There are two types of interviews. These are:
1. Unstructured
2. Structured
Unstructured Interview
Unstructured interview is an approach in which the questions and the corresponding responses are open-ended. The interviewer can ask questions which may not be directly related to the system under consideration.
Unstructured interviews are conducted with only a general goal or subject in mind, with few specific questions. Conducting unstructured interview has the following advantages:
1. Interviewer has greater flexibility in wording questions to suit the respondent.
2. Unstructured interview may also produce information about the areas that were important.
Unstructured interviews may not work well for system analysis and design, because in this type, interviewee frequently gets off the track, and the analyst must be prepared to redirect the interviewee back to the main goal or subject.
A successful interview is likely to be the one in which the interviewer listens for the greater proportion of the time, giving the interviewees the opportunity to express themselves in an unrestricted manner.
Structured Interview
In structured interview, the interviewer has a specific set of questions to ask from the interviewee. All these questions are prepared in advance and the answer are noted. Structured interviews has the following advantages:
1. Structured interview ensure uniform wording of questions for all respondents.
2. It is also easy to administrate as well as to evaluate the answers.
3. In structured interview, limited training for the interviewer is needed. Hence its results in completing the job is possible in much shorter time. However, the cost of preparation for conducting interview will be much higher.
The success of an interview depends on all the skill interviewer and on his or her prior preparation for the interview.
Structured Interviews are further classified into the following two types:
1. Open-ended interviews
2. Close-ended interviews
Open Ended Interview: It is a type of interview that poses questions which may require a specific or a brief response. Open questions are general questions that establish a person’s viewpoint on a particular subject. For example the question may be:
“In what way is the sales forecast relevant to your activity?”
A question that requires the respondent to express a viewpoint is called an open question.
Close Ended Interview: Close-ended interview poses question in which the response(s) is/are presented as a set of alternatives. Close ended questions are more specific and usually require a specific answer. For example, a close-ended question may be:
“Where do you send your summary of orders?”