An analyst investigating a sales system wishes to ask questions about how a customer order form is completed in the current system. What investigation technique is the analyst using?

Protocol analysis is an investigation technique where an analyst observes a user performing a task and asks them to verbalize their thought process. The goal is to understand the user's cognitive process, including their reasoning, decisions, and any difficulties they encounter. By asking questions about how a customer order form is completed while the user is doing it or walking through it, the analyst is directly applying protocol analysis to understand the detailed steps and logic involved in the process.

A. Activity sampling. This technique measures how users divide their time among different activities through random observations, not the detailed cognitive process of a single task.
C. Document analysis. This involves the review of existing documents (like the form itself) to understand its structure and content, not the dynamic process of how a user completes it.
D. Structured observation. This technique involves observing a user against a pre-defined checklist of actions or criteria. It focuses on what is done, rather than the user's thought process or reasoning, which is elicited by asking questions.

1. Paul

D.

Yeates

D.

& Cadle

J. (2014). Business Analysis (3rd ed.). BCS

The Chartered Institute for IT. In Chapter 5

Section 5.5.3

"Observation

" protocol analysis is described as a type of observation where "the person being observed is asked to talk through what they are doing and why they are doing it... This helps the business analyst to understand the business rules and procedures." This directly matches the scenario.

2. Preece

J.

Rogers

Y.

& Sharp

H. (2015). Interaction Design: Beyond Human-Computer Interaction (4th ed.). Wiley. Chapter 13

"Introducing Evaluation

" details the "Think-Aloud" technique (a synonym for protocol analysis) as a primary method for understanding a user's thoughts and motivations while they interact with a system or document.

3. Nielsen

J. (1994). Usability Engineering. Morgan Kaufmann. Chapter 6

"Usability Testing

" pp. 195-198

establishes the "thinking aloud" protocol as a fundamental method for gaining qualitative insights into how users actually work through a task

which is precisely what the analyst in the scenario aims to achieve.