User and Task Analysis for Interface Design

by Hackos, JoAnn T.; Redish, Janice C.

• ISBN13: 9780471178316
• ISBN10: 0471178314
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-02-23
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

"Hackos and Redish wisely offer us the three things we most need about user and task analysis: practical advice, practical advice, and practical advice." -Ben Shneiderman, University of Maryland "This book is well written, thorough, and loaded with techniques, examples, and resources that bring analysis to everyone." -Marcia L. Conner, Director of Usability & Learnability PeopleSoft, Inc. User and Task Analysis for Interface Design helps you design a great user interface by focusing on the most important step in the process -the first one. You learn to go out and observe your users at work, whether they are employees of your company or people in customer organizations. You learn to find out what your users really need, not by asking them what they want, but by going through a process of understanding what they are trying to accomplish. JoAnn Hackos and Janice (Ginny) Redish, internationally known experts in usable design, take you through a step-by-step process to conduct a user and task analysis. You learn: * How interface designers use user and task analysis to build successful interfaces * Why knowledge of users, their tasks, and their environments is critical to successful design * How to prepare and set up your site visits * How to select and train your user and task analysis team * What observations to make, questions to ask, and questions to avoid * How to record and report what you have learned to your development team members * How to turn the information you've gathered into design ideas * How to create paper prototypes of your interface design * How to conduct usability tests with your prototypes to find out if you're on the right track. This book includes many examples of design successes and challenges for products of every kind.

Author Biography

JoAnn T. Hackos is president of Comtech Services, a design consulting firm that specializes in assisting companies to understand their users, design their products and information, conduct usability tests, and manage development projects. Janice (Ginny) C. Redish is president of Redish & Associates, Inc. Ginny helps companies with user and task analysis, usability assessments, interface and information design, and building usability into software and documentation processes.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
About the book	xiv	(4)
Acknowledgments	xviii
Chapter 1. Introducing User and Task Analysis for Interface Design	1	(20)
What is this book about?	3	(2)
What is interface design?	5	(1)
What makes an interface usable?	6	(1)
What is user and task analysis?	7	(1)
When should you do user and task analysis?	8	(3)
Why do user and task analysis at all?	11	(2)
Why isn't this done all the time already?	13	(1)
Where does user and task analysis come from?	14	(5)
References cited in the chapter	19	(1)
Other books and articles for further reading	19	(2)
Part 1. Understanding the Context of User and Task Analysis	21	(106)
Chapter 2. Thinking About Users	23	(28)
Why study users?	25	(2)
Who are your users?	27	(4)
Starting a user and task analysis	31	(4)
What do you want to know about your users?	35	(1)
Jobs, tasks, tools, and mental models: How users define themselves	35	(8)
Individual differences	43	(6)
What are the trade-offs?	49	(1)
References cited in the chapter	50	(1)
Other books and articles for further reading	50	(1)
Chapter 3. Thinking About Tasks	51	(40)
What is task analysis?	52	(2)
Starting with users' goals	54	(6)
Identifying different types and levels of task analysis	60	(7)
Combining workflow analysis and job analysis	67	(2)
Task analysis to develop a task list or task inventory	69	(2)
Process analysis, task sequences	71	(2)
Task hierarchies	73	(2)
Procedural analysis	75	(1)
Thinking of users according to their stages of use	76	(13)
References cited in the chapter	89	(1)
Other books and articles for further reading	90	(1)
Chapter 4. Thinking About the Users' Environment	91	(20)
Why is environment important?	91	(2)
What aspects of the environment are important?	93	(5)
What should you look for in the physical environment?	98	(8)
What should you look for in the social and cultural environment?	106	(3)
What are the trade-offs?	109	(1)
References cited in the chapter	109	(1)
Other books and articles for further reading	110	(1)
Chapter 5. Making the Business Case for Site Visits	111	(16)
Challenging or verifying your assumptions	111	(4)
Countering objections to doing user and task analysis	115	(6)
Preparing a business proposal	121	(5)
References cited in the chapter	126	(1)
Part 2. Getting Ready for Site Visits	127	(114)
Chapter 6. Selecting Techniques	129	(26)
Observing, listening to, and talking with users	130	(5)
Interviewing users and others	135	(7)
Working with users away from their work sites	142	(3)
Using more traditional market research techniques	145	(5)
Using more traditional systems development techniques	150	(3)
Summary	153	(1)
References cited in the chapter	153	(1)
Other books and articles for further reading	154	(1)
Chapter 7. Setting Up Site Visits	155	(38)
Issues and objectives	156	(4)
Participants	160	(11)
Locations	171	(4)
Schedule	175	(4)
Recruiting	179	(10)
Data collection techniques	189	(3)
References cited in the chapter	192	(1)
Other books and articles for further reading	192	(1)
Chapter 8. Preparing for the Site Visits	193	(48)
Issues to consider as you prepare	194	(1)
Organizing the team	194	(4)
Training the team	198	(2)
Materials for the site visits	200	(9)
What materials will you need for the team to use during the site visits?	209	(7)
What materials will you need to facilitate information gathering?	216	(2)
Will you videotape? Audiotape?	218	(4)
Deciding what you will do with the data	222	(5)
Staying organized (building in record keeping)	227	(1)
Site Visit Plan	228	(1)
Site visit plan for SuperSales	229	(11)
Reference cited in the chapter	240	(1)
Part 3. Conducting the Site Visit	241	(54)
Chapter 9. Conducting the Site Visit-Honing Your Observation Skills	243	(30)
Handling the site visit	244	(2)
Learning more about the user	246	(3)
Taking notes on the user's environment	249	(1)
Understanding the users' goals	250	(7)
Understanding the users' tasks	257	(1)
Asking the user to talk to you and to think aloud	258	(1)
Noting where the user starts the task	259	(1)
Noting what triggers the task	260	(2)
Taking down the level of detail you need for your issues	262	(1)
Capturing interactions with other resources: people, paper, programs	263	(1)
Separating observations and inferences as you watch users	264	(3)
Noting where the user ends the task (what happens next)	267	(1)
Noting whether the user successfully met the goal	268	(1)
Going on to the next observation or the next part of the site visit	268	(1)
Thanking the user, distributing presents, and taking your leave	269	(2)
References cited in the chapter	271	(1)
Other books and articles for further reading	271	(2)
Chapter 10. Conducting the Site Visit-Honing Your Interviewing Skills	273	(22)
Listening-the most important part of interviewing	275	(1)
Setting expectations about roles and knowledge	276	(1)
Planning the questions or issues for site visit interviews	277	(1)
Knowing what you are trying to learn	278	(1)
Realizing the power of different types of questions	279	(2)
Asking neutral questions	281	(6)
Respecting silence	287	(1)
Watching body language and other signals from users	287	(3)
Capturing exactly what the user says	290	(1)
Staying close to your site visit plan	291	(1)
Being flexible	292	(1)
Giving users opportunities to answer the questions you didn't ask	293	(1)
Handling questions from users	293	(1)
References cited in the chapter	294	(1)
Part 4. Making the Transition from Analysis to Design	295	(144)
Chapter 11. Analyzing and Presenting the Data You Have Collected	299	(46)
Methods for organizing and analyzing your data	302	(27)
Other methods for analyzing your data	329	(4)
Methods of enhancing your presentations	333	(3)
Selecting the best methods for your analysis	336	(3)
Selecting the right methods for analysis depends on team issues	339	(5)
References cited in the chapter	344	(1)
Other books and articles for further reading	344	(1)
Chapter 12. Working toward the Interface Design	345	(30)
Designing from what you've learned	347	(1)
Qualitative usability goals and measurable objectives	348	(3)
Objects/Actions: Nouns/Verbs	351	(2)
Metaphors for the interface design	353	(6)
Use scenarios	359	(2)
Use sequences	361	(3)
Use flow diagrams	364	(1)
Use workflows	365	(2)
Use hierarchies	367	(2)
Storyboarding and sketching	369	(3)
Video dramatizations	372	(2)
References cited in the chapter	374	(1)
Other books and articles for further reading	374	(1)
Chapter 13. Prototyping the Interface Design	375	(30)
Setting the background	376	(5)
Building prototypes	381	(5)
Evaluating prototypes	386	(15)
Continuing the process	401	(2)
References cited in the chapter	403	(1)
Other books and articles for further reading	404	(1)
Chapter 14. User and Task Analysis for Documentation and Training	405	(34)
What types of documents and training materials need user and task analysis?	406	(1)
What counts as documentation or training in a software application?	407	(2)
Why are there so many types of communication in software?	409	(2)
Who should prepare documentation and training materials?	411	(1)
Why should you do user and task analysis for documentation and training?	411	(2)
What might you do during site visits if your focus is documentation or training?	413	(5)
What can you do with the information you gather during site visits?	418	(5)
How do you move from decisions to prototypes?	423	(2)
User's manuals: Why is organizing by users' tasks so important?	425	(2)
Getting started manuals: What is minimalism?	427	(1)
Online help: What do people want to know?	428	(2)
On the screen: What is an embedded performance support system?	430	(2)
What about the Web?	432	(3)
What about computer-based and Web-based training?	435	(1)
Summary	436	(1)
References cited in the chapter	436	(2)
Other books and articles for further reading	438	(1)
Bibliography	439	(8)
Appendix A. Template for a Site Visit Plan	447	(8)
Issues and objectives	447	(1)
Participants	448	(1)
Locations	448	(1)
Schedule for the field study project	449	(1)
Recruiting	450	(1)
Data collection techniques and schedule for each site visit	450	(1)
Teams	451	(1)
Materials	451	(1)
Media	452	(1)
Data analysis and reporting	452	(1)
Appendixes	453	(2)
Appendix B. Resources	455	(2)
Appendix C. Guidelines for User-Interface Design	457	(22)
Menus	458	(2)
Windows	460	(4)
Dialog boxes	464	(3)
Controls	467	(4)
Icons	471	(2)
Color	473	(2)
Behavior	475	(2)
Language	477	(2)
Index	479