What is Fact-Finding?
Introduction
- Fact-finding is the formal process of using research, interviews, questionnaires, sampling, and other techniques to collect information about systems, requirements, and preferences. It is also called information gathering or data collection.
- Tools, such as data and process models, document facts, and conclusions are drawn from facts.
- If you can't collect the facts, you can't use the tools.
- Fact-finding skills must be learned and practiced.
- Systems analysts need an organized method of collecting facts.
- They especially need to develop a detective mentality to be able to discern relevant facts!
Notes:
Applying the tools and techniques for systems development in the classroom is easy. Applying those same tools and techniques in the real world may not work– that is, if they are not complemented by effective methods for fact-finding.
Before we leap headfirst into specific fact-finding techniques, let's make sure we understand what we are trying to accomplish. The tools of systems analysis and design are used to document facts about an existing or proposed information system. These facts are in the domain of the business application and its end-users. Therefore, the analyst must collect those facts in order to effectively apply the documentation tools and techniques. When might the analyst use fact-finding techniques? What kinds of facts should be collected? And how are facts collected?