Services - Usability services - Task analysis
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What is Task Analysis?
Finding
out what tasks your users perform and how they want to perform them -
to a high enough level that early designs can be started straight after
this (much deeper level than focus groups). This includes the content
and functionality 'map' for a website that users will expect to see.
Why you need it
Without cognitive task analysis you can build a site that works in a way your customers don't understand, or waste time and money building functionality they will never use - we've seen this happen.
What we do
Set group sessions with your customers, and research what functionality they really require. Then we analyse their mental models for those tasks, the approaches they need and the terminology they use, and suggest a site design that matches this.
In detail
When you start out to build a product, you usually have a 'wish list' from your customers of functionality they require. You may even have some form of weighting on that list, so you know which ones are more important to them.
But why are those more important? And how should you build that functionality so that they understand how to use it? Task analysis answers questions like these, using the following approach:
- Using information on your users or customer base we recruit groups (5 to 7) and work with them in sessions (these can be viewed if you wish to see them in action).
- Each session consists of the following stages:
- Introduction and explanation.
- Identification of core tasks that could be supported by this product.
- Prioritisation of those tasks, with explanations of why.
- For core tasks (starting with the most important):
- Walkthrough of how they mentally approach it.
- Rapid prototyping of process supporting the task (using post-it notes).
- Structuring of interface around this process.
- Naming of core structural elements.
We then collect and compile the results, and then analyse them to produce the findings. A full report is created, and we will present this back to your team during a half-day results analysis meeting.
Deliverables
- Two full colour copies of the research report, including:
- Executive summary of findings.
- Overview of methodology used and steps undertaken.
- Key findings from the research.
- Demographic breakdown of the respondents.
- Further researched data on the respondents.
- Recommendations for further steps.
If you'd like to see an example task analysis report then please contact us.
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