Chapter 2: User Analysis & Task Analysis

🎯 Learning Objectives

By the end of this study session, you’ll be able to:

Explain the three fundamental questions every designer must answer before creating any system
Identify and describe the three main user types and their unique characteristics and needs
Apply specific design principles tailored to novice, knowledgeable intermittent, and expert users
Distinguish between functional and non-functional requirements and explain why both matter
Select and justify appropriate data gathering methods (interviews, focus groups, card sorting, questionnaires, observation) for different research situations
Create detailed user personas based on real observational data, not assumptions
Write compelling scenarios that bring personas to life and guide design decisions
Conduct environmental analysis to understand the context where your system will be used
Perform hierarchical task analysis (HTA) to break down complex user goals into manageable subtasks
Choose from various UX analysis tools like empathy mapping and customer journey mapping for different design challenges

🌟 The Big Picture

Here’s what this is really all about: You can’t design something great if you don’t understand who will use it and how they’ll use it.

Think about it this way - imagine trying to design a car without knowing whether your users are teenagers learning to drive, busy parents shuttling kids around, or race car drivers. Each group has completely different needs, skills, and environments. The same principle applies to any system you design, whether it’s a website, mobile app, or complex software.

This chapter teaches you a systematic approach to truly understanding your users before you start designing. It’s like being a detective - you gather clues about your users through various methods, analyze what you find, and use those insights to create something that actually works for real people in real situations.

📚 Core Concepts

The Foundation: Three Critical Questions

Before you design anything, you absolutely must answer these three questions:

Who are the users? (Not just demographics, but their skills, attitudes, and behaviors)
What are the tasks? (What are they actually trying to accomplish?)
What is the environment? (Where and when will they use your system?)

Why this matters: If you skip this step, you’ll end up designing for yourself or some imaginary “average” user - and we all know how that usually turns out!

Visual Reference (Slide 3):

The slide shows a great example: reading news on apps. Notice how the same task (reading news) becomes completely different when you consider:

User: Elderly person vs. teenager
Environment: Inside a moving train (MRT/LRT) during day vs. night

This simple example shows why all three questions matter - an elderly person reading news on a shaky train at night has totally different needs than a teenager reading at home!

Understanding User Types: It’s Not One-Size-Fits-All

Let’s get to know the three main types of users you’ll encounter:

1. Novice Users 🌱

Who they are: People using your system for the very first time. They understand what they want to accomplish but have no clue how your system works.

Think of them as: A shy visitor who needs lots of friendly guidance

Examples:

A new lecturer trying to upload materials to Google Classroom for the first time
Someone buying train tickets online for the first time

Key insight: They know their goal (upload notes, buy tickets) but not your system’s way of doing it.

2. Knowledgeable Intermittent Users 🔄

Who they are: People who understand the task really well but use your system irregularly, so they forget the details.

Think of them as: Someone who knows exactly what they want to cook but can’t remember where you keep the spices in your kitchen

Perfect example: Filing taxes online once a year - you know what you need to do, but you’ve forgotten exactly which buttons to click.

Key insight: They need reminders and consistent patterns they can rely on.

3. Expert/Frequent Users ⚡

Who they are: Power users who know your system inside and out and use it regularly.

Think of them as: The friend who can navigate your favorite app with their eyes closed

Key insight: They want efficiency and shortcuts - don’t slow them down with unnecessary explanations.

Designing for Each User Type

For Novice Users: Be Their Helpful Guide

Core principle: The system should take the initiative, not the user.

Six key design rules:

All initiatives should come from the computer
- Tell them exactly what to do at each step
- Example: “Date: ___ (use dd/mm/yy)” instead of just “Date: ___”
Keep input brief
- Don’t assume they can type quickly or accurately
- Minimize the amount they need to enter
No special training required
- Everything they need to know should be right there in the interface
- If they need to read a manual, you’ve failed
Crystal clear messages
- No confusing error messages or technical jargon
- Every message should be immediately understandable
Small set of options
- Don’t overwhelm them with 20 different choices
- Too many options make them feel lost and anxious
Sufficient feedback and help
- Always let them know what happened after they do something
- Provide easy access to help when they’re stuck

Visual Reference (Slide 8):

The Find and Replace dialog example shows how Microsoft Word reveals more advanced options (the “More” button) only when needed, keeping the basic interface simple for novices.

For Knowledgeable Intermittent Users: Be Consistent and Helpful

Two main principles:

System should be consistent
- Same actions should work the same way throughout your system
- If “Save” works one way in one part, it should work the same everywhere
Excellent help and documentation
- They know what they want to do, they just need reminders of how
- Context-sensitive help is your best friend here

For Expert Users: Get Out of Their Way

Three key principles:

Brief feedback
- They don’t need lengthy confirmations - just quick acknowledgments
- “File saved” is better than “Your file has been successfully saved to the documents folder”
Abbreviated commands
- Provide shortcuts and abbreviated forms
- Example: “cp” instead of “copy” in Unix systems
Keyboard shortcuts everywhere
- Power users love keyboard shortcuts
- Don’t make them reach for the mouse if they don’t want to

Understanding Requirements: What vs. How

Requirements come in two flavors, and you need both:

Functional Requirements: The “What”

What should the system actually do?
Example: “Save historical data”
These are the features and capabilities

Non-functional Requirements: The “How Well”

How should the system work?
Examples: Response time, usability goals, security requirements
These are the quality attributes

Memory aid: Functional = Features, Non-functional = -ilities (usability, reliability, scalability)

Gathering Data: Your Detective Toolkit

Now let’s talk about how to actually learn about your users. You have several tools in your toolkit:

1. Interviews: Deep Conversations 🗣️

What they’re good for: Getting rich, detailed insights about individual users

Focus on learning about:

How your product fits into their daily life or workflow
Their domain knowledge and what they need to know to do their job
Their goals and motivations
Their mental models (how they think about their work)
Current problems and frustrations

Pro tip: Interview both current users (who know your existing system) and potential users (who bring fresh perspectives).

2. Focus Groups: Group Discussions 👥

What they are: Representative users from different demographic segments discussing your product together

What they’re good for: Understanding how different user groups think about your product and getting diverse viewpoints quickly

Visual Reference (Slide 15): The diagram shows how you gather people from different demographics (represented by different colored figures) and organize them into focused discussion groups.

3. Card Sorting: Understanding Mental Models 🃏

What it is: Users organize information or features by sorting cards into groups that make sense to them

Why it’s powerful: It reveals how users naturally think about and categorize information

Visual Reference (Slide 17): The photos show actual card sorting sessions - notice how users physically arrange cards into meaningful groups. This reveals their mental model of how information should be organized.

4. Questionnaires: Scaling Up Insights 📋

Advantages:

Get feedback from many users quickly
Reliable data if designed properly
Representative sample of your user population

Disadvantages:

Time-consuming to create reliable questionnaires
Less detailed than interviews

Visual Reference (Slide 19): Shows examples of Likert scales and checkbox formats - the tools you’ll use to gather quantitative feedback.

5. Observation: Seeing What Really Happens 👀

Why it’s crucial: People often can’t accurately describe their own behavior, especially when they’re away from their actual work environment

Two types:

Direct observation: You’re there watching them work
Indirect observation: Using video recordings or other remote methods

Important consideration: People might change their behavior when they know they’re being watched

Additional observation methods:

Diary studies: Users document their own experiences over time
Web traffic analytics: Digital observation of user behavior

Creating User Models: Personas That Actually Help

Why Model Users?

Think of personas as organizing principles for complex user data. Without them, you’re drowning in unstructured information with no way to make design decisions.

The key insight: Models help you understand, discuss, and visualize complex relationships between users, their environment, and your product.

What Makes a Good Persona

Visual Reference (Slide 25):

The example persona template shows all the elements that bring a persona to life: demographics, personality traits, technology skills, goals, motivations, and even brand preferences.

Personas are NOT:

What people tell you about themselves
About customer likes/dislikes
Job descriptions
Made-up stories

Personas ARE:

What you observe people actually doing
About what frustrates or satisfies customers
About skills, attitudes, motivations, environment, and goals
Behavior patterns based on real data

Creating Effective Personas

Step 1: Bring them to life with basic details

First and last name
Photo
Demographics (age, location, job title)
Brief bio

Step 2: Focus on behavior variables

Activities: What they do, how often, how much
Attitudes: How they think about your product domain and technology
Motivations/Goals: Why they engage with your product
Skills: Their capabilities related to your product and technology
Pain points: What frustrates them

Visual Reference (Slide 35-36):

The examples show two different persona formats:

A government scientist persona focused on research goals and needs
A phone upgrade enthusiast with behavioral scales showing his preferences and priorities

Types of Personas

Marketing Personas: Focus on demographics and buying behavior Proto-Personas: Quick personas based on assumptions (when you don’t have research budget) Design Personas: Focus on user goals, current behavior, and pain points (these are what you want!)

The Power of Scenarios: Bringing Personas to Life

What Scenarios Do

Scenarios transform static personas into dynamic stories that guide design decisions. They focus on how users accomplish tasks in real environmental settings.

Key components:

Persona: Your main character with specific goals and constraints
Environmental setting: Where and when the story takes place
Goal: What the persona wants to accomplish (when reached, story ends)

Visual Reference (Slide 42):

The diagram beautifully illustrates how personas, scenarios, and goals work together - like frames in a movie showing progression toward a goal.

Scenario Examples

Example 1: Travel Planning (Slide 40) “The Thomson family enjoy outdoor activity holidays and want to go sailing. While out shopping they call at the travel agents in their local town to start exploring the possibilities… The travel organizer is located in a quiet corner of the agents’ office, where there are comfortable seats and play things for young children…”

Notice: This scenario includes environmental details (quiet corner, comfortable seats, play things), user context (family with children), and the goal (planning a sailing holiday).

Example 2: Movie Sharing (Slide 41) “Brian would like to see the new film ‘Moments of Significance’ and wants to invite Alison, but he knows she doesn’t like ‘arty’ films…”

Notice: This scenario reveals user motivations, social considerations, and the technology context.

Environment Analysis: Context is Everything

Your system doesn’t exist in a vacuum - it exists in real environments with real constraints.

Key questions to investigate:

Physical environment: Indoor/outdoor, public/private, noisy/quiet?
Time factors: Extended use or quick interactions?
Interruptions: Will users be frequently interrupted?
Sharing: Multiple users on one device?
Integration: What other products will be used alongside yours?

Why this matters: A news app used by commuters on a shaky train needs different design considerations than one used by people relaxing at home.

Task Analysis: Breaking Down Complexity

What is Task Analysis?

Task analysis helps you understand what people are trying to achieve and how they currently go about it.

Key focus areas:

What are people trying to achieve? (the goals)
How are they going about it? (the methods)
What’s their current approach? (existing workflow)

Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA): Your Main Tool

What it does: Breaks complex tasks down into subtasks, then sub-sub-tasks, creating a complete picture of user goals.

The process:

Identify the main task (the overall goal)
Break it into subtasks (the main steps needed)
Create a layered diagram showing the hierarchy
Decide on the level of detail needed
Add plans showing the order and conditions for subtasks

Visual Reference (Slide 48):

The tea-making example shows perfect HTA structure:

Goal 0: Make a cup of tea
Main tasks: 1. Boil water, 2. Empty pot, 3. Put tea leaves in pot, etc.
Subtasks: 1.1 Fill kettle, 1.2 Put kettle on hob, etc.
Plans: “Do 1-2-3-5 in that order. When kettle boils do 1.4”

Visual Reference (Slide 51):

The house cleaning example shows HTA in list format, demonstrating how the same analysis can be presented differently while maintaining the hierarchical structure.

Why HTA Matters

Three major benefits:

Skill transfer: Users can transfer knowledge from old systems to new ones
Behavioral compatibility: New systems work with users’ existing approaches
Training materials: The analysis becomes the foundation for documentation and training

The big insight: By understanding what users already do, you can design new systems that feel familiar and natural.

Other Analysis Tools: Expanding Your Toolkit

Beyond the core methods, you have additional tools for specific situations:

Empathy Mapping

Visual Reference (Slide 56): Shows the four quadrants (Says, Thinks, Does, Feels) around a central user, helping you understand the complete user experience when buying a TV.

Customer Journey Mapping

Visual Reference (Slide 57): Illustrates the complete customer experience across multiple stages (Awareness, Consideration, Acquisition, Service, Loyalty) with touchpoints and departmental involvement mapped out.

When to use these tools:

Empathy mapping: When you need to understand user emotions and motivations
Customer journey mapping: When you’re designing across multiple touchpoints
Experience mapping: For understanding broader user experiences beyond your product
Service blueprinting: When you’re designing services with multiple behind-the-scenes components

🔄 Connections and Review

Let’s tie this all together with the big picture:

The Central Truth: Great design starts with deep user understanding. You can’t design something amazing if you’re guessing about your users’ needs, abilities, and contexts.

The Process Flow:

Start with the three questions: Who, what, where?
Gather data systematically using appropriate methods for your situation
Analyze and synthesize your findings into actionable insights (personas, scenarios)
Understand the environment and tasks to ensure your design fits reality
Use these insights to inform every design decision

Key Relationships:

User types inform design approaches: Novices need guidance, experts need efficiency
Personas drive scenarios: Static user models become dynamic stories
Scenarios inform requirements: Stories reveal what the system needs to do
Task analysis reveals workflow: Understanding current processes guides new design
Environment analysis adds context: Physical and social factors shape design constraints

The Ultimate Goal: Create systems that feel natural, efficient, and satisfying for real people accomplishing real goals in real environments.

Remember: This isn’t just academic theory - every successful digital product you love was built using these principles. The companies that skip user research are the ones whose products frustrate you and eventually fail in the market.

Your next step: Start practicing these methods on real projects, even small ones. The more you use these tools, the more intuitive user-centered design becomes!

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0.0 by Claude