Chapter Three:

Task Analysis and Interaction Design

2014 E.C.

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 Contents
 Introduction
 Task Analysis
o Definition

o AIM of Task Analysis

o Techniques

 Interaction Design

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 Introduction
 Human being communicate with interactive systems using
different ways .
 Developers of interactive systems have to establish requirements
Used to evaluate them if they match with the real needs of full
range of users
 Two types of requirements:
functional and non-functional
 Functional requirements are those which are related to the
technical functionality of the system.
 Non-functional requirement is a requirement that specifies
criteria that can be used to judge the operation of a system in
particular conditions, rather than specific behaviors.
.
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 Con…
 There are many types of Non-functional requirements
Usability, Accessibility, Reusability, Maintainability,
Performance, Reliability, Security, …
 Requirement Analysis techniques can categorized into two:

Ask (potential) users questions

Questionnaires

Interviews

Observe them doing things

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Task Analysis for HCI
 Task analysis: is the process of analyzing the way people
perform their jobs:
is a diagram explaining the steps that a user must take in order
to complete a goal
The things they do, the things they act on and the things they
need to know
 Once you have arrange all the steps out, you will then be in a
position to see where additional user support is required
You might wish to automate some actions that the user
currently undertakes or
Eliminate unnecessary steps, in order to minimize the
number of actions
 Task analysis focuses on user rather than the system

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 Con…
 TA: is listing of actions a user carries out in performing a task.
◦ For example, a person preparing an overhead projector for use
would be seen to carry out the following actions :-
 Plug in to main and switch on supply.
 Locate on/off switch on projector
 Discover which way to press the switch
 Press the switch for power
 Put on the slide and orientate correctly
 Align the projector on the screen
 Focus the slide
CON…

 Applied to a variety of techniques for:

 identifying and understanding the structure,
 the flow, and
 the attributes of tasks.

 Task analysis identifies the:

 actions and,
 cognitive processes required for:
 a user to complete a task or achieve a particular goal.
 AIM of Task Analysis
 Aim is to determine:

◦ What they do

◦ What things they use

◦ Predict difficulties

◦ Evaluate systems against usability and/ or functional

requirements

 Generally, task analysis is important to analyze, model and evaluate

requirements of interactive systems

 Task analysis techniques support user-centered design

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Task Analysis Techniques
 Task analysis is a fundamental methodology in the assessment
and reduction of human error.
 There are many techniques
◦ HTA (hierarchical Task Analysis )
◦ GOMS(Goals operators methods selection rules)
 KLM (Keystroke-Level Model)
 CMN-GOMS (Card, Moran and Newell )
 NGOMSL (Natural GOMS Language )
 CPM-GOMS (Critical Path Methods)
 All four models produce the same sequence of observable
operator at different levels of detail.

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 Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA)
 Also called hierarchical decomposition

◦ A high-level task is decomposed into a hierarchy of subtasks.

 These are then grouped together as plans that specify how the
tasks might be performed in an actual situation

 Hierarchical task analysis

◦ Provides an understanding of the tasks users need to achieve

certain goals.

◦ Lets you to explore various possible approaches to completing

the same task.

◦ Can help to optimize particular interactions

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 Con…
 HTA - Means of breaking tasks down into a hierarchy of goals,
operations (actions) and plans.

 Goals - Goal to achieve and describe

◦ Expressed as verb phrase, e.g. book lecture room, clean

kitchen, mount a projector(increase) …

 Operations/actions - tasks to make the system approach goal

 Plans - To reach a goal the user usually needs a plan which

involves a set of tasks to be performed.

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 Procedure for carrying out HTA

 Start with the overall goal e.g. “Use email”, “Print a letter”
 Break these down into meaningful sub-goals/tasks (asking
how question)
 Break down sub-goals further until reach an appropriate
stopping point.
 Example - textual representation
Hierarchy description ...
0. in order to clean the house
1. get the vacuum cleaner out
2. get the appropriate attachment
3. clean the rooms
3.1. clean the hall
3.2. clean the living rooms
3.3. clean the bedrooms
4. empty the dust bag
5. put vacuum cleaner and attachments away

... and plans

Plan 0: do 1 - 2 - 3 - 5 in that order. when the dust bag gets full do 4
Plan 3: do any of 3.1, 3.2 or 3.3 in any order depending
on which rooms need cleaning

N.B. only the plans denote order

Example - graphical representation
HTA – Example 2

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Graphical representation

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 GOMS Models for Task Analysis
 GOMS: is a modelling technique that analyses the user complexity
of interactive systems.
 It models tasks in terms of
◦ Goals - what the user wants to accomplish
Edit an article
◦ Operators - the means that leads to a goal at a detailed level
Use arrow keys, Use mouse, Use other keys
◦ Methods - sequences of operators
Positioning, Marking, Delete
◦ Selection rules – rules (general or personal) for choosing a certain
method
 if close, use arrow key etc.
 It predicts user performance with a particular interface and can be
used to filter particular design options
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Keystroke Level Model - KLM
 Is the first and simplest GOMS technique for predicting user
performance

◦ Predicts how long it will take an expert user to accomplish a

routine(usual) task without errors using an interactive computer
system

 Using KLM, execution time is estimated by listing the sequence

operators and then summing the times of the individual operators.

 KLM aggregates all perceptual and cognitive function into a

single value for an entire task, using a heuristic.

 KLM does not employ selection rules.

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 Keystroke Level Model – KLM…
 The Keystroke-Level Model consists of seven operators: the first five are
physical motor operators followed by one mental operator and one system
response operator

◦ K = Key or button press => 0.2

◦ B = Pressing a mouse button => 0.1

◦ P = Pointing to a target on a display with a mouse => 1.1

◦ H = Homing the hand(s) on the keyboard or other device => 0.4

◦ D = Drawing a line (domain dependent)

◦ M =Mentally preparing for executing physical actions (thinking)=1.35

◦ R = Response time of the system (system dependent)

◦ Total = K + B + P + H + D + M + R
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Cont..
 For instance, imagine we are using a mouse-based editor.
If we notice a single character error we will point at the
error, delete the character and retype it, and then return
to our previous typing point. This is decomposed as follows
1. Move hand to mouse H[mouse]
2. Position mouse after bad character PB[LEFT]
3. Return to keyboard H[keyboard]
4. Delete character MK[DELETE]
5. Type correction K[char]
6. Reposition insertion point H[mouse]MPB[LEFT]
Total=3H + 2P + 2B + 2K + 2M = 6.1
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KLM - Example

Text Editing Task of

searching a Microsoft
Word document for
all occurrences of a
four-letter word, and
replacing it with
another four-letter
word.

According to this KLM model, it takes 10.2 seconds to accomplish this task.

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KLM - Example
delete a file
Design B: use the short cut “control
Design A: drag the file into the trash +D
can
1. initiate the deletion (M) 1. initiate the deletion (M)
2. find the file icon (M) 2. find the icon for the file (M)
3. Reach for mouse(H) 3. Reach for mouse(H)
4. point to file icon (P) 4. point to file icon (P)
5. press and hold mouse button (B) 5. press mouse button (B)
6. drag file icon to trash can icon (P) 6. move hand to keyboard (H)
7. point to original window (P) 7. press control key (K)
Total Time = 3P + B + 2M +H = 8. press D key (K)
3*1.1 sec + .1 sec+ 2*1.35 sec + .4 9. move hand back to mouse (H)
= 6.5 sec
P + B + 3H + 2K + 2M
= 1.1 sec + .1 sec + 3*.4 sec
+ 2*.2 sec + 2*1.35 sec = 5.9 sec

Design B is 0.6 sec. faster than Design A 22

CMN-GOMS
 Takes the KLM as its basic and adds sub-goals and selection rules

◦ requires a strict goal-method-operation-selection rules structure.

 This method can also be used to estimate the load task places
on the user.

 It also provides a guide for how to formulate selection rules

 Like KLM ,the notion of operators is not restricted to those

seven

◦ The modeller has the freedom to define any cognitive

operation and use that as operator
◦ This model can predict operator sequence as well as execution time
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Example - Deleting a file in Windows
Explorer

The time of each

operator can be
written in the right
Side of each operator
GOMS model Strength
 It produces quantitative and qualitative predictions of how
people will use a proposed system

 It helps discover usability problems - GOMS has been shown

to be capable of finding usability problems that are not found
through normal development or other forms of analysis.

 Helps find ways of reducing execution time and thereby save

money

 Easy to construct a simple GOMS model and saves time

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GOMS model Weakness
 Assumes tasks are performed by expert users

GOMS only applies to skilled users; not for the novice

/beginner user

 Lack of account for errors

Even skilled users make errors but GOMS does not account
for errors

 Does not address several important UI issues, such as

Readability of text, memorability of icons, commands, etc

GOMS represents only the procedural aspects of a task.

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Interaction design
 What is design

 Interaction design

 Usability engineering

 Screen design and layout

 Evolution of HCI ‘interfaces

 User interface design principles

 Ergonomics

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What is design?
 A creative activity for: achieving goals within constraints
◦ Goals : Purpose, who is it for?, Why do they want it?
◦ Constraints: Materials, and other constraints
◦ Choosing which goals or constraints can be relaxed so that others can
be met
 It is a plan for development
 Golden rule of design

• Understand computers: limitations, capacities, tools, platforms.

• Understand people: Psychological, social aspects

 Human error: we know how users behave under stress

• And their interaction

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 Understanding Users
• Who are the users?

 End users , Admins, Maintenance technicians, etc…

 Wider term: stakeholders

 Humans vary in many dimensions!
 Strength - a child’s toy requires little strength to operate
 Size of hands may affect the size and positioning of input
buttons;
 Height of designing a physical stand

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Interaction design
 There are four basic activities in interaction Design

 Identifying needs and establishing requirements

 Developing alternative designs

 Building interactive versions of the designs

 Evaluating designs

 The Goal of Interaction design

 Develop usable products

 Involve users in the design process

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 The process of design

what is
wanted
scenarios
interviews task analysis
guidelines
what is there principles
vs. analysis
what is
wanted design

implement

prototype

Test

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Steps …
 Requirements: What is there and what is wanted …

 Analysis: Ordering and understanding

 Design: What to do and how to decide

 Iteration and prototyping: Getting it right … and finding what is

really needed!

 Implementation and deployment: Making it and getting it out

there

 Testing : evaluate by involving user(user centre design)

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 Usability Engineering
 Usability: is the ease of use and learnability of a human-made

object such as a tool or device

 Also it may refer

 Effectiveness of the system to use

can you achieve what you want to?

 Efficiency of the system to use

can you do it without wasting effort?

 Safety of the system to use

 Easy to learn

 Easy to remember how to use

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 Usability Engineering…
 Usability engineering: is used to determine to what degree a

product or prototype will be user-friendly

 Usability specification should include

 Usability attribute/principle

 Measuring concept

 Measuring method

 Now level/ worst case/ planned level/ best case

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Usability Engineering…
 Usability Attributes

General usability characteristic that we want to measure

Attributes should be measurable

Example of attributes include

– Time to complete a task

– % Of task completed

– Number or % of errors made

– % Of users who like the design

– No of times user asks for help/gets lost

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Screen design and layout
 Place controls that are functionally related together.

 If controls are used sequentially, organize them sequentially.

 Make the most frequently-used controls the most accessible.

• Consistency

• Location

• Format

• Point size

• Word and line spacing

• Indentation

• Color

• Font 36
 Good Design vs. Bad Design
 Good design should be internally coherent to the user— it
shouldn’t require an external explanation.

 Good design brings people joy

 It helps people do things and to connect people

 Have impact on both individuals ability and societies

 Help for computing of hundreds of millions of desk

 Bad design costs, lives money, and time such as in

◦ Medical devices

◦ Airplane accident

◦ Nuclear disasters
 Discussion on Bad Design
 Classes with exclusively right-handed desks
◦ This design does not work for all users:
 Con…
 ATM's that dribble out your card after the cash
◦ ATM users are waiting for one thing: cash. So when the cash
dispenses their immediate reaction is to leave.
 Con…
 Social Media Icons on Print Ads
◦ Why are social media icons in print ads? A magazine is not a
computer— no one can click icons!
 What to design
 Need to take into account:
◦ Who the users are

◦ What activities are being carried out

◦ Where the interaction is taking place

 Need to optimise the interactions users have with a

product
◦ Such that they match the users activities and needs
 Evolution of HCI ‘interfaces’
 50s - Interface at the hardware level for engineers - switch
panels
 60-70s - interface at the programming level - COBOL,
FORTRAN
 70-80s - Interface at the terminal level - command languages
 80s - Interface at the interaction dialogue level - GUIs,
multimedia
 90s - Interface at the work setting - networked systems,
groupware
 00s - Interface becomes pervasive
 RF tags, Bluetooth technology, mobile devices, consumer
electronics, interactive screens, embedded technology
Cognitive aspects of interaction design
 Nowadays, humans' cognitive aspects have become more and
more important for interaction design
 Definition of cognitive
◦ Cognition refers to what goes on in humans mind when they
carry out everyday activities
 It involves lots of cognitive processes, such as:
 thinking
 Remembering
 learning and
 decision making.
 Con…
 Through study these humans' cognitive process, the
developers of interaction system can be better at:

◦ understanding users' psychological characteristic during

the process of interacting with computer systems

 It is crucial for developers to design high quality

interaction system,

◦ which make the interaction between users and systems

more effectively and efficiently.

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 Con…
Attention:
 It is the one from Cognitive processes

 Information at the interface should be structured to capture

users’ attention,

 e.g. use perceptual boundaries (windows), color, video,

sound and flashing lights

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Which one is better to search

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over-use of graphics

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Good designs
 Enables the user to make predictions

 Pay attention to:

◦ layout, color, icons, graphics,

 Characters, symbols, graphical elements should be

easily noticeable.

 Readily perceivable
 Text should be legible

 Icons should be easy to distinguish and read

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Which is easiest to read and why?

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 Good designs…
 Alignments

◦ make it easy!

Alan Dix


Janet Finlay
Gregory Abowd
Alan
Janet
Dix
Finlay
Dix , Alan

Finlay, Janet


Russell Beale Gregory Abowd Abowd, Gregory
Russell Beale Beale, Russell

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Good designs…
Use leader or greying
orange 75
toffee 120
chocolate 35
fruit gums 27
coconut dreams 85

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 Good designs…
 Entering information: forms, dialogue boxes

Different label lengths

Similar layout issues

Alignment
Name: Alan Dix
Address: Lancaster


Name: Alan Dix
Address: Lancaster

?
Name: Alan Dix
Address: Lancaster

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Good designs…
 Avoid using of too many bright colours

 Avoid poorly designed icons

 Avoid bad error messages

◦ Explain why and how the user can fix the problem

 Don’t ask for the same information twice

 Don’t crowd controls together

 Reduce visual work

 Reduce memory work also

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Good designs…
 Avoid tiny click targets

 Avoid long registration forms

 Interface should “disappear” – users can focus on

their task, not the interface

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User interface design principles
 Recoverability

 The system should provide some resilience to user errors and

allow the user to recover from errors. This might include an
undo facility, confirmation of destructive actions, 'soft' deletes,
etc.

 User guidance

 Some user guidance such as help systems, on-line manuals, etc.

should be supplied.

 User diversity

 Interaction facilities for different types of user should be

supported. 55
 Con...
 Avoid surprise

 If a command operates in a known way, the user should be able to

predict the operation of comparable commands

 3-Click rule - user of a website should be able to find any information

with no more than three mouse clicks

 Accessibility

 Visibility

 Choices

 “Every time you provide an option, you're asking the user to make a
decision.” – Joel Spolsky
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Ergonomics
 Ergonomics is defined as the study of how people work in their environment.

 The science of the design of equipment, especially so as to reduce operator

fatigue, discomfort and injury

 An example of ergonomics is a study of how people who primarily sit in

their offices get work-related back injuries.
 The terms 'ergonomics' and 'human factors' can be used interchangeably

 ergonomics' is often used in relation to the physical aspects of the

environment, such as workstations while 'human factors' is often used in
relation to wider system in which people work

 Ergonomics include the placement of machines/equipment and components

to suit human body measurements and design of seats etc

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Ergonomics…
 Best Examples of
Ergonomics in the
Workplace
 Find Your Natural Posture.
 Adjusting Your Keyboard
and Mouse.
 Adjusting Your Screens.
 Adjusting Your Chair.
 Don't Sit Around All Day -
Stand Up and Move!

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Con…

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 Advantage of Ergonomics
 When you feel comfortable, you can focus better on the task at
hand.

 Ergonomics decreases pain, strengthens muscles, and increases

blood flow.

 Combined, this improves mental insight.

 You and your employees will experience less concern,

 increased awareness, focus

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Thanks….

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