The process of finding out exactly what the system will entail by employing various fact-finding methods

1. Observations

<aside> 👀 Where the analyst shadows employees of the customer for a period of time, making notes on how they do their job.

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✅ Advantages

• Pick up parts of the system that are not immediately obvious to the customer
• Confirm information gathered through other fact-finding methods

❌ Disadvantages

• Some people may feel threatened while being watched
• There is no guarantee that some of the more subtle parts of the system will show up, especially if carried out over a small time period.

2. Questionnaires

<aside> ❓ Requires knowledge of the system to be built and the range of people that they are going to be sent to.

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✅ Advantages

• Can be given to a large number of people at once
• Can get a large number of different opinions

❌ Disadvantages

• Hard to create and design, should be able to go into a graph which isn't always possible, especially when opinion is expressed
• Not all questionnaires sent out will be completed as people think they're worthless
• Need to be mainly multiple choice answers which can be limiting

3. Document collection