Improve Your Task Analysis! Efficiency, Quality and Effectiveness Increase in Task Analysis Using a Software Tool

As the field of Task Analysis (TA) is still fragmented and poorly understood by many, a software-tool, build by HFC Human-Factors-Consult GmbH, has been developed for easy and better TA. Purpose of the study is to evaluate the efficiency, quality and effectiveness of TA performed with the support of this software-tool. In the experiment, 36 participants conducted a total of two hierarchical-TA (HTA) on two given tasks, once using the new software-tool and the second using fundamental methods i.e. paper-&-pencil. The results indicated that the software-tool aided participants in producing good-quality analysis, provided support and guidance during the HTA-process and helped in maintaining a consistent performance-level in terms of both quality and effectiveness. The findings resulted in identifying the strengths and acknowledging the shortcomings of the new software-tool, thus providing a concrete direction for further improvements. Moreover, the study adds to literature by developing checklists to make this assessment, which in turn proposes components that characterizes a good TA.