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. f
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.
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.
