ABSTRACT
A task analysis technique, called ETIT analysis, is introduced. It is based on the idea that tasks in the external world must be reformulated into the internal concepts of a computer system before the system can be used. The analysis is in the form of a mapping between sets of external tasks and internal tasks. An example analysis of several text editing systems is presented, and various properties of the systems are derived from the analysis. Further, it is shown how this analysis can be used to assess the potential transfer of knowledge from one system to another, i.e., how much knowing one system helps with learning another. Several issues are briefly discussed.
- 1.Card, S. K., Moran, T. P., and Newell, A. (1983). The Psychology of Human-Computer Interaction. Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum. Google ScholarDigital Library
- 2.Douglas, S. A. (1983). Learning to text edit: semantics in procedural skill acquisition. Ph.D. dissertation, Stanford University. Google ScholarDigital Library
- 3.Meister, D. (1976). Behavioral Foundations of System Development. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
- 4.Moran, T. P. (1981). The Command Language Grammar: a representation for the user interface of interactive computer systems. |International Journal of Man-Machine Studies,# 15, 3-50.Google Scholar
- 5.Moran, T.P. (1982). From task to interaction: what the user must know. Invited talk presented at the Graphics '82 Conference, Toronto, Canada.Google Scholar
- 6.Roberts, T. R., and Moran, T. P. (1983). The evaluation of text editors: methodology and empiricial results. Communications of the ACM, 26, 265-283. Google ScholarDigital Library
- 7.Young, R.M. (1981). The machine inside the machine: users' models of pocket calculators. International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, 15, 51-85.Google ScholarCross Ref
- 8.Young, R. M. (1983). Surrogates and mappings: two kinds of conceptual models for interactive devices. In A. L. Stevens and D. Gentner, eds., Mental Models, pp. 35-52. Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Index Terms
- Getting into a system: External-internal task mapping analysis
Comments