"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.

Task analysis is an important aspect of user interface design, insuring that the end product is usable and practical. Written by task analysis experts, this book is the first book that provides full-length coverage of task analysis. It covers in detail every step of the task analysis process, and discusses the methodologies behind it.

This study seeks to identify the way users do certain tasks or operate different products. It is done before a product is designed or when a product needs to be redesigned based on usability testing results. Every step of the task analysis process is covered in detail.

Vorgestellt wird eine neue Methode zur Prüfung und Verbesserung der Anwenderfreundlichkeit von Benutzerschnittstellen. Jeder Schritt wird anhand übersichtlicher Abbildungen und instruktiver Beispiele erläutert. Checklisten und Formulare lassen sich leicht abwandeln und so an die Bedürfnisse des Lesers anpassen. (02/98)

This book includes many examples of design successes and challenges for products of every kind.

JoAnn T. Hackosis 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. Redishis 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.

Preface.

About the book.

Acknowledgments.

Chapter 1: Introducing User and Task Analysis for Interface Design.

PART 1: UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEXT OF USER AND TASK ANALYSIS.

Chapter 2: Thinking about Users.

Chapter 3: Thinking about Tasks.

Chapter 4: Thinking about the Users' Environment.

Chapter 5: Making the Business Case for Site Visits.

PART 2: GETTING READY FOR SITE VISITS.

Chapter 6: Selecting Techniques.

Chapter 7: Setting Up Site Visits.

Chapter 8: Preparing for the Site Visits.

PART 3: CONDUCTING THE SITE VISIT.

Chapter 9: Conducting the Site Visit—Honing Your Observation Skills.

Chapter 10: Conducting the Site Visit—Honing Your Interviewing Skills.

PART 4: MAKING THE TRANSITION FROM ANALYSIS TO DESIGN.

Chapter 11: Analyzing and Presenting the Data You Have Collected.

Chapter 12: Working Toward the Interface Design.

Chapter 13: Prototyping the Interface Design.

Chapter 14: User and Task Analysis for Documentation and Training.

Bibliography.

Appendix A: Template for a Site Visit Plan.

Appendix B: Resources.

Appendix C: Guidelines for User-Interface Design.

Index.