Joker
extra
Why?
This set of cards gives you an overview of methods you can use, but there are many others that might fit your goals better.
Methods
As an ICT student or professional, you need to solve all kind of ICT challenges. Answering the questions and tackling the problems or opportunities of your ICT project requires research and often a combination of various ICT research methods. The toolkit on this website offers you a set of possible research methods and a framework to select the appropriate (combination of) methods
Document analysis
field
Why?
Documentation produced by the company can be a great first resource for understanding the organisation you are working for and their work processes.
Domain modelling
field
Why?
Map the domain that your product will be part of, so you know the key concepts and the relations between them.
Explore user requirements
field
Why?
Get a detailed view of how users will be using your solution and what their requirements are.
Focus group
field
Why?
A focus group discussion is an efficient way to gain insight into how people think about an issue, without having to interview each person separately.
Interview
field
Why?
Learn from potential users of your new product and other stakeholders
Observation
field
Why?
Get a feeling for how your intended users will use your product by unobtrusively observing them in their natural environment, doing the things they always do.
Stakeholder analysis
field
Why?
Identify the stakeholders and ensure that their needs are considered.
Survey
field
Why?
Collect information (mostly quantitative) from a large sample of your target group
Task analysis
field
Why?
Understand the structure, flow or other aspects of a certain task. Task analysis focuses on what end users actually do to achieve their goals.
Data analytics
lab
Why?
Gain insights by measuring and analysing data. Researching a dataset can give you useful quantitative information about the topic of interest.
Best good and bad practices
library
Why?
Incorporating what has proven to work somewhere else forms the basis of any high-quality project.
Community research
library
Why?
Have others already tackled the problem? Incorporating your peers’ knowledge can seriously speed things up.
Competitive analysis
library
Why?
Find a niche or unique selling point competitors are not filling.
Expert interview
library
Why?
A domain expert can put you on the right track when you enter a new domain or field of expertise. The expert can recommend sources, give you a sense of direction or point out common pitfalls.
Literature study
library
Why?
Find general information, guidance and best practices.
SWOT analysis
library
Why?
A SWOT analysis supports decision makers in identifying relevant factors for achieving certain goals.
Peer review
showroom
Why?
Colleagues and experts can help improve your work, especially if they need to reuse it.
Pitch
showroom
Why?
Get an idea of the unique selling points of the opportunity you have found, or of the idea you have to tackle a problem, and practice concise communication about them.
Gap analysis
workshop
Why?
Compare an actual situation to an ideal or desired situation. The gap analysis can be used to create plans to bridge the gaps.
Hackathon
workshop
Why?
To find new solutions, be able to try them out quickly and involve many people in your challenge.
Requirements prioritization
workshop
Why?
To define and weigh the requirements of a new design or redesign, considering the interest of all concerned stakeholders.
Root cause analysis
workshop
Why?
Understand why a problem occurs and prevent it from happening again.
