The use of task analysis methods in support of the development of interactive systems

摘要

One of the major and continuing problems for the information technology community is the tendency to create technically excellent and advanced products, which do not meet the needs of the real users. Capturing and analysis of user requirements and tasks are concepts that have frequently been suggested to address central problems within system development in recent years. In this research the use of a variety of Task Analysis (TA) methods has been used to assess the adequacy of a proposed design for a "World Wide Web (WWW)" system within an Interactive MultiMedia (IMM) context, domain and environment which will help research students conduct their doctoral program as carried out at Salford University, Manchester, UK. The results of the application for TA methods and their input into the design activities have been analyzed and compared both to each other and to a framework (desirable criteria). The findings have shown that TA methods have a number of weaknesses in the contributions that they make and therefore questions of how the methods can be improved to increase their capability were considered.