1. Introduction

Specification point:

d) explain the importance of determining the information requirements of a system and describe different methods of fact finding, including questionnaires, observation, and structured interviews, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of each method;

One of the key aspects of System Life Cycle is gathering information from users of the system. This is needed to create a robust Requirements Document that they will 'buy into'.

Some of the things the analyst needs to capture and document are :-

Exactly what is the problem that the system needs to solve.
How are the current tasks carried out, either using a manual or computerised system
What are the requirements of the new system
Define what the system is *not* intended to do. This reduces the chances of 'mission creep' where people keep on piling new features even after the project is underway.

Gathering information should be a done in a professional, systematic way. Asking people random questions in an informal way is unlikely to succeed.