Effective InterviewingData Dictionaries

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Effective Interviewing/Data Dictionaries
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Introduction

• Fact finding
• Types of procedure
• Effective interviewing
• Conducting an interview
• What is a data dictionary?
• What is its place in Sys Analysis?
• Notation
• Example

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Fact Finding

• Establish
• what each person does
• at what time
• in what way
• for what purpose

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Types of Procedures

• Normal
• Control
• Exception

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Effective Interviewing

• Often Systems Analysts need to interview people
  connected to the system being investigated
• To determine what they do
• The place of what they do
• Why they do it
• How they do it
• How they think it could be done more effectively

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Interviewing

• Key part of Systems Analysis
• Need to be carried out correctly
• Need to be aware of the effect of the interview
  on the user
• Be careful of user bias
• Ensuring you are speaking to the correct person
• Must name the interviewee

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Conducting an Interview

• Schedule it with the user
• Minimise interruptions
• Ensure you have access to equipment needed
• Make notes/use tape
• Ask open ended questions
• Follow up with closed questions

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Conducting an Interview

• Dont be afraid to seek clarification
• Be on the lookout for inconsistencies
• Ask for samples of appropriate forms - completed,
  exceptional and blank
• Ask the use of the forms/system
• Ask how long they have been doing the task
• Did they design the task

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Conducting an Interview

• What do they feel of the task and why?
• How could the task be improved
• Do other people carry out the same task? If so
  who?
• Is there a given sequence in the task? And why
• Are there alternative sequences?

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Conducting an Interview

• Ask if there is anything else you should know
• Adhere to the schedule - if necessary ask if you
  can come back
• Ask if you can contact the user again and get
  contact details/schedule of activities before you
  leave

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After the interview

• Promptly write up the minutes of the interview
• Send these back to the interviewee to check for
  accuracy
• Get the interviewee to sign off correct version

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Data Dictionary

• Relationship with System Analysis
• DD records all data from a particular system
• Description of existing data
• Grouping data from input forms, manual and
  computerised files and output forms
• Records are identified
• Results can be analysed in various ways
• Can lead to an improved design

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Data Dictionary

• Dictionary provides definitions of things
• Directory tells you where to find them
• Data dictionary/directory contains information
  (or data) about data

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Data Dictionary

• Is a tool to maintain information relating to the
  various resources used in information systems
• data
• input transactions
• output records
• programs
• application systems
• users

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Notation

• Function Symbol Description
• definition consists of
• sequence attributes are joined
• repetition repeated attributes
• enclosed in braces
• comment ... comments between
  asterisks

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Notation

• optionality ( ) option attributes
• enclosed in parenthesis
• selection selection by enclosing
• alternatives separated by a vertical bar
• value values are given in
• comment ... comments between asterisks

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Example

• Course Registration Record Specified in Data
  Dictionary Terms
• Course Record Course Code
• Course Description
• Employee Number
• Name
• Hours
• Room
• Tel - No
• Note the Sequencing and the repeating group

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English example

• A course registration record consists of the
  course code followed by the course description
  followed by a repeating group of employer number
  followed by, name followed by, hours followed by,
  room and followed by telephone number.

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Summary

• Fact finding
• Types of procedure
• Effective interviewing
• Conducting an interview
• What is a data dictionary?
• What is its place in Sys Analysis?
• Notation
• Example