Task analysis is a process of learning and analyzing the tasks and subtasks a persona needs to perform to achieve business goals. It outlines the hierarchy, conditions and sequence of the tasks, and can also identify the specific metrics / data elements used to achieve those tasks.
Task analysis can help the designers understand:
- What your user is trying to achieve
- What tasks the user needs to perform to achieve those goals
- The relationship between the tasks
- How these tasks are performed
In the define phase, after establishing personas.
- Start by identifying the persona's business goal, such as "Increase sales".
- List out the highest level tasks the persona needs to perform to achieve the goal, such as "Monitor current year sales performance".
- Breakdown the high level tasks into subtasks, like "Compare sales amount of current year sales to prior year". You can rephase tasks into key questions the persona is trying to answer.
- Keep breaking down tasks into lower levels, referencing metrics when possible.
- Draw a layered diagram with all the tasks (subtasks).
References:
https://medium.theuxblog.com/task-analysis-mapping-2117a5e4f6fa
https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/task-analysis-a-ux-designer-s-best-friend