1. Chapter 4 Finding out about tasks and work

2. Describing Users’ Work
Goals, Tasks, and Actions
Task Characteristics: The Nature of the Work
Task Sequences: There May Be More Than One Way to Do a Task
UIDE Chapter 4

3. Goals, Tasks, Actions Goal: the end result to be achieved
Task: structured set of related activities that are undertaken in some sequence
Action: an individual operation or step that needs to be undertaken as part of the task.
UIDE Chapter 4

4. Goals, Tasks, Actions
UIDE Chapter 4

5. Task Characteristics Variety of tasks Frequency of tasks
Knowledge and skill required
Environmental factors
Time critical
Safety hazards
Will user work alone or with others
User normally switches between several tasks
UIDE Chapter 4

6. Task Analysis
Granularity – levels of detail
Work-flow
UIDE Chapter 4

7. Describing Users’ Work
Task Analysis
Clues for Improving Design: Problems and Difficulties with the Current UI
Techniques for Task Analysis
Describing How to Do It: Scenarios and Use Cases
Cognitive Task Analysis: Moving from Scenarios and Use Cases to Cognitive Walkthrough
UIDE Chapter 4

8. Task Analysis
Clues for Improving Design: Problems and Difficulties with the Current UI
Analyze errors
Find “work arounds”
Observe job aids, reference manuals, etc.
Artifacts – orject or aid
UIDE Chapter 4

9. Techniques for Task Analysis
Describe what is to be done
Describe how a user does the task
UIDE Chapter 4

10. Concrete Use Case
UIDE Chapter 4

11. Essential Use Case
UIDE Chapter 4

12. Cognitive Walk-Through
“Evaluates the steps required to perform a task and attempts to uncover mismatches between how the users think about a taks and how the UI designer thinks about the task”
UIDE Chapter 4

13. Remote
Produce a “Cognitive Walkthrough” of a TV or other remote control you may have at home.
From “Turn ON”
Actions in between
To “Turn OFF”
See pp 73-75
UIDE Chapter 4

14. Mental Models Structural Models Functional Models
Structural versus Functional Models
The Utility of Mental Models in HCI
UIDE Chapter 4

15. Environmental Considerations: Where Is This Work Done?
The Physical Environment: Is This a Pleasant Place to Be?
The Safety Environment: Is This a Safe Place to Be?
The Social Environment: Do People Help Each Other?
UIDE Chapter 4

16. Environmental Considerations: Where Is This Work Done?
The Organizational Environment: Does Management Support This Work?
The User Support Environment
Consideration of Environmental Aspects and How They Affect Design
UIDE Chapter 4