Information Gathering Methods and Tools: A Comparative Study
Emoghene Ogidiaka, Ogwueleka Francisca Nonyelum · SSRN Electronic Journal · 2017
There is an immense need to aid the system analyst in the use of appropriate techniques/tools for specific situations under certain conditions during Requirements Elicitation (RE). RE techniques, also known as information gathering methods/tools, are methods used by analysts to determine the needs of customers and users. Techniques that provide safety, utility, usability, learnability etc. for stakeholders result in their cooperation, commitment and sincerity. This leads to important requirements being discovered and subsequent project success. This paper has assessed the most commonly used RE techniques/tools, including interview, Joint Application Development (JAD), questionnaire, observation, document analysis, prototyping, introspection, user scenario, card sorting and laddering with emphasis on stakeholders’ perception rather than the work to be done or the Information Technology (IT) that is involved. The result shows each technique has its strengths and weaknesses when evaluated against stakeholders’ perception of safety, utility, usability and learnability. These factors form a guide that could help analysts to determine the appropriate RE techniques/tools for a given project.