| The most widely cited reference on task analysis has been Task-Analysis for Human-
Computer Interaction, edited by Dan Diaper, who must take the main blame for this new
Handbook of Task Analysis for Human-Computer Interaction, as his motive was in part to
stem the trickle of requests from around the world for chapters from the out-of-print 1989
book. We, the editors, wanted to produce the definitive reference on task analysis for humancomputer
interaction (HCI). In this we have failed, and the new handbook provides merely a
comprehensive sample of the current research on and use of task analysis.We expect, however,
for it to still be the best reference source available. Indeed, our hope is that this first edition is
so successful that the completely revised second edition that we’ll prepare in 3 or 4 years will
be nigh definitive.
Our other reasons for editing this handbook, apart from self-aggrandizement (money certainly
wasn’t a motive), are as follows: The whole field of task analysis, it seems to us, remains
fragmented and poorly understood by many, and a belief that task analysis is at the very heart
of virtually all HCI work, although readers should regard Diaper’s pathetic excuses concerning
chapter 1—about coverage, precision, clarity, and combining two chapters into one—as inadequate
for his being self-indulgently prolix, he does explain our beliefs about the importance
of task analysis.
The editorial process for this handbook’s production was based on an egalitarian ethic.
First we advertised for abstracts of possible contributions. We then selected most of them
and put them into a tentative structure. Once we’d received all the chapters, we sent the
authors comments and suggestions, usually quite extensive. We always intended to defer to
the expertise of the authors, but we are proud to report that there was virtually no controversy
between authors and editors over these comments and suggestions. The chapter authors have
been a pleasure to work with. Thank you. Dan then edited all the chapters and cross-referenced
them so it would be a proper book, not just a collection of separate chapters, like a conference
proceedings. |
