Elicitation and data collection

One of Gordon’s most significant pieces of research, with Neil Maiden from City University, resulted in the ACRE framework.  Their research question was: Why is it so difficult to get complete and correct information and knowledge out of people, even when they are actively trying to help? The reason turned out to be that there are several main categories of knowledge, memory and skill, plus numerous sub-categories, each of which has different implications for choice of elicitation method. For example, working memory has a duration of just a few seconds, so the only way to access it is via real-time elicitation using methods such as think-aloud technique. There’s more about the ACRE framework here.

The short version of the framework can be summarised as do, don’t, can’t and won’t, as shown in the table below.

Things that people do tell you about can be accessed via any technique.

Things that people don’t tell you about, but would be perfectly willing to talk about, are semi-tacit. Examples include working memory; things people don’t think are worth mentioning; and things people don’t mention because they assume you know about the topic already. To elicit semi-tacit knowledge, you need methods such as laddering, think-aloud and card sorts.

Things that people can’t tell you about involve tacit knowledge in the strict sense; for example, the compiled physical skills often known as muscle memory, and expert recognition of familiar patterns – such as a doctor recognising a medical condition. To elicit tacit knowledge, you need nonverbal methods such as observation and experimentation.

Things that people won’t tell you about directly are a special case of semi-tacit knowledge. You can get some insights into this by using projective techniques, and indirect observation.

The ACRE framework reference: Maiden, N.A.M. & Rugg, G. (1996). ACRE: a framework for acquisition of requirements. Software Engineering Journal, 11(3).