HFE 451 651 User and Task Analysis From User

HFE 451/651 User and Task Analysis From: User and task analysis for interface design. Hackos & Redish, 1998. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Topics z Needs Analysis z User Analysis z Task Analysis z Conceptual Evaluation Plan

Needs Analysis z Establish that a system (or product) is needed based on goals of organization and/or marketplace. y. Basic goals y. Purpose yfeatures z Specify what will be required in the system and what would be “nice to have”.

User Analysis z Understanding the users y(examples) x. Who are the users? x. What do the users want? x. What are the users goals? x. What are individual characteristics that may affect behavior with software or information designed? x. What do they know that helps them perform their tasks? x. What values to they bring to their job? x. Do they want a user interface that is fun, not boring?

Understanding the users (cont. ) x. Are they interested in saving money, saving time, becoming an expert, having an easy job to do? x. What is their prior experience with similar tools and interfaces? x. What jobs or tasks will the be performing? Under what conditions?

User Analysis y Users you may want to study include: xusers who buy and use the software alone (e. g. at home) xusers who use it as part of the work they do xgroups of people who use software as part of a larger business process xsoftware administrators xusers who repair or troubleshoot xusers who install xcustomers of the users

User Analysis y. Some examples of data to collect x. Age, gender, physical differences, xexperience in job, educational level, background of training xgeographic location, wage differences, culture and nationalities xlanguage skills, terminology differences xjob level (eg. technicians vs engineers, or technicians vs doctors) x. Assumptions about the users (how to test these assumptions) x. Mental models users have x. Individual differences x. Motivational differences

Task Analysis z Complete description of tasks, subtasks, and methods for performing task. y. Analysis of users tasks - what they do and what they need to do. y. Function analysis - determining what functions the system as a whole (computer and user) will include y. Task-Function allocation - What will be allocated to the various components of the system (e. g. what will the user do, what will the system do) y. Requirements Analysis - What will be the requirements for the design.

Task Analysis z User Goals z Relating Goals to tasks and actions z Choices of task to meet goals z What users do when they encounter problems

Types of Task Analyses z Work Flow Analysis y. What is the process by which they accomplish the work. y. This includes work that flows across people. y. Where are communication links?

Types of Task Analyses z Job Analysis y. Understanding what a person does in their particular job. What tasks do they perform? x. Frequency: How often do they perform the tasks? x. Criticality: How important are the tasks? x. Time: How time consuming are the tasks? x. Difficulty: How difficult are the tasks? x. Division of responsibility: Do all people in the job perform this task?

Techniques for Task Analysis z Task Lists or Inventory y. Good for pre-design. y. What tasks do the user want to accomplish using the product? (Does not tell you how!) y. Example: Email Program xwrite message xsend message xreceive message xread message xsave message xetc. .

Techniques for Task Analysis z Process analysis or task sequences y. Series of tasks that users are likely to do (or must do) in a certain order y. E. g. write a mail message precedes sending it. y. Example, operational sequence diagram

Techniques for Task Analysis z Task hierarchies y. Task can be decomposed into their sub-tasks

Techniques for Task Analysis z Procedural analysis y. Determine what a user does in performing a specific task. What decisions and actions must be made? y. Shows how users are currently using tools.

Consider stages of users z Novices y. Novices are goal and task oriented y. Novices do no want to learn, just do z Advanced Beginners y. Focus on accomplishing task y. Impatient with learning concepts rather than performing tasks y. Randomly access tasks y. By adding new and more complex tasks begin to develop empirically based mental model

Consider stages of users z Competent performers y. Focus on accomplishing more complex tasks that require many coordinated actions y. Ability to plan how to perform a complex series of tasks to achieve a goal y. Willingness to learn how the task fits into a consistent mental model of the interface as a whole y. Interest in solving simple problems by applying a conceptual framework to diagnose and correct errors

Consider stages of users z Experts y. Focus on developing a comprehensive and consistent mental model of the product y. Ability to understand complex problems and find solutions y. Interest in learning about concepts and theories behind a product y. Interest in interacting with other experts