TASK KNOWLEDGE STRUCTURES - PSYCHOLOGICAL BASIS AND INTEGRATION INTO SYSTEM-DESIGN

A major goal of HCI is to assist software designers to construct useful and usable computer systems. One way to approach this problem is to provide software designers with information about the knowledge users utilize in performing tasks. This paper first outlines the psychological basis for our approach to task modelling, Task Knowledge Structures (TKS) and then considers how to achieve the ultimate objective in developing TKS, i.e. to integrate task models into system design by providing information about users and tasks at appropriate stages in design. To facilitate the integration of TA into system design, a survey of designers was conducted to identify where, when and how task data can be represented to aid integration into system design and the designers' requirements for tools to support task model and system design integration. The results from the survey are then summarised and the designers' requirements for TA tools are outlined, followed by a discussion as to how these requirements might be met. Finally, brief details of design specifications for the proposed tools are presented.