Observation

One of the most enlightening ways for a BA to learn about a business area is to work in or observe the work as it is being performed. This is easier for some types of businesses than others, but it is always worthwhile for BAs to see where their stakeholders work and understand a typical day in that role.

The first thing that a BA sees when observing work is the office setup or work environment of the stakeholders. Valuable information can be gleaned from simply being in the work setting. Does each employee have an office? This implies that the work requires individual or quiet time; it implies a certain status in the organization. It also tells you that if you want to meet one on one with someone, there is a space in which to do that. If employees have their own spaces, they may not interact with each other frequently. This implies that talking to one person about your project will not necessarily mean that anyone else will know about it.

Do employees sit in cubicles or in large shared spaces? Typically, these environments are noisier than offices. There are more visual and audio distractions. Employees don’t have much privacy. Can they hear each other’s phone conversations? Is it a fast-paced, active area or is it quiet and sedate? Do workers interact with each other frequently or not much? When workers interact frequently and can hear each other’s conversations, word of the project will spread quickly—both good and bad news. Be aware that when you ask a question of one employee, others will know about it. They will anticipate you asking the question of them and may be more prepared. All of this information will help you to better understand how best to solve their business problems.

For workers in warehouses, factories, mail rooms, distribution centers, or other environments outside a traditional office, observation will be an extremely important source of information. Often, these employees are doing the primary work of the business that all other employees are supporting. Understanding the core business is so important that every employee of a company should have time to really see how products are produced and distributed. If you work for a shipping company, spend time observing the movement of packages (sorting, moving, and delivering) to get in touch with the core business. If you work for a manufacturer, observe the assembly line or production process. An understanding of the core business work helps you think about how users could be better supported by IT solutions and prevents you from suggesting changes that will negatively impact the work environment.

Case in Point

When inventory control systems (computer terminals) were first introduced in manufacturing plants, the workers had to type in part numbers, quantities, etc. Data entry is time consuming and error prone. Employees had to walk from the assembly line to a computer workstation to key in information and then go back to work. This slowed their productivity. Collecting data was important to management to measure corporate productivity and efficiency, but capturing the data, by its very nature, slowed productivity. This learning resulted in systems that are designed specifically for manufacturing environments. Scanners, interfaces to assembly lines and manufacturing equipment, and robotics all were developed to address the specific work environment where they were needed.

Observation may reveal that there are variations in how a process is performed. This is another reason why observation is an important elicitation technique. There may be as many as three different descriptions for a single process and a single worker: (1) the way the process should be performed (usually documented in a procedure manual), (2) the way an employee describes his or her process, and (3) the way an employee actually performs the process (seen through observation). When a worker performs his or her process, you may notice that he or she makes assumptions or performs steps that are not in the procedure manual. The worker may forget to tell you about these steps when describing the process because they have become second nature and the individual is not even aware that he or she is doing them. Beware of the possibility that employees may behave differently because they know that you are watching. Workers may follow an established procedure only because they want you to think that they follow it. Encourage employees to perform their work as they normally do.

Observation requires great patience on the part of the BA and the worker being observed. The BA should limit questions during the observation because interruptions may prevent a typical procedure from being followed. If you think of questions or comments during an observation, write them down and save them for a follow-up interview. If employees feel that their work is not very interesting, remind them that you are trying to learn as much about the business as possible, that their work is very interesting to you, and that they should try to work as they normally would.

When planning for observation, consider timing and business activities. Be sure to observe workers at all levels of the organization, performing all of the activities relevant to your project. Be aware of daily, weekly, monthly, annual, and seasonal fluctuations in work volume and requirements. It may not be possible to observe the year-end process when your project is due in April. Plan more time for interviews around the activities that you are not able to observe.