In order to assist the librarians in automating the front desk activities, I would
definitely use Interviews, User observation and surveys to best understand the
functionality of the library as well as the desires and the end goal of the automation.
I would use the user observation technique and surveys most likely. I would first
conduct surveys with the librarians. I would want to know what they use as their
current processes for the front desk, and I would also ask them what they would like
to be automated in the process. I think this is very important because often people
want to automate a process but do not necessarily know if that is even possible or if
they may have to change or alter the process to automate it.
Next, I would conduct user observation. I would want to see how they execute the
processes they told me about in the surveys. It is common when people describe how
things function or how they do things, that they may not explain it correctly or leave
out key details in the process that they didn't feel were vital in order for us to
automate things. The three different methods I would use to gather information are
Interviews, questionnaires/surveys, and user observation. I think the best way to get
information is a conversation. I like the openness of this approach as I feel you can get
the most information this way. It is also important to observe how they use the system
now and seeing what works and what does not. The last is a questionnaire or survey.
My go to would be an interview, there are situations where a yes or no is best.The
two different methods I would use to record the information I gathered would be Talk
to the Right Stakeholders and users and be transparent with requirements. As above
with information gathering. You need to talk to the right people. First, you need to talk
to the stakeholders. What is their understanding of what is needed? Then you need to
talk to the people who will use it. What are they expecting? What do they want? Then
you need to need to talk to everyone and make sure your understanding of what they
want is correct. I deal with this daily at my job. I create Tableau reports. I always ask
if the end users have a sketch of what they want. I find this helps A LOT in the
design phase and it helps get us in the same page. I tend to keep it all in an excel
spreadsheet. I also use a Rocketbook for sketches and notes. The first thing I would do
is watch the librarians in their daily activities to see their workflow and the workflow
of the library. You can learn a good bit about the function of the library or other
system by observing the activity. The next thing I would like to do is conduct
interviews with the librarians to get their input about how they do their job. I will also
get their expectations of what the new automation will be and how it will help them
do their job. The last thing I would like to do is conduct a survey of the customers of
the library to get their expectations of the new system and any suggestions or feedback
of the new system. l
I would use audio visual recording of the observed workflow and the interviews so I
could go back and review them later. I would record the survey in a computer so they
can be searched and filtered to get a good overview of the data needed to complete the
task. l
Methods to Gather Requirements:
1. Interviews
2. Questionaries or Surveys
3. User Observation
4. Document Analysis
5. Interface Analysis
6. Workshops
7. Brainstorming
8. Role-play
9. Use Cases and Scenarios
10. Focus Groups
11. Prototyping
Methods to Document Requirements:
1. Design Tools
2. Prioritize Requirements
3. Confirm, Confirm, Confirm
4. Talk to the Right Stakeholders and Users
5. Transparent Requirements Documentation
Gathering stakeholder requirements and communicating with them throughout the design
and development of the project helps to ensure that what you provide to them will
meet their needs. Designers and developers who ignore their stakeholders and don't
include them in the process significantly increase the risks of the design and
development efforts failing.I like to focus on confirmation. I can't underscore how
important appropriate confirmation with all of the stakeholders is. Proper
communication and confirmation help to ensure that there are no misunderstandings
with the requirements definitions. It also helps to ensure that all of the stakeholders and
all of the project team members have a shared vision of the requirements and how they
will be implemented in the software application. Software engineering, project
management, project control, and implementation will run much more smoothly,
efficiently, and effectively with appropriate confirmation and communication.
Interviewing and user observation are great ways to gather reequipments for a new
project. I did not even think about document analysis but it will have good information
about the current system and how it is spoused to operate. A excel sheet would be a
good way to get the observation and reequipment recorded. I would think automation
of the circulation desk at a library would be like self check out at the works largest
retailer. One of the many project teams that I manage is working on a software
application development project and is currently finalizing requirements definitions. We
just had a requirements review meeting this morning and before the meeting, I took a
few minutes to examine existing documents for one of the functional areas on the
project. I was able to identify some key scoping and requirements details that really
benefited the team as I shared these findings with them in the design review meeting.
It is another example to me of why the activities we are studying in this course are so
important and key to successful software engineering.
Interviewing key users and stakeholders should always be included in the software
engineering requirements gathering process. I am glad that you are focusing on this
activity. Doing so will help you to better understand key user and stakeholder needs
and will help you to better identify their requirements and use these requirements to
create a software application design that will meet their needs.I think document analysis
would be a good way for gathering information and requirements. Based on the
information we have it seems that this library has been in place for a while and has a
system that they are currently using. Document analysis focuses on examining the
existing system to understand how it operates. It also examines the requirements that
existed when the original system was created to get a better understanding of why the
original system was designed the way it was. Conducting an interview would be a
great start to gathering information, especially when implementing the five Ws and one
H. There are no right or wrong answers but from their perspective and respectfully
listening as they share their views. It is good to have a reflection on topics of great
importance for research purposes! Being creative and having the innovation for an
outside-of-the-box perspective is a good understanding and usage when it comes to
brainstorming an idea. Focusing on quantity and trying to hold back on criticism is
essential because it creates an environment for thought production without worries of
being told that the information is irrelevant. I agree that communication is number one
when it comes to managing a project. Performing risk management and a plan for any
conflicts that might occur. interviewing others are a great of knowing what they do at
their job and how you can benefit from them. I can agree with you that by
interviewing someone, it would allow you to focus on what they do at their job, so
that you know what to do depending on the task that is given to you. The interview
enables the employer to determine if an applicant's skills, experience and personality
meet the job's requirements. It also helps the employer assess whether an applicant
would likely fit in with the corporate culture. Part of brainstorming is experimenting
with what is most effective for your team and with the emergence of remote
brainstorming, there are many new exercises that teams can conduct to find new
ideation methods says .Embracing new brainstorming methods, including asynchronous
collaboration, is something that is vital when moving forward and helps everyone
approach innovation with an open mind.
