The use of evaluative stopping rules in information requirements determination: An empirical investigation of systems analyst behavior

The success of an information system hinges on a clear definition of the users' needs and expectations. Information requirements determination (IRD) is the task performed by systems analysts to obtain the definition of system requirements. This dissertation investigates the behavior of systems analysts during the IRD task. Of particular concern are the stopping rules used by analysts, that is, the tests or heuristics used to decide that the information gathered is sufficient to proceed to subsequent stages of system development.; A two-part study was conducted in which 54 practicing systems analysts participated in a requirements determination task. The task consisted of a scenario in which the analysts were asked to elicit requirements for a grocery stopping system using the World Wide Web. In analyzing the data, the stopping rules used by systems analysts were first identified and coded; these results provided evidence that analysts were using cognitive stopping rules in their information gathering activities. Then, an examination of the influence of stopping rule use on the completeness and accuracy of the set of requirements obtained was performed. Results showed that the application of stopping rules resulted in premature termination of the requirements determination process.; Second, a theory-driven strategic prompting tool was developed. This strategic tool and a second tool adapted from the existing IRD literature (to serve as a control condition) were used to attempt to mitigate the consequences of stopping rule use. Results showed that both additional prompting techniques mitigated the effects of stopping rule use for all subjects. Further, the treatment group utilizing the strategic prompting tool generated significantly greater quantity and quality of requirements than the control group. The findings of this research offer substantial contributions to the fields of information system development and managerial decision making.