minds, metaphors and (ethical) manipulation
Posts tagged modelling
What happened to the parrot?
Feb 13th
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A former mentor of mine, my old journalism lecturer Gerry Kreibich, has been writing his memoirs online.
One of his posts includes an excellent reminder of the need to stay “Clean” when interviewing – that is, to avoid guesses, presuppositions and speculations, to ask simple, open questions in a logical sequence – and how difficult many people find this apparently simple task.
Describing trainees’ performance in a mock interview with a man whose house has durned down, he writes: “I have heard inventive reporters come up with every possible speculation as to what he did when he woke up – Did you phone the fire brigade? . . . Did you knot sheets together? . . . Did you think you were perhaps dreaming? . . . Did you bang on the wall to alert the neighbours? Some, making the story up as they go along, have asked, Was there a ladder in the room, y’know, from decorating, that you used for your escape? And then, clearly with decorating still in mind – Was there anything More >
Making requirements-gathering fun
Oct 9th
Are your requirements-gathering interviews and workshops a pleasure, or a form of torture? This cartoon from Modern Analyst made me smile – and wince.
The thing is, I know that finding out what people really want can be great fun!
Three key factors include:
- The analyst’s expectations. Don’t expect people to be able to describe, off the top of their head, exactly what they want or how it drives business value. People just aren’t made that way. It’s up to you, as the analyst, to discover what they really want and how it will benefit the business. Do it well, and the users/customers will be delighted to be learning something they didn’t know they knew.
- The users’ engagement. If they experience the process as a grilling, in which they are made to feel inadequate by questions they can’t answer wrapped in layers of jargon, they aren’t going to enjoy it. But if you as the analyst are genuinely interested in what they have to say, and use their language (and jargon) in your questions, your attitude will draw them in – and keep them on board.
- The analyst’s skillset. Even today, many analysts have not been taught interviewing and facilitation skills to even a basic level. The skills required nowadays – More >
