Fact Finding Techniques and

Decision Making Techniques

Prepared by:
Rajani Khushal K.
 Fact Finding Techniques
• To learn about the existing system, system
analysts needs to collect data related to the
system.
• Usually, the data is related to organization,
staff, documents used, formats used in the
input and output processes are collected.
• This information is obtained through fact
finding tools i.e. Review Documents,
Questionnaires, Observations and interviews
 Fact Finding Techniques
• Through fact finding, we are able to gather
useful information about:
– Department Objectives
– Decisions made and the facts upon which they are
based.
– What is done, to what purpose, who done it,
where it is done?
– Critical factors affecting the business
– Staff and equipment costs.
 Fact Finding Techniques
• Interviews
• Questionnaires
• On site Observation
• Reviewing organization documents
 Interviews
• Personal interview is a recognized and most
important fact finding technique.
• In this system analyst gathers information
from individual through face to face
interaction.
• Interviews are used to find the facts, verify
fact, clarify facts, get the customer involved,
identify the system requirements and know all
the options.
 Interviews
• The interview is usually conducted by the
system analyst.
• To conduct interview, the interviewer must
have personality which helps him to be
familiar with strangers or different types of
people.
 Why Interviews are carried?
• To study / get knowledge / identify of working
system.
• To explore relationship between information
systems and users.
• To study the drawback of current system.
 About Interviewers
• Interviewing is an art, few analysts learn it in
school or universities.
• But the most of them develop expertise
through experience.
• The interviewer’s art consists of creating a
permissive situation in which the answers
offered are reliable.
 Types of Interviews
• Structured Interview
– Structured Interview are those where the
interviewee is asked a standard set of questions in
a particular order.
– All the interviewees are asked the same set of
questions.
– Here the questions are predefined questions.
– There are two types of formats for conducting this
type of interviews.
 Types of Interviews
• Structured Interview
– Open Response Format
• It is in which the respondent is free to answer in his
own words.
• Example : Why you are dissatisfied with current system
processing?
– Close Response Format
• It is in which limits the respondents to opt their
answers from a set of already prescribed choices.
• Example: Are you satisfied with current system
processing?
 Types of Interviews
• Unstructured Interview
– Unstructured Interview are those in which
interviews are taken in a question and answer
format
– Here the respondents are free to answer in their
own words.
 Differentiate Structured and
Unstructured Interviews
Structured Interview Unstructured Interview
It is one way to insure that those It is less structured and individual
same questions get asked to all interviewer can determine what
candidates they are going to ask the candidate
All candidate are evaluated using a A standardized rating scale is not
Common Rating Scale required
Interviewers are in agreement on Interviewers do not need to agree
Acceptable Answers on Acceptable answers
It is non flexible It is completely flexible

This method is less time It is more time consuming

consuming
 Questionnaires
• They are useful when the system analyst
require to collect information from a large
number of people.
• It is useful in situation when interview on
individual manner cannot be conducted.
• There are two types of Questionnaires:
– Open Response Based
– Closed Response Based
 Questionnaires
• Open Response Based
– It requires no response direction or specific
response
– This form is also used to learn about the feelings,
opinions, and experiences of the respondents.
– This information helps in the making the system
effective because the analyst can offer subsequent
modification as per the knowledge gained.
 Questionnaires
• Closed Response Based
– The objective is to collect the factual information
of the system.
– In this case the respondents have to choose from
a set of given responses.
– Thus the respondent can express their liking for
the most favorable one from possible alternatives.
– The questions can be Fill in the blanks, True or
false, ranking, MCQ etc.
 Differentiate Open Response and Closed
Response Questionnaires
Open Response
It offers more flexibility and
freedom to respondents
It is useful when it is required to
explore certain situation
It requires a lot of time for
evaluation
It allows the people to express an
opinion without being influenced
by the researcher
It main objective is to get the
information and data about the
essential and critical design
features of the system
Close Response
Closed form is more specific in
nature
It is used when factual information
is required.
Questions are quick to analyze but
typically most costly to prepare.
It limits the people to the set of
alternatives been offered
It main objective to collect the
factual information of the system
 Record Review
• Records and reports are the collection of
information and data accumulated over the
time by the users about the system and its
operations.
• This also give us a knowledge on the
requirements of the system and the
modifications its has undergone
• It may be limited if not updated.
 Record Review
• The drawback of using this method is that
practically the functioning of the system is
generally different from procedure shown in
records.
 On site Observation
• Observation allows analysts to gain
information they cannot obtain by any other
fact finding techniques
• The main advantages of this method is analyst
personally goes to the site and discovers the
functioning of the system.
• By this method the analyst can get the direct
knowledge of the activities, operations,
processes of the system on site.
 On site Observation
• This information is very meaningful as the
analyst gets closer to the system
• The main limitation of this method it is time
consuming and the analyst should not take
conclusion directly.
 On site Observation
• The System analyst can know about two
things:
What Should Happen? What actually occurs?

Standard Operating Procedures Delay in doing work

Controls and checks for accuracy Skipped Steps

Properly completed Documents Extra components needed

Efficient and timely, completion of Information not in required files.

work
 Tools for System Development
• A tool is any device that is used to improve the
performance of a task such as the
development of System
• Tool is a device which accomplishes the task
generating some output.
 Tools for System Development
• Analysis Tools
• Design Tools
• Development Tools
• Testing Tools
Tools for Documenting Procedures
and Decisions
• Documentation is a process to help users of
software and other people to use and interact
with the system.
• The method available for documenting
analyzing the logic or decision of a process
includes
– Decision Tree
– Decision Table
– Structured English
 Note
• Policy
– It is a set of rules that govern some task or
function in the business.
– Policies consist of rules that can often be
translated into computer programs.
• Procedures
– It put the policies into action.
– Policies are implemented by procedures.
– Procedures represent executable instructions in a
computer programs
 Decision Concepts

• Conditions and Decision Variables:

– Good and Bad are two specific alternative
conditions that can be applied to System
Development.
– Conditions may vary, which is why it is also known
as Decision Variables.
– In documentation the decision of how to process
any procedures, the investigator must identify all
the conditions.
 Decision Concepts

• Actions
– Actions are alternatives the steps, activities or
procedures that an individual may decide to taken
when a set of conditions occurs or may occur.
Relationship between Conditions
and Actions

Conditions Actions

Alternatives, steps,
Possible States of activities or procedures ,
Leads to Selection of that can be taken when a
Events
specific decision is made
 Decision Tree
• A decision tree is diagram that presents
conditions and actions sequentially.
• Enable a business to quantify decision making
• Useful when the outcomes are uncertain
• Places a numerical value on likely or potential
outcomes
• Allows comparison of different possible
decisions to be made
Steps to Construct a Decision Tree
• Identify all conditions
• Find out values these conditions may take or
assume
• List all the possible outcome
 Decision Tree

Condition Action

Root

Condition Action
 Decision Tree Examples
• In a company discount policy is based on two
different criteria if payment is made before
the 10 days of sales then discount is given, but
if payment is made after 10 days then no
discount is given.
• Even for payment made in 10 days then sales
amount is considered.
• If sales is more than 10,000/- then 4%
discount is allowed.
 Decision Tree Examples
• If sales is between 5,000 to 10,000/- then
discount of 3% is given.
• And if the sales is below 5,000 then discount is
2%
 Decision Tree
Over 10000 4%

With in 10 days 5000 to 10000 3%

Below 5000 2%

After 10 days Full Payment

 Decision Tree Examples
• In an insurance company the customers are
given priority based amount of the business.
• If the customer is doing business worth more
than Rs 1 lac he will get priority treatment
from company else he will get normal
treatment.
• In the priority treatment also it is considered
based on the payment history of the
customer.
 Decision Tree Examples
• If the payment history is good then he will get
highest priority.
• If the payment history is bad then the
company check the payment history in terms
of the last 10 years.
• If it is good with in last 10 years then he will
get High Priority else Normal Priority
 Decision Table
• Decision table is based on logical relationships
just as the truth table.
• It is a tool that helps us look at the “complete”
combination of conditions
• A decision table is a table with various
conditions and their corresponding actions.
 Decision Table
• Decision tree is a two dimensional matrix. It is
divided into four parts
– condition stub
– action stub
– condition entry
– action entry
Decision Table
 Decision Table
• Condition stub shows the various possible
conditions.
• Condition entry is used for specifying which
condition is being analyzed.
• Action stub shows the various actions taken
against different conditions.
• Action entry is used to find out which action is
taken corresponding to a particular set of
conditions.
 Steps for Building Decision Table
1. List out all the conditions and actions
2. Combine conditions which describe the only
two possibilities of a single condition. In
other words, delete conditions which can be
derived from the response of the other
conditions.
3. Make yes or no response and mark actions to
be taken for each rule with X.
 Steps for Building Decision Table
4. Combine redundant rules to simplify table.
5. Check for the completeness
 Note
• No of rules = 2 raise to power Conditions
• There are certain conditions whose values do
not affect the decision and always result in the
same action.
• These rules can be consolidated into a single
rule.
 Decision Table Example
• A shop owner allows credit facility to his
customers if they satisfy any one of the
following conditions:
1. Holding the present job for more than 3
years
2. Residing in the same place for more than 5
years and Condition 1.
3. Monthly salary exceeds for Rs. 1500 and
condition 2.
 Decision Table
Step 1: List of all conditions and actions
• Conditions involved are:
– Holding present job more than 3 years
– Monthly salary exceeds Rs. 1500
– Resides at same place for more than 5 years
• Action involved are:
– Allow Credit Facility
– Reject Credit Facility
 Decision Table
Step 2: Prepare Yes and No
• No of Rules = 2 raise to 3 = 8
Allowing Credit R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8
Facility
Holding Present C1 Y Y Y Y N N N N
Job More than 3
years
Monthly salary C2 Y Y N N Y Y N N
exceeds Rs. 1500

Resides at same C3 Y N Y N Y N Y N
place for more
than 5 years

Allow Credit A1 X X X X
Facility
Reject Credit A2 X X X X
Facility
Allowing Credit Facility R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6

Holding Present Job C1 Y Y Y N N N

More than 3 years

Monthly salary C2 Y N N Y Y N
exceeds Rs. 1500

Resides at same place C3 - Y N Y N -

for more than 5 years

Allow Credit Facility A1 X X X

Reject Credit Facility A2 X X X

 Decision table Example
• A insurance company allows insurance to his
customers if they satisfy any one of the
following conditions:
– A person who age is less than 30 then gets
insurance of $100.
– If the height is greater than 6 gets insurance of
$200 and Condition 1.
 Structured English
• This method is used when the decision area is
not very complex.
• This method uses narrative statements to
describe a procedure.
• Structured English consists of:
– Structure logic or instructions organized into
nested and group procedures.
– Simple English statements such as addition
modify, multiply and so on.
 Structured English
• Structured English consists of three basic
types of statements to describe a process:
– Sequence Statements
– Decision Structures
– Iteration Structures
 Structured English
• Sequence Statements:
– It is a single step or action included in a process.
– It does not depend on existence of conditions, and
when encountered it is always taken.
– It usually describes a process.
– For example process to buy book from bookstore.
 Structured English
• Decision Structures:
– It is a way of showing decision analysis.
– It describes actions taken if some condition is
true.
– For example:
IF basic Salary > 5000
lt = 10% of basic
IF basic salary < 5000
lt = 8% of basic
 Structured English
• Iteration Structures:
– These are those structures, which are repeated; in
routing operations such as DO while statements.
– For example:
DO WHILE still examining more books:
Read the title of the book.
IF book found
Exit from Loop
END
 Data Dictionary
• A data dictionary is a computer file that
contains descriptive information about the
data items in the files of a business
information system.
• A data dictionary is a computer file about
data.
• Data Dictionary is used for documentation and
analysis purpose.
 Importance of Data Dictionary
• Manage the details.
• Communicate Meaning.
• Document System features.
• Facilitate Analysis.
• Locate Errors and Emissions.