INFO 380 - Gantt and Pert - Interviewing and Questionnaires April 13, 2004 Notes By: Egaas, Fortier, Prins Last class: activity planning Today: ---------------------- interviewing some time to look at past Activity Planning > Activity Planning includes - Selecting a systems analysis team - *** Estimating time required to complete each task - Scheduling the project > Two tools for project planning and control are Gantt charts and PERT diagrams Estimating Time > Project is broken down in to phases > Further broken down into tasks or activities > Finally broken down into steps or even smaller units > Estimate time for each task or activity > May use a most likely, pessimistic, and optimistic estimates for time -- look at table of contents of book CH 13, 14 Gantt Charts Ob1 | XXXXX Ob2 | XXXXX Ob3 | X Ob4 | XXXXXXXXX ------------------------- (weeks) 0 1 2 3 4 5 shows "the plan" Example tasks for Gantt/PERT Chart: Conduct Interviews Questionnaires Read Reports Analyze Data Flows Introduce Prototypes Observe Reactions Perform Cost/Benefit Prepare Proposal Present Proposal Nailing the problem will probably take the most time. PERT Diagram > PERT - Program Evaluation and Review Technique - PERT diagrams show procedure, activities that must be completes before the next activities may be started (prereqs and precedence) - Used to calculate the critical path, the longest path through the activities - This is the shortest time to complete the project example: looks like a flow chart or a graph from 373... no PERT Diagram Advantages > East identification of the order of precedence > Easy identification of the critical path and thus critical activities > Easy determination of slack time, the leeway to fall behind on noncritical paths (pretty colors) TASK: start making a Gantt Chart and a PERT chart up next: interviews break Interviewing > Interviewing is an important method for collecting data on information system requirements > Interviews reveal information about: - Interviewee opinions -- vision -- goals - Interviewee feelings - About the current state of the system - Organizational and personal goals -- personal: It lets you know a little bit about the person -- allows you to attach weight to the interview - Informal procedures Planning the Interview > Five steps in planning the interview - Reading background material - Establishing interview objectives - Deciding whom to interview * You want sampling of a variety of people - Preparing the interviewee - Deciding on question types and structure * Open vs. Closed questions ???: What are your objectives? a very good question to ask "I know nothing" -- Albert Eistein "The more you know, the more you know you don't know." -- Ancient Chinese Proverb printed on fortune cookie Question Types > There are two basic types of interview questions: - Open-ended * Open-ended interview questions allow interviewees to respond how they wish, and to what length they wish * Open-ended questions are appropriate when the analyst is interested in breadth and depth of reply * Example: Condoleezza Rice and 9/11 Commission ADVANTAGES: -- Putting the interviewee at ease -- Allowing the interviewer to pick up on the interviewee's vocabulary * Reflect education, values, attitudes, and beliefs -- Providing richness of detail -- Revealing avenues of further questioning that may have gone untapped -- More interesting for the interviewee -- Allows more spontaneity -- Make phrasing easier for the interviewer -- Useful if the interview is unprepared DISADVANTAGES: -- May result in too much irrelevant detail -- Possibly losing control of the interview -- May take too much time for the amount of useful information gained -- Potentially seeming that the interviewer is unprepared -- Possibly giving the impression that the interviewer is on a "fishing expedition" - Closed * Limit the number of possible responses (deliberate) * Closed interview questions are appropriate for generating precise, reliable data which is easy to analyze * The methodology is efficient, and it requires little skill for interviewers to administer ADVANTAGES: -- Saving interview time -- Easily comparing interviews -- Getting to the point -- Keeping control of the interview -- Covering a large area quickly -- Getting to relevant data DISADVANTAGES: -- Boring for the interviewee -- Failure to obtain rich detail -- Missing main ideas -- Failing to build rapport between interviewer and interviewee - Bipolar Questions and Probes > Binary answers, true/false, yes/no > Type of Closed question, use sparingly - Probing Questions > Probing questions elicit more detail about previous questions > The purpose of probing questions is -- To get more meaning -- To clarify -- To dray out and expand on the interviewee's point - Question Pitfalls > Avoid leading questions, those that imply an answer * "You would like a Mercedes, wouldn't you?" > Leading questions tend to guide interviewees into responses apparently desired by the interviewer > These questions should be avoided to reduce bias and improve reliability and validity > Avoid double-barreled questions, asking two questions at once > These questions should be avoided because interviewees may answer only one question, leading to difficulties in interpretation - Question Sequencing > There are three basic ways of structuring interviews: - Pyramid, starting with closed questions and working toward open-ended questions - Funnel, starting with open-ended questions and working toward closed questions - Diamond, starting with closed, moving toward open-ended, and ending with closed questions