CS160 Discussion Section 3 Task Analysis

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CS160 Discussion Section 3 Task Analysis

• David Sun
• Feb 12, 2007

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Tasks Description

• Describes users goal, in users terms
• Avoid terms from interface or computer.
• Unsure if term is from technology or users
  domain?? Pick a new term that is unambiguously
  from users domain

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Tasks Description

• Describes users goal, in users terms
• Avoid terms from interface or computer.
• Unsure if term is from technology or users
  domain?? Pick a new term that is unambiguously
  from users domain
• Examples
• No User wants to send an email in Outlook.
• Yes Person wants to send a message to a friend
  in another state.

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Tasks Description

• User is the subject of sentence(s) describing the
  task
• Computer / interface should not be the subject
• If the computer / interface is the subject, you
  are describing design, not the users task
• Example
• No The interface needs to enable access to
  files about
• Yes Person needs to be able to view and modify
  documents about

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Tasks Description

• The verb of the sentence describing the task is
  some form of want or need.
• Examples
• No User schedules meetings.
• Yes Person needs to schedule meetings.

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Tasks Description

• A task is never a set of directions it is a
  description of the outcome a user wants to
  produce
• Example
• No User wants to send a message by creating a
  new email, typing the message, sending it.
• Yes Person wants to send a message.

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More examples

• Transportation
• Use 511.org to get from Berkeley to Palo Alto on
  BART and Caltrain.
• Pictures
• The application should allow for airbrush effects
  and red-eye correction.
• Learning
• The student asks the professor questions in class
  using an instant messaging interface.
• Tourism
• User finds exhibits they want to see by accessing
  a website on a PDA by connecting to the Internet
  using WiFi.
• Smart home
• The device should let the user control the
  temperature of the fridge.

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Task?
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• Task Person wants get milk from the cow
• Didnt mention machine
• Didnt say how squeeze utters,use machine, etc.

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Task?
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Task?

• Task Person wants to get meat off the turkey
• Didnt mention the knife or how person got the
  meat off

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Tasks Project Example

• Project promote better student/teacher
  interaction during class in high school
• What are some tasks to analyze for this project?
• Note youll use Contextual Inquiry to find the
  tasks for your project

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Tasks Project Example

• How do I determine these tasks?
• Contextual Inquiry Task Description
• How do I use these task descriptions in design?
• What tasks?
• How do they do them?
• How do users think about them (mental models)?

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Administrivia

• Contextual inquiry / task analysis due Feb 21,
  2007
• Hand a copy in at the beginning of class
• Email a copy to the cs160 at imail.eecs.berkeley.e
  du.
• Come up with a name for your project/group.
• Create a website for your project documents.