Surveying Fundamentals for Business Analysts

 

INTRODUCTION

Why Surveys?

The International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA®) defines surveying as “a means of eliciting information from many people, anonymously, in a relatively short time” (IIBA® 2006, 177). Surveys are also called questionnaires. In the IIBA® Business Analysis Body of Knowledge® (BABOK®), the terms questionnaire and survey are used interchangeably. We will do the same throughout this book.

In the nineteenth century, Sir Francis Galton invented the questionnaire for use by psychologists (Rathus 2004, 23). Surveying, therefore, is not a new technique, but surveys are used less often in projects than are other elicitation techniques. A recent study conducted by the IIBA® indicated that 28 percent of all participants ...