Questionnaires and interviews
On this page 2 headings
Questionnaires
A series of questions designed to elicit specific information from users. Answers can be yes/no, a choice from a set of answers, or a longer response/comment. Good for getting answers to specific questions from a large group of people, usually spread across a wide geographical area.
EXAMPLE Send to sales team managers of several mobile companies: “What percentage of your inventory do you sell online?” “What are the main difficulties you encounter in selling your product online?”
Questionnaires should be used in conjunction with other techniques.
Interviews
Asking someone a set of questions — face-to-face, telephonic or online. Classified as structured, unstructured or semi-structured depending on how rigorously the interviewer sticks to a prepared set of questions. Structured: a fixed set of questions. Unstructured: the interviewer does not know what questions to ask because they don't know what the user does or needs, so they ask broad questions and probe further based on responses.
Getting people to explore issues; used early in requirement gathering to elicit scenarios.
EXAMPLE Ask independent sellers “What other platforms do you use to sell your products? Advantages/disadvantages?” They may say WhatsApp, Instagram — easy to get customers, but tracking orders, payments, inventory and selling options is a huge overhead. Requirement: tracking orders, payments, inventory, selling options.