task analysis as system approach (paper-1) by bhawna kukreja

TASK ANALYSIS AS SYSTEM APPROACH

TASK ANALYSIS

Task analysis can be defined as the study of what a user required to do,

in terms of actions and/or cognitive processes, to achieve a task

objective. The idea is that task analysis provides some structure for the

description of tasks or activities, which then makes it easier to describe

how activities fit together, and to explore what the implications of this

may be for the design of products. This can be particularly useful when

considering the design of interfaces to products, and how users interact

with them.

An important point to be made is that in order to be maximally effective

such an analysis should be extended to encompass the whole of the

user’s interactions with a product. In addition to everyday tasks more

in frequent tasks such as maintenance and cleaning, as well as known

types of misuse, should be included in the analysis.

When to use it

• ·        analysis phase of design
• ·        to analyse interactions with an existing system
• ·        as input to the detailed design
• ·        planning evaluation studies
• ·        development  of the current solution

Task Elicitation and Representation

Information can be gathered using interview techniques .Where possible structured interviews should be used, and should focus on the activities considered of central relevance to the development. With this approach the interview is performed as a series of questions. A series of “what happens before” and “what happens after” questions can be asked at each stage of the analysis in order to ensure that any task dependencies are understood. Task representations can then be constructed based on any interview notes or observation. It is recommended to establish a graphical representation of the activities as it can be much easier to get feedback from users when communication is facilitated in this way.

Show notes to user

To ensure that the representation is correct it is advisable to go through the preliminary descriptions with the users. If misunderstandings or errors are identified they can then be corrected before the final task analysis is represented.

Usage of Results

The task analysis diagrams can be used directly in discussions about the system being considered. Changes in system design or new functions might influence the users’ activities. It is recommended that the consequences of such changes are identified and re p resented as new tasks in the task analysis diagrams. In this way a clear and easily communicated representation of the intended design is established.