Gathering information for solutions

System Fundamentals

Once you understand what a user wants (their requirements), you must begin researching possible solutions. This page describes different techniques you might use to research a suitable system. These research techniques should be used in conjunction with each other. Please don't use one single method for finding a suitable system.

Techniques

Once you know a customers requirements, it's time to investigate solutions. Below is a list of different techniques you might use to look for a system which meets the customers needs.

• Examining current systems
• Examining competing products
• Organizational capabilities (Does the company have people who could make this solution? This is different than current systems, which is just a "thing". Organizational capability is the capacity to use (or leverage) that existing system for a solution).
• Literature searches

Real-world practical advice

I've seen a system administrator take a look at the requirements and get exactly the wrong system.

Standards

These standards are used from the IB Computer Science Subject Guide

• Describe appropriate techniques for gathering the information needed to arrive at a workable solution.

Observe, study, or make a detailed and systematic examination, in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions.

Give a sequence of brief answers with no explanation.

Give a detailed account or picture of a situation, event, pattern or process.