Observation Technique: A Key Tool for Business Analysis

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Observation technique often refers to job shadowing or following people around, it is technique used to elicit requirements used by business analyst. It involves monitoring work environment and daily tasks performed by end users, documenting process when need to be improved. Observation is a great method and most successful for collecting and understanding requirements to obtain enterprises goals. According to Training and Development book job shadowing may be recommended technique in many instances of back up training. Involves observing a job expert at work, harmonized with trainee note taking, and follow up question/answer period later. It is a great form of learning, ant therefore sometimes ideal for veteran stuff learning from one another. It is also best tool for demonstrating complicated tasks …show more content…

There are pros and cons of using observation method. Some of the advantages are; • The data gathered during observation sessions are quite reliable; it is often used to confirm the data extracted using other techniques • Observation can be used to extract information on the physical environment where the task is performed. For example, the analyst can get information on level of noise, physical layout, traffic and so on • It is relatively inexpensive • It allows the analyst to perform work measurements There are however, some disadvantages to using the observation technique. First of all, exceptions are difficult to capture in one session; repeated observation sessions and interviews may be needed to supplement the facts gathered. Secondly, observers are also prone to bias reflected in the form of seeing what they expect to see and what they want to see, which can affect the results of the observation. How does observation is tied to the measuring solution performance

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