graphical) format and
submit to all stakeholders.
 In carrying out all these analyses, make sure that sight on original goal is never lost:
the reason, these data are collected.
 In cases, where data is complex, break it down in easy to understand or easy to
present fragments.
 Use statistical tools where applicable, can include simple calculator-based analysis to
specialised software like SPSS, Prism etc.
 The outcomes must reflect the matching business goals and stakeholder
requirements.
 The whole process i.e. collection, processing, analysis, storage and disposal of
information must be clear to all key stakeholders (it brings in transparency and can
save the business on long-term).
 Obtain a sign-off from all stakeholders.
 Repeat the same steps, if some major discrepancies appear and you have to elicit
some information components again.
The above list of points is not exhaustive but does provide the fundamentals of approaches
that can successfully work in response analysis.

© TAFE NSW 2019
Collaboration
Activity 2.5: Response analysis: survey

1. Go to the Thematic website on How to analyze survey data: best practices for
actionable insights from survey analysis.
2. In small groups discuss the survey analysis from the following perspectives:
a. types of survey data
b. how to analyse
c. best practices.

© TAFE NSW 2019
Report writing
You have completed information elicitation using a range of techniques and have completed
the individual and group response analysis. It is now time for presenting your results in the
form of a report.
A data analysis report is somewhat different from other types of professional writing that
you may have done or will learn about in the future. It is different from an essay and other
forms of reports written for different requirements. It is, therefore, not the same although
similar and is structured in a familiar way comprising:
1. Introduction.
2. Body.
3. Discussion.
4. Conclusion(s).
5. Appendix/Appendices.
A data analysis report is written for several different audiences at the same time. An
audience can include the primary audience or the main stakeholder(s).
The secondary audience can be non-technical stakeholders like business executives and/or
technical stakeholders (for example an ICT team). In addressing the requirements for such
different types of stakeholders trying to have a grasp of your report from different
perspectives, it is important to write the report accordingly.
The data analysis report has two key features:
1. It is organized in a way that makes it easy for different audiences to skim/fish

through it to find the topics and the level of detail that is of interest to them.
2. The writing is as invisible/unremarkable as possible so that the content of the
analysis is what the reader remembers, not distracting quirks or tics in the writing.
Examples of distractions include:
 extra sentences, overly formal or flowery prose, or at the other extreme overly
casual or overly brief prose
 grammatical and spelling errors
 placing the data analysis is too broad or too narrow a context for the questions of
interest to your primary audience
 focusing on the process rather than reporting procedures and outcomes

© TAFE NSW 2019
 getting bogged down in technical details, rather than presenting what is necessary to
properly understand your conclusions on substantive questions of interest to the
primary audience.
It is less important to worry about the latter two items in the appendix which is expected to
be more detailed and process-oriented. However, there should be enough text annotating
the technical material in the appendix so that the reader can see how and why you carried
out the more detailed work shown there.
The data analysis report in a sense is a kind of “internal” communication, something like an
extended memo. On the other hand, it also has an “external” life, informing a boss or
supervisor what you’ve been doing.
Structure of a data analysis report

The instructions to write a data analysis report (what to include) are given below:
Introduction
A good introduction would include:
 Summary of the study and data including the background.

 Answers the “big questions” through data analyses and conclusions.
 A brief outline of the remainder of the contents of the report.
Body
The body can be organised in several ways but the two that generally work well are either
the traditional or question oriented. A combination of the two can work well too.
Traditional Style
In traditional style, the body is divided into several sections at the same level as
Introduction, with titles like:
 data
 methods
 analysis
 results
 discussion

© TAFE NSW 2019
With this format, care, however, must be taken to avoid too much content in methods or
methodology.
Question Oriented Style
In a question oriented style, normally body follows after Introduction and contains just one
title like the analysis. Sub-sections (sub-titles) follow the main heading. For example,
considering Introduction as number one.
1: Introduction.
2: Analysis.
2.1: Existing ICT resources.

 methods
 analysis
 conclusion.
2.2: Current business requirements

 methods
 analysis
 conclusion.
2.3: Gaps in Existing Resources

 methods
 analysis
 conclusion.
Conclusions
Conclusions should directly link the results back to goals and should be as brief as possible
(dot points work well). New questions and future work etc., can also be added as a separate
bullet or dot point list under this heading.

© TAFE NSW 2019
Appendix/Appendices
This section should be details of procedures/methods. A technical person might want to
look at more details than provided in the body. A link to the relevant appendix (in this
section) can make the report far more interactive and audience targeted. It can thus, be
comprised of:
 technical descriptions of (unusual) statistical procedures

 detailed tables or computer output
 figures that were not central to the arguments presented in the body of the report
 computer code used to obtain results.
It can be sometimes hard to maintain a balance between the appendix section and the body
and this question can be hard as what to include in the body and what to be added as an
appendix.
Creating the right balance will result in a better report.
Self-check
How did you go?

You have completed the topic of Response analysis and report writing. Check the boxes for
the tasks you feel confident you can complete.
☐ I can review reports and other data sources for business information
☐ I understand the business critical factors relating to current and future directions of
the organisation and can confirm these with stakeholders.
☐ I can Prepare and document data analysis for review.

© TAFE NSW 2019
References
Brooks, C 2018, ‘What is a data repository?’, digitalguardian.com, Dec 2018, viewed 12 Oct
2019 <https://digitalguardian.com/blog/what-data-repository>
Vincent, P 2015, ‘What Elicitation Really Means’, batimes.com, 02 Feb 2015, viewed 14 Oct
2019 https://www.batimes.com/articles/what-elicitation-really-means.html
Brandenburg, L 2019, ‘How to Analyse "As Is" Business Process"’, bridging-the-gap.com

2019, viewed 14 Oct 2019 https://www.bridging-the-gap.com/how-to-analyze-a-business-
process/
Kupersmith, K, Mulvey, P & McGoey, K 2017, Dummies.com, viewed 14 Oct 2019

<https://www.dummies.com/business/business-strategy/introduction-to-reverse-
engineering-for-business-analysis/>
National Archives of Australia 2019, ‘Conducting an information review’, NAA 2019, viewed
14 Oct 2019 <http://www.naa.gov.au/information-management/digital-transition-and-
digital-continuity/information-is-managed-digitally/information-review/index.aspx>
Laehn, B 2018, ‘5 Critical Business Requirements Elicitation and Collaboration Questions’,

skylinetechnologies.com 20 Mar 2018, viewed 19 Oct 2019
<https://www.skylinetechnologies.com/Blog/Skyline-Blog/March_2018/5-critical-business-
requirement-elicitation-collab>
Dictionary.com 2019, ‘Definition: Critical Success Factors’ 2019, viewed 21 Oct 2019
<http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/critical-success-factors-CSF.html>
Loveland, M 2019, ‘Business Operations: 7 Critical Success Factors’, bizfluent.com, 08 Aug

2019, viewed 21 Oct 2019 <https://bizfluent.com/13638124/7-critical-success-factors>
Marx, A 2019, ‘How to analyze survey data: best practices for actionable insights from
survey analysis’, getthematic.com, 30 Sep 20019, viewed 2 Nov 2019
<https://getthematic.com/insights/analyze-survey-data-survey-analysis/>

© TAFE NSW 2019
Appendices
Websites
Reference URL
Dictionary.com 2018, http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/information.html
‘Information’ 2018,
viewed 12 Oct 2019
Sutevski, D 2019, ‘27 https://www.entrepreneurshipinabox.com/2159/27-

information resources information-sources-business-decision/
for your business
decisions’, Feb 2019,
viewed 12 Oct 2019
5 Critical Business https://www.skylinetechnologies.com/Blog/Skyline-Blog/

Requirements March_2018/5-critical-business-requirement-elicitation-collab
Elicitation and
Collaboration
Questions
What is critical success http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/critical-success-

factors (CSF)? factors-CSF.html
How to analyze survey https://getthematic.com/insights/analyze-survey-data-survey-

data analysis/

© TAFE NSW 2019
Videos
Video URL
https://www.linkedin.com/learning/practical-application-
Repository architecture-with-entity-framework-core/repository?
u=57684225
https://www.linkedin.com/learning/requirements-elicitation-
Elicitation overview
and-analysis/elicitation-overview?u=57684225
https://www.linkedin.com/learning/design-thinking-
Reduce design debt
prototyping/reduce-design-debt?u=57684225
Use the 5 whys of https://www.linkedin.com/learning/critical-thinking/use-the-5-

critical thinking whys-of-critical-thinking?u=57684225
https://www.linkedin.com/learning/search?keywords=critical
Critical success factors
%20success%20factors&u=57684225
https://www.linkedin.com/learning/creating-positive-
Telling a customer
conversations-with-challenging-customers/telling-a-customer-
what you can do
what-you-can-do?u=57684225
Placeholder URL Placeholder
Understanding roles https://www.linkedin.com/learning/learning-data-analytics-2/

in data analysis understanding-roles-in-data-analysis?u=57684225

© TAFE NSW 2019
Image attributions
Image Page # Attribution
Cover 1 Man listening to music as he works at his desk on a laptop in

an urban office.
Photo by Power Digital Marketing under Unsplash licence
Topic 1 cover 7 & 40 Team analysis of business reports, visual data analysis.
& Topic 2
cover © getty images under licence
Royalty-Free Credit sesame Image 1142326443
Figure 2 12 Isometric concept of database.© getty images under licence
Royalty-Free Credit aklionka Image 1076591200
Figure 5 24 Questionnaire form – Stock photo.© getty images under

licence
Royalty-Free Credit kasayizgi Image 157418952

© TAFE NSW 2019

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Student workbook

Date created: [24 June 2019]

Date modified: 22 February 2022

For queries contact: Business and Technology

© TAFE NSW 2019

This resource can be found in the TAFE NSW Learning Bank.

Document title: ICTICT509_SW_1of1

Learning activities help you to gain a clear understanding of the

You will have opportunities to collaborate with others during your

An activity that allows you to check your learning progress. The

Resources (required and suggested)

Additional resources throughout this workbook such as chapters

At different stages throughout the workbook, after you have

Document title: ICTICT509_SW_1of1

In this workbook, you will learn:

 identification of the key information sources

Alright, let’s get started!

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Document title: ICTICT509_SW_1of1

 information sources including information repositories

Information and information sources

 accurate and timely

Information is valuable because it can affect behaviour, a decision, or an outcome. For

For a technical definition of information see information theory.

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Figure 1 Information sources.

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…..a central place in which an aggregation of data is kept and maintained in an

Figure 2 Isometric concept of database.

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Advantages and disadvantages of data repositories

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Figure 3 Best practices.

What is a repository and how does it integrate with business functions?

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Activity 1.1: Guide to data classification

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Sometimes, in a situation called as conflicting requirements, it is not always possible to elicit

Video: Elicitation overview

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In a brainstorming session, a group of stakeholders produce a whole bunch of ideas around a

 stakeholders who are impacted

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Prototypes can be categorised into four categories based on the purpose:

 Generate new ideas

Video: Reduce design debt

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Activity 1.2: Discussion on real-world prototypes

During the discussion consider:

A great modern requirements workshop requires a lot of planning, excellent facilitation

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 gathering information from many people

It should be used in combination with other information elicitation techniques.

Figure 5 Questionaire form.

Document title: ICTICT509_SW_1of1

Main and secondary outcomes of an information review are:

 Improving understanding of the business information needs. Includes identification