Preview – Observation – Workbook
Topic content
- Overview of observation
- Types of observation
- Advantages and limitations of observation
Overview of observation
Observation involves watching an activity or activities in action; seeing what really goes on and how tasks are actually carried out by the staff who do them. This is the ‘back story’.
Business analysts can make notes about the environment in which tasks are being performed. Observation is perhaps most useful for physical activities, including handling telephone calls.
Observation and tacit knowledge
Observation is an effective way of acquiring tacit knowledge, ie, knowledge and information that stakeholders don’t think of mentioning because, to them, it is obvious. Similarly, a business analyst can observe things that stakeholders do intuitively. Apart from stakeholders not thinking of mentioning such automatic behaviour, they would probably find it difficult to explain in words. Imagine a top class footballer explain how they able to gauge distance when curling the ball towards the goal.
Preparation for observation
- Business analysts should seek permission to observe stakeholders. This is particularly true of the more ‘close up’ forms of observation
- These can be distracting for the people being observed and may change their normal behaviour
- In any case, it is polite to ask
- Stakeholders that are being observed must be reassured that the business analyst simply wants to see how a task is performed
- Staff should know in advance that their performance is not being assessed
Forms of observation
- Formal
- Informal
- Shadowing
- Protocol analysis
- Ethnographic study
Forms of observation in detail
Formal
Formal observation involves observing a specific stakeholder carrying out a specific task.
The business analyst can ask questions of the person being observed. This can include asking about variations from ‘standard’ behaviour.
Informal
Informal observation involves watching stakeholders generally.
Shadowing
Shadowing describes the situation where the business analyst remains close to a particular stakeholder, observing all that they do, for 1 or 2 days.
Shadowing versus observation in general
Although shadowing is a form of observation, certain BCS ‘Business Analysis’ syllabi make a distinction between the two things.
Remember that formal observation studies someone performing a particular task.
Shadowing involves following someone for a certain period of time, watching everything that they do. The business analyst sees everything, i.e. all activities, involved in a particular role or job.
Protocol analysis
In protocol analysis the stakeholder describes what they are doing, or even thinking, as they perform a task.
This is useful for situations where what’s going on isn’t obvious from observation alone.
Protocol analysis and tacit knowledge
Protocol analysis is particularly effective for gaining tacit knowledge.
Ethnographic study
To conduct an ethnographic study, the observer is embedded in the stakeholder community for an extended period.
It’s probably very unusual for business analysts to be involved in such an exercise.
Ethnographic studies are often associated with product planning and launches.
Advantages and limitations of observation
Advantages
- Analysts can see exactly what happens
- This is the back story
- The front story is what the analyst is told goes on
- Can be effective for uncovering tacit information/knowledge
Limitations
- Being observed can change people’s behavior,e.g.
- Alternatively, people being observed deliberately try to make things appear better or worse than they really are.
- Stakeholders can feel intimidated by the presence of an observer.
- Analysts might not see variants of the standard activities
- Might need to prompt the observed person to demonstrate variations from the standard activities