Investigation Techniques

Lecturer- Daw Aye Khaing Khaing Moe

System Analysis – Methods of
Investigation

• System Analysis is that part of the development life cycle of a system, which involves the
process of investigating current or new systems.

• It also involves analyzing and understanding the needs of users. Various methods are
used for investigation and gathering of data and information. This job is usually carried
out by the system analyst.
Methods of Investigation

• The main methods used to carry out the investigations of a system are:

 Observation

 Interview

 Document Analysis

 Questionnaire
Observation
• This method involves examining procedures as they are carried out.

• The analyst observes how work and procedures are carried out with the existing system,
and this enables the analyst to witness first hand how the work is actually done and what it
involves.

• The systems analyst is constantly observing, and observations often provide clues about
why the current system is not functioning properly.

• Observations of the local environment during visits to the client site, as well as very small
and unexpected incidents, can all be significant in later analysis, and it is important that
they are recorded at the time.
Observation [Continued]
• The analyst may also be involved in undertaking planned or conscious observations when
it is decided to use this technique for part of the study.

• This will involve watching an operation for a period to see exactly what happens.

• The technique is particularly good for tracing bottlenecks and checking facts that have
already been noted.
Interview

• Interviewing is a face-to-face method used to gather facts directly from the users of the
system under investigation.

• The interviewer will ask some specific questions in order to get useful information from
the interviewee.
 Fact-finding Interviews
• The sequence of questions asked during an interview can be critical in the successful
achievement of objectives.

• One useful model in building a sequence of questions is the funnel that is illustrated in Figure.

• In this model, the interview begins with open questions at the wide end of the funnel,
followed by probing questions to focus on specific points raised in response to the open
questions.

• These are followed by closed questions to obtain factual data and lastly by summarising to
check that the facts collected are correct.
Fig. The fact-finding funnel
Recording the interview
• Some general guidelines for note-taking include the following:

Always ask for permission to take notes.

Ensure that you use an ‘open’ note-taking style, and don’t hide what you are writing
from the interviewee.
Pause during the interview while recording important information; don’t try to listen
and take notes at the same time.
Check with the interviewee that the information recorded is correct, and make sure
that any actions required by either party are accurately recorded.
Example Question
Document Analysis

• When investigating the data flowing through a system another useful technique is to collect
documents that show how this information is organised.

• Such documents might include reports, forms, organisation charts or formal lists. In order to
fully understand the purpose of a document and its importance to the business, the analyst
must ask questions about how, where, why and when it is used. This is called document
analysis.

• The document analysis method involves examining existing data, records, documentations
as well as procedure manuals used for the existing system.

• This method enables the analyst to obtain realistic and actual information about the system.
Document Analysis [Continued]

• One type of useful document is a written work procedure for an individual or a work
group.

• The procedure describes how a particular job or task is performed, including data and
information that are used and created in the process of performing the job.

• A second type of document useful to systems analysts is a business form.

• Forms are important for understanding a system because they explicitly indicate what
data flow in or out of a system and which are necessary for the system to function.
Document Analysis [Continued]

• A third type of useful document is a report generated by current systems.

• As the primary output for some types of systems, a report enables you to work backward
from the information on the report to the data that must have been necessary to
generate them.

• If the current system is computer-based, a fourth set of useful documents are those that
describe the current information systems—how they were designed and how they work.

• A lot of different types of documents fit this description, everything from flowcharts to
data dictionaries and CASE tool reports to user manuals.
Figure: An example of a report:
a statement of cash flows
Questionnaire
• The questionnaire consists of a standard set of questions. This may be distributed
electronically – by email or via a network.

• It may also be paper based, in which case, it may be distributed to users by post.

• The questionnaire would normally include different types of questions. For instance, open
and close ended questions.

• This technique is used to ask identical questions from the people using the system and
perhaps when the information needed is not large, and there is a need to collect
information from a large number of users.
Questionnaire [Continued]
• A questionnaire may be the most effective method of fact-finding to collect a small
amount of data from a lot of people: for example, where staff are located over a widely
spread geographical area; when data must be collected from a large number of staff;
when time is short; and when 100% coverage is not essential.

• A questionnaire can also be used as a means of verifying data collected using other
methods, or as the basis for the question-and-answer section of a fact-finding interview.

• Another effective use of a questionnaire is to send it out in advance of an interview.

Questionnaire Design
• When designing a questionnaire, there are three sections to consider:

• the heading section is at the top (name and date),

• the next line down is for recording classification information (job title, department
and section),
• and the data section is designed to gather information about the duties associated
with particular job.
Figure: Sample
Questionnarie
Construction of a Questionnaire

• Decide what information is wanted

• Decide the type of questions

• Decide the content of individual questions

• Decide the wording of questions

• Decide the sequence of questions

• Make a preliminary draft and pretest it( i.e. conduct ‘Pilot study or survey’)*

• Revise and prepare the final draft

Traditional Methods of Collecting System
Requirements
• Individually interview people informed about the operation and issues of the current system
and future systems needs

• Interview groups of people with diverse needs to find synergies and contrasts among system
requirements

• Observe workers at selected times to see how data are handled and what information people
need to do their jobs

• Study business documents to discover reported issues, policies, rules, and directions as well
as concrete examples of the use of data and information in the organization
Guidelines of Effective Interview
Plan the Interview
Prepare interviewee: appointment, priming questions
 Prepare checklist, agenda, and questions
Listen carefully and take notes
(record if permitted)
Review notes within 48 hours of interview
Be neutral
Seek diverse views
Figure: Typical interview guide
What is Data Analysis?

• Data analysis is defined as a process of cleaning, transforming, and modeling data to

discover useful information for business decision-making.

• The purpose of Data Analysis is to extract useful information from data and taking the
decision based upon the data analysis.

• 1-11-20
• 1-Nov-2020
• 120,000, 4,500,000,
Data Analysis Process
• The Data Analysis Process is nothing but gathering information by using a proper
application or tool which allows you to explore the data and find a pattern in it.

• Based on that information and data, you can make decisions, or you can get ultimate
conclusions.
Data Analysis Process
• Data Analysis Process consists of the following phases that are iterative in nature −

• Data Requirements Specification

• Data Collection
• Data Processing
• Data Cleaning
• Data Analysis
• Communication
• Data Requirements Specification
• The data required for analysis is based on a question or an experiment. Based on the
requirements of those directing the analysis, the data necessary as inputs to the analysis
is identified (e.g., Population of people). Specific variables regarding a population (e.g.,
Age and Income) may be specified and obtained. Data may be numerical or categorical.

• Data Collection
• Data Collection is the process of gathering information on targeted variables identified as
data requirements. The emphasis is on ensuring accurate and honest collection of data.
Data Collection ensures that data gathered is accurate such that the related decisions are
valid. Data Collection provides both a baseline to measure and a target to improve.

• Data is collected from various sources ranging from organizational databases to the
information in web pages. The data thus obtained, may not be structured and may
contain irrelevant information. Hence, the collected data is required to be subjected to
Data Processing and Data Cleaning.
• Data Processing
• The data that is collected must be processed or organized for analysis. This includes
structuring the data as required for the relevant Analysis Tools. For example, the data
might have to be placed into rows and columns in a table within a Spreadsheet or
Statistical Application. A Data Model might have to be created.

• Data Cleaning
• The processed and organized data may be incomplete, contain duplicates, or contain
errors. Data Cleaning is the process of preventing and correcting these errors. There are
several types of Data Cleaning that depend on the type of data.
• Data Analysis
• Data that is processed, organized and cleaned would be ready for the analysis. Various
data analysis techniques are available to understand, interpret, and derive conclusions
based on the requirements. Data Visualization may also be used to examine the data in
graphical format, to obtain additional insight regarding the messages within the data.
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• Communication
• The results of the data analysis are to be reported in a format as required by the users to
support their decisions and further action. The feedback from the users might result in
additional analysis.

• The data analysts can choose data visualization techniques, such as tables and charts,
which help in communicating the message clearly and efficiently to the users. The
analysis tools provide facility to highlight the required information with color codes and
formatting in tables and charts.
 PROTOTYPING
• Prototyping comprises collecting requirements and using them to build a prototype. It
enables users to see a potential solution and get a better feel for what they require. Users
then add or amend their requirements, with the prototype being reworked on an iterative
basis, until requirements are firmed up.
• Advantages: Good for exploring how a particular software function requirement could work
or a unique / bespoke software development. It can identify problems with requirements
and can improve the quality of requirements and hence the ultimate solution.
• More relevant for the final detailed software selection, when comparing 1 or 2 packaged
solutions from software vendors.
• Disadvantages: It is less useful for the initial requirements identification for a packaged
software system. At the initial stage of identifying requirements, there may be up to 10 or
20 potential software systems in the running and it is not practical to prototype this many.
• Prototyping is not really suitable for large applications. Plus it can be an expensive
technique for identifying requirements.
 BRAINSTORMING
• Brainstorming can be done either individually or in groups. The ideas
collected can then be reviewed / analyzed and where relevant included
within the system requirements. Ideas can come from what users /
stakeholders have seen (e.g. at software exhibitions), or experienced
elsewhere (e.g. before they joined the present organization).
• Advantages: Can come up with very innovative ideas and requirements.
It can be an efficient way for users / stakeholders to define their
requirements.
• Disadvantages: People can’t easily brainstorm ideas when required to do
so. Some people find brainstorming much harder than others.