Task analysis is the analysis of how a task is accomplished, including a detailed description of both manual and mental activities, task and element durations, task frequency, task allocation.
- A source for generating documentation. By structuring the understanding of the task, it becomes much easier to structure a presentation of the task, in user-oriented documentation, whether that be structured around procedures, actions, or concepts.
- A source for designing tutorial material. Like documentation, good, user-centered tutorial material that helps users learn to use a product is based around their tasks, so task analysis is a good starting point for designing effective tutorial material.
- Guiding system design. By focusing attention on the current system (and its strengths and weaknesses), it can be used to design new interactions that have evolved in a reasonably natural way from existing practices, and to identify domain objects that need to be represented at the interface, and ways of grouping those objects.
- Requirements capture. Although it refers to the existing system, rather than the planned one, it can help to structure requirements acquisition, particularly as users will often refer to the existing (familiar) system when discussing future requirements. In particular, users may not find it easy to list features that should remain unchanged from the existing system, so the task analysis can help focus on what should stay the same as well as what should change.