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CHAPTER 4 -Task Descriptions and Analysis

Chapter 4 discusses task description and analysis, outlining three types of task descriptions: scenarios, use cases, and essential use cases, each serving different purposes in understanding user interactions with systems. It emphasizes the importance of task analysis in user requirements analysis, detailing how it helps in understanding user goals, tasks, and actions, as well as predicting learning and execution times. The chapter also introduces Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA) as a method for breaking down high-level tasks into subtasks to improve user-centered design processes.

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24 views7 pages

CHAPTER 4 -Task Descriptions and Analysis

Chapter 4 discusses task description and analysis, outlining three types of task descriptions: scenarios, use cases, and essential use cases, each serving different purposes in understanding user interactions with systems. It emphasizes the importance of task analysis in user requirements analysis, detailing how it helps in understanding user goals, tasks, and actions, as well as predicting learning and execution times. The chapter also introduces Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA) as a method for breaking down high-level tasks into subtasks to improve user-centered design processes.

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Jason Kariuki
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CHAPTER 4 –TASK DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS

Task Description
Description of user task can help users to articulate existing work practices and help to
express envisioned use for new products.
Three common description types are:
1. Scenarios
ƒ an informal narrative story, simple, ‘natural’, personal, not generalisable
2. Use cases
ƒ assume interaction with a system
ƒ assume detailed understanding of the interaction
3. Essential use cases
An essential use case is a structured narrative, expressed in the language of the application
domain and of users, comprising a simplified, generalized, abstract, technology-free and
implementation independent description of one task or interaction that is complete,
meaningful, and well-defined from the point of view of users in some role or roles in relation
to a system and that embodies the purpose or intentions underlying the interaction.
Essential use cases are documented in a format representing a dialogue between the user and the
system. This resembles a two-column format used by Wirfs-Brock . In Wirfs-Brock's format,
the column labels refer to the action and the response. In contrast, the essential use case
format labels the columns user intention and system responsibility.

A) Example scenario for travel organizer:


“The Thomson family enjoy outdoor activity holidays and want to try their hand at sailing this
year. There are four members of the family: Sky who is 10 years old, Eamonn who is 15
years old, Claire who is 35, and Will who is 40. While out on a shopping trip they call by at
the travel agents in their local town to start exploring the possibilities ... The travel organizer
is located in a quiet corner of the agents’ office, where there are comfortable seats and play
things for young children. They all gather around the organizer and enter their initial set of
requirements—a sailing holiday for four novices. The stand-alone console is designed so that
all members of the family can interact easily and comfortably with it. The system’s initial

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suggestion is that they should consider a flotilla holiday, where several novice crews go
sailing together and provide mutual support for first time sailors…”
B) Example use case for travel organizer:
1. The system displays options for investigating visa and vaccination requirements.
2. The user chooses the option to find out about visa requirements.
3. The system prompts user for the name of the destination country.
4. The user enters the country’s name.
5. The system checks that the country is valid.
6. The system prompts the user for her nationality.
7. The user enters her nationality.
8. The system checks the visa requirements of the entered country for a passport holder of her
nationality.
9. The system displays the visa requirements.
10. The system displays the option to print out the visa requirements.
11. The user chooses to print the requirements.

Some alternative courses:


6. If the country name is invalid:
6.1 The system displays an error message.
6.2 The system returns to step 3.
8. If the nationality is invalid:
8.1 The system displays an error message.
8.2 The system returns to step 6.
9. If no information about visa requirements is found:
9.1 The system displays a suitable message.
9.2 The system returns to step 1.

Example use case diagram for travel organizer:

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C) Essential use case Examples
i) Atm system

ii. Customer help desk system

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TASK ANALYSIS
Task Analysis plays an important part in User Requirements Analysis.
- Task analysis is the procedure to learn the users and abstract frameworks, the patterns used in
workflows, and the chronological implementation of interaction with the GUI. It analyzes the
ways in which the user partitions the tasks and sequence them.

For example, a person preparing an overhead projector for use would be seen to carry out the
following actions:-

1. Plug in to main and switch on supply.


2. Locate on/off switch on projector
3. Discover which way to press the switch
4. Press the switch for power
5. Put on the slide and orientate correctly
6. Align the projector on the screen
7. Focus the slide

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The description of user tasks includes:
i. What tasks they perform?
ii. Why they perform them?
iii. How they perform them?
The three questions can be answered by obtaining
ƒ Goals: What people want to accomplish
ƒ Tasks: The mechanisms people use to accomplish goals
ƒ Actions: Subcomponents of tasks

Example:
Goal: Get to mountain vacation
Tasks: Rent car, drive, get repairs
Action: Get gas

What are the aims of Task Analysis?

Task analysis verifies that the set of actions employed by the user does accomplish the task. Task
analysis explicitly describes the procedure that the user actually employs since this may be
different from the expected series of actions.

Task analysis is used to:

i. Predict the time taken to learn a new task and become a proficient user of the particular
application / machine. Task analysis may reveal how difficult one method is to learn
compared to another.
ii. Predict the time taken for a proficient user to accomplish the set task - this can reflect
whether the interface is good at supporting exploration. Is it quicker to simply explore by
trial and error or attempt to find out through help?
iii. Predict the time taken for expert execution of the set task - how long does it take to
become expert once a procedure has been discovered? This can be affected by the design
of an interface.
iv. To improve the delivery of information to the user.

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This involves identifying any problems with the delivery of information to the user and the
consideration of possible solutions.

When to Perform a Task Analysis


It’s important to perform a task analysis early in your process, in particular prior to design work.
Task analysis helps support several other aspects of the user-centered design process, including:

 Website requirements gathering


 Developing your content strategy and site structure
 Wireframing and Prototyping
 Performing usability testing

Hierarchical Task Analysis


Hierarchical Task Analysis is focused on decomposing a high-level task into subtasks.
 Hierarchical Task Analysis is the procedure of disintegrating tasks into subtasks that could be
analyzed using the logical sequence for execution. This would help in achieving the goal in
the best possible way.
 Involves breaking a task down into subtasks, then sub-tasks and so on. These are grouped as
plans which specify how the tasks might be performed in practice.
 HTA focuses on physical and observable actions, and includes looking at actions not related
to software or an interaction device.
 Start with a user goal which is examined and the main tasks for achieving it are identified.
 Use text and/or diagrams to show task-subtask hierarchy and plans to describe order.
Example: HTA for borrowing a book from the library

Task-subtask hierarchy:
0. In order to borrow a book from the library
1. Go to the library
2. Find the required book
2.1 Access library catalogue
2.2 Access the search screen
2.3 Enter search criteria

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2.4 Identify required book
2.5 Note location
3. Go to shelf and get book
4. Take book to checkout counter

Plans to describe the task order:


ƒ Plan 0: Do 1-3-4. If book is not on the expected shelf, do
2-3-4.
ƒ Plan 2: Do 2.1-2.4-2.5. If book not identified, do 2.2-2.3-
2.4-2.5.
This is called textual HTA

Graphical HTA representation:

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