2: Need finding and Task Analysis

Question 1

Why is need-finding required, what does it achieve

Answer 1

[G]uide innovation efforts
[U]ncover the needs of people which they may or may not be aware of.
[D]iscover the emotions that guide behaviours
[I]dentify someone to design for

Question 2

What are the different need-finding techniques

Answer 2

1. direct observation
2. indirect observation
3. ethonography
4. surveys
5. interviews
6. focus groups

Question 3

What are the pros and cons of each need-finding technique

Answer 3

• direct observation
  Pros: natural setting, controlled environment, quantitative & qualitative data
  Cons: hawthorne effect
• indirect observation
  Pros: no disturbance to user
  Cons: self-reported data may be inaccurate
• ethonography
• surveys
  Pros: cheap, quantitative, easy to do
  Cons: survey fatigue, dishonest users, low response rate
• interviews
  Pros: high engagement, rich data from users with context, can pick up on non-verbal cues
  Cons: expensive, takes long time, dishonesty, small sample, difficult to analyze & quantify results
• focus groups
  Pros: efficient to conduct as many people can be interviewed at once, allows for sharing and synthesis of ideas, allows for clarification
  Cons: group think, member domination, poor moderation

Question 4

What is the Hawthorne effect

Answer 4

It is the tendency to perform or perceive differently when one knows they are being observed.

Question 5

Why do we use task analysis

Answer 5

To uWu HH:

• [U]nderstand user goals
• [W]hat experiences (personal, social, cultural) user brings to the tasks
• [U]nderstand what users do to actually achieve goals
• [H]ow are the users influenced by the physical environment
• [H]ow previous knowledge and experience influence them

Question 6

What are the differences between hierarchical task analysis, knowledge-based and entity modelling methods?

Answer 6

HTA focuses on breaking tasks into subtasks, KBT focuses on knowledge, objects & actions

Question 7

What is the difference between declarative and procedural knowledge?

Answer 7

Declarative focuses on objects and relationships while procedural focuses on task sequences, goals and subgoals.