Showing papers on "Task analysis published in 1998"

Interaction and Second Language Learning: Two Adolescent French Immersion Students Working Together

Abstract: This article provides support for a theoretical orientation toward viewing dialogue as both a means of communication and a cognitive tool. Data to support this position come from an analysis of the language-related episodes isolated in the dialogue of two grade 8 French immersion students as they carry out a jigsaw task. During the task, the students work out a story line and write it out. As they do so, they encounter linguistic problems. To solve them, the students use their first language (L1) and second language (L2) in order to communicate to each other and as tools to aid their L2 learning. The language-related episodes discussed provide evidence of language use as both an enactment of mental processes and as an occasion for L2 learning. Variation in how other pairs of students in the class perform the task supports existing evidence that the same task does not provide similar occasions for L2 learning to all student dyads.

A theory of task/technology fit and group support systems effectiveness

Abstract: The characteristics of a group's task have been shown to account for more than half the variation in group interaction. In the context of group support systems (GSS), the importance of task has been underscored by the recommendation that achieving a fit between task and technology should be a principle for effective GSS use. Although the body of group support systems research has grown in recent years, and experience with different tasks and technologies now exists, no generally accepted theory of task/technology fit has emerged. This paper develops a theory of task/technology fit in GSS environments based on attributes of task complexity and their relationship to relevant dimensions of GSS technology. Propositions to guide further research are developed from the theory.

User and task analysis for interface design

Abstract: 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.

Applied cognitive task analysis (ACTA): a practitioner's toolkit for understanding cognitive task demands

Abstract: Cognitive task analysis (CTA) is a set of methods for identifying cognitive skills, or mental demands, needed to perform a task proficiently. The product of the task analysis can be used to inform the design of interfaces and training systems. However, CTA is resource intensive and has previously been of limited use to design practitioners. A streamlined method of CTA, Applied Cognitive Task Analysis (ACTA), is presented in this paper. ACTA consists of three interview methods that help the practitioner to extract information about the cognitive demands and skills required for a task. ACTA also allows the practitioner to represent this information in a format that will translate more directly into applied products, such as improved training scenarios or interface recommendations. This paper will describe the three methods, an evaluation study conducted to assess the usability and usefulness of the methods, and some directions for future research for making cognitive task analysis accessible to practitioners. ACTA techniques were found to be easy to use, flexible, and to provide clear output. The information and training materials developed based on ACTA interviews were found to be accurate and important for training purposes.

Use of the Critical Decision Method to Elicit Expert Knowledge: A Case Study in the Methodology of Cognitive Task Analysis:

Abstract: The Critical Decision Method (CDM) is an approach to cognitive task analysis. The method involves multiple-pass event retrospection guided by probe questions. The CDM has been used in the elicitati...

Task Analysis Methods for Instructional Design

Abstract: Contents: Introduction. Part I: Task Analysis Processes. What Is Task Analysis? Selecting Tasks for Analysis. Classifying Knowledge and Skills From Task Analysis. Part II: Job, Procedural, and Skill Analysis Methods. Task Description. Procedural Analysis. Job Task Analysis. Functional Job Analysis. Part III: Instructional and Guided Learning Analysis Methods. Learning Hierarchy (Prerequisites) Analysis. Information Processing Analysis. Learning Contingency Analysis. Part IV: Cognitive Task Analysis Methods. Goals, Operators, Methods, & Selection (GOMS). Prediction, Actions, Results, Interpretation (PARI). Decompose, Network, and Assess (DNA). Cognitive Simulations. Case-Based Reasoning. Part V: Activity-Based Methods. Activity Theory. Syntactic Analysis. Critical Incident/Critical Decision Methods. Task Knowledge Structures. Part VI: Subject Matter/Content Analysis Methods. Conceptual Graph Analysis. Master Design Chart. Matrix Analysis. Repertory Grid Technique. Fault Tree Analysis. Part VII: Knowledge Elicitation Techniques. Documentation Analysis. Observation. Survey Questionnaires. Interviews. Think-Aloud Protocols. Unstructured Group Interviews: Focus Groups and Brainstorming. Structured Group Interviews: Delphi Technique.

Children's Internet searching on complex problems: performance and process analyses

Abstract: The research reported here examined the effects of task structure on elementary school students' information seeking on the Internet. Thirty-two 5th- and 6th-grade students searched on 2 tasks (1 well-defined and 1 ill-defined) for information that was relevant to solving 2 problems. Information-seeking process behaviors were analyzed by collecting computer trace data of each students search. Information-seeking performance was measured by 2 adult raters and by students' own judgments of all documents found. Analyses of students' process behaviors illustrated that children are interactive information seekers, preferring to browse rather than plan or employ systematic analytic-based searching strategies. Performance results indicated that children have difficulty finding relevant information on the Internet, however, children did search more effectively on the ill-defined task than on the well-defined one. Further, when judging their own performance, students rated their work equally on both tasks, yet adult judges found that students performed significantly worse on the well-defined task. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Cognitive Ability and Variation in Selection Task Performance

Abstract: Individual differences in performance on a variety of selection tasks were examined in three studies employing over 800 participants. Nondeontic tasks were solved disproportionately by individuals of higher cognitive ability. In contrast, responses on two deontic tasks that have shown robust performance facilitation—the Drinking-age Problem and the Sears Problem—were unrelated to cognitive ability. Performance on deontic and nondeontic tasks was consistently associated. Individuals in the correct/correct cell of the bivariate performance matrix were over-represented. That is, individuals giving the modal response on a nondeontic task (P and Q) were significantly less likely to give the modal response on a deontic task (P and not-Q) than were individuals who made the non-modal P and not-Q selection on nondeontic problems. The implications of the results are discussed within the heuristic-analytic framework of Evans (1996; Evans & Over, 1996) and the optimal data selection model of Oaksford and Chater (1994).

Automatic support for usability evaluation

Abstract: The main goal of the work is to propose a method to evaluate user interfaces using task models and logs generated from a user test of an application. The method can be incorporated into an automatic tool which gives the designer information useful to evaluate and improve the user interface. These results include an analysis of the tasks which have been accomplished, those which failed and those never tried, user errors and their type, time related information, task patterns among the accomplished tasks, and the available tasks from the current state of the user session. This information is also useful to an evaluator checking whether the specified usability goals have been accomplished.

Understanding conceptual electronic design using protocol analysis

Abstract: Many theories about the process, of design have been derived from prescriptive or descriptive analysis. There have been few attempts to empirically test these theories. Protocol analysis facilitates detailed inspection of the design process allowing design task analysis across the temporal dimension. Some hypotheses about the design process, derived from the literature, are objectively tested using results obtained from protocol analyses of various electronics designers engaged in conceptual design. Support for the hypotheses is found.

Applying Human Factors to the Design of Medical Equipment: Patient-Controlled Analgesia

Abstract: Objective. Medical instruments commonly have poorly designed user interfaces that promote human errors with life-threatening consequences. The primary hypothesis of this study was that a specific user interface could be made safer and more efficient if redesigned using human factors techniques and principles. Methods. The user interface of a commercially available patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pump, the Abbott Lifecare 4100 PCA Plus II infuser, was evaluated using a cognitive task analysis of bench tests and field observations. Based on this analysis, the user interface was redesigned. Important elements of the new design include a dialog structure with fewer steps, a dialog overview showing the user's location in the programming sequence, better command feedback, easier error recovery, and clearer labels and messages. The changes were evaluated by comparing a computer prototype of the new interface with a computer simulation of the old one. Twelve student nurses performed six programming tasks with each interface. Task completion time, number of errors, and subjective mental workload were collected for each trial. Results. The results showed significantly faster programming times (F(1,11) = 6.85, P < 0.025), lower mental workload ratings (χ2(1) = 4.45, p < 0.025, one-tailed), and fewer errors (χ2(1) = 3.33, p < 0.05, one-tailed) with the new interface. Conclusion. Adopting a human factors approach to redesigning the PCA interface led to significantly faster, easier, and more reliable performance. These findings have important implications for improving the design of other computer-based medical equipment.

Integrating Computer Technology into the Classroom

Abstract: From the Publisher: This text focuses on integrating computers into teaching through the use of an inquiry-based, easy-to-use model for creating lesson plans Teachers can use this 10-step process to design student-centered learning environments in which computer technology is integrated as a tool for learning rather than as a delivery mechanism In addition, this text provides many practical examples and tips throughout to facilitate student understanding of chapter content Coupled with this approach is an underlying foundation that addresses the National Education Technology Standards for Students and Teachers and the national curriculum standards Features of this edition: New Chapter 3, Teacher as Designer I: Teacher's Toolbox, includes new material on writing behavioral and cognitive objectives, learner analysis, task analysis, and generative strategies New Chapter 5, Implementations: From Plan to Action, provides step-by-step guidance for setting up and implementing a lesson that has students using computers during problem-solving lessons New Chapter 8, The Role of Assessment, presents information on how to use multiple forms of assessment, such as task lists and rubrics, to assess student learning from an integrated lesson New Chapter 12, Presentation of Results, synthesizes the ideas presented in two chapters of the first edition It describes and illustrates how students can use various computer tools to present their results New Chapter 14, Educational Software, describes strategies for assessing and integrating inquiry-based and traditional types of software into an NTeQ lesson plan The two Internet chapters from the first edition have been revised to include a sharper focus on web tools, policies, and using the Internet as a tool in a new Chapter 13, The Internet in the Classroom A Companion Website extends the content of the text, provides students with many helpful resources, activities, and projects, and allows students to check their comprehension of chapter material

HTA as a framework for task analysis.

Abstract: The motivation for this paper is to review the status of Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA) as a general framework for examining tasks, including those for which cognitive task analysis methods might be assumed to be necessary. HTA is treated as a strategy for examining tasks, aimed at refining performance criteria, focusing on constituent skills, understanding task contexts and generating useful hypotheses for overcoming performance problems. A neutral and principled perspective avoids bias and enables the analyst to justify using different analytical methods and develop hypotheses as information is gained about the task. It is argued that these considerations are equally valid when examining tasks that are assumed to contain substantial cognitive elements. Moreover, examining cognition within the context of a broader task helps to situate cognition within the network of actions and decisions that it must support, as well as helping to establish where effort in cognitive task analysis is really justified.

An Ontology for Task World Models

Abstract: Many different task modeling methods exist. In this paper, we discuss 1) ingredients common to most task models, 2) how task modeling relates to the design of user interfaces, and 3) our proposed ontology for task analysis. We then show our task analysis tool that is based on the ontology. It is our belief that task models should be based on an ontology that describes the relevant concepts and the relationships between them, independently of any used graphical representations. Such an ontology helps to understand the different task modeling methods and it can also be operationalized for use in tools.

Cognitive task analyses for decision centred design and training

Abstract: This paper presents three case studies of Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA) for defining systems design and training requirements. The approach taken involves a modification of the critical decision method of Klein et al. The authors utilized the revised CDM to obtain information from expert white-water rafting guides, general aviation pilots, and emergency ambulance dispatchers. The information obtained was used to develop multi-media tools for training rafting guides and general aviation pilots, and to redesign the VDU display requirements for the ambulance dispatchers. The examples demonstrate the utility of an approach to CTA that is closely based on relevant theory, and provides guidance to practitioners wishing to apply CTA techniques.

Task-oriented generation of visual sensing strategies in assembly tasks

Abstract: This paper describes a method of systematically generating visual sensing strategies based on knowledge of the assembly task to be performed. Since visual sensing is usually performed with limited resources, visual sensing strategies should be planned so that only necessary information is obtained efficiently. The generation of the appropriate visual sensing strategy entails knowing what information to extract, where to get it, and how to get it. This is facilitated by the knowledge of the task, which describes what objects are involved in the operation, and how they are assembled. In the proposed method, using the task analysis based on face contact relations between objects, necessary information for the current operation is first extracted. Then, visual features to be observed are determined using the knowledge of the sensor, which describes the relationship between a visual feature and information to be obtained. Finally, feasible visual sensing strategies are evaluated based on the predicted success probability, and the best strategy is selected. Our method has been implemented using a laser range finder as the sensor. Experimental results show the feasibility of the method, and point out the importance of task-oriented evaluation of visual sensing strategies.

Task environment centered simulation

Abstract: The design of organizations or other coordination mechanisms for groups of agents depends in many ways on the agent’s task environment. Two of these dependencies are on the structure of the tasks and on the uncertainty in the task structures. The task structure includes the scope of the problems facing the agents, the complexity of the choices facing the agents, and the the particular kinds and patterns of interrelationships that occur between tasks. A few examples of environmental uncertainty include uncertainty in the a priori structure of any particular problem-solving episode, in the actions of other agents, and in the outcomes of an agent’s own actions. These dependencies hold regardless of whether the system comprises just people, just computational agents, or a mixture of the two. For example, the presence of both uncertainty and high variance in a task structure can lead a system of agents to perform better by using coordination algorithms that adapt dynamically to each problem-solving episode [8, 9]. Designing coordination mechanisms also depends on non-task characteristics of the environment such as communication costs, and properties of the agents themselves. Representing and reasoning about the task environment must be part of any computational theory of coordination. TAEMS (Task Analysis, Environment Modeling, and Simulation) was developed as a framework with which to model and simulate complex, computationally intensive task environments at multiple levels of abstraction and from multiple viewpoints. It is a tool for building and testing computational theories of coordination. TAEMS is compatible with both formal computational agent-centered approaches and experimental approaches. The framework allows us to both mathematically analyze (when possible) and quantitatively simulate the behavior of multi-agent systems with respect to interesting characteristics of the computational task environments of which they are part. We believe that it provides the correct level of abstraction for meaningfully evaluating centralized, parallel, and distributed control algorithms, negotiation strategies, and organizational designs. This chapter will briefly describe the TAEMS modeling framework for representing abstract task environments, concentrating particularly on its support for simulation. I will describe how to model each of several different multi-agent problem-solving environments, such as This work was supported by DARPA contract N00014-92-J-1698, Office of Naval Research contract N00014-92-J-1450, and NSF contract IRI-9321324. The content of the information does not necessarily reflect the position or the policy of the Government and no official endorsement should be inferred.

Analysing Verbal Protocols

Abstract: A single verbal protocol is not an island to itself, but a link in a whole chain of evidence, stretching far into the past and the future, that gradually develops, molds, and modifies our scientific theories. It needs to be processed with full attention to these linkages. (Ericsson & Simon, 1993, p. 280)

State of the Art Literature Survey on Disassembly Planning

Abstract: In this paper, the state of the art of disassembly planning is detailed to the best of the authors knowledge. Covered are issues that have particular relevance to disassembly planning, from product representation, to task analysis, task representation, sequencing, clus tering, life cycle engineering issues, and cost estimation. Materials data requirement issues and some practical applications in disassembly plants are discussed In conclusion, this paper details future research with the aim of developing a robust and effective disassembly plan ning methodology This will be based upon task actuation and the minimisation of components requiring assessment by the plan.

Growth of theories on information seeking: an analysis of growth of a theoretical research program on the relation between task complexity and information seeking

Abstract: The aim of this article is to analyse the growth of a theoretical research program in the field of information needs and seeking studies The program consists of a set of interrelated studies on the effects of task complexity on information source use The growth is assessed by reconstructing the logical structure of the theories within the program and by comparing those reconstructions in terms of their conceptual and factual similarity The growth pattern is then analysed by using Wagner's and Berger's model of theory growth from sociology The analysis reveals the growth pattern of the program The results indicate that the chosen program is progressive in terms of empirical support and precision of the theories, and that the growth pattern is elaborative Moreover, based on the analysis consequences for further studies are presented