4. Some guidelines for conducting a cognitive task analysis

Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA) attempts to explain the mental processes involved in performing a task. These processes include the knowledge, skills and strategies that are needed to accomplish the task functions. The criteria for success in a CTA study are: making a useful discovery about the cognitive skills being studied; being able to communicate the discovery to the users (i.e. those who will need to use the CTA for design); and having a meaningful impact on the eventual design.Currently, a wide variety of CTA methods are being used. As we learn how to define the cognitive demands presented by a task/situation, we hope we will be able to map CTA methods onto these demands, so that we can more efficiently select and apply the appropriate methods. This should result in more efficient studies, and greater user satisfaction. It should also help move the field of CTA into becoming more of a technology.