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Before you develop a new product for performing a particular task, or undertake a major redesign of an existing product for the task, you need to understand the thought processes (i.e., goals, procedures, info sources) people use to perform this task now, using current technology. Understanding users' thought processes will allow you to develop effective requirements and specifications for your new product. Conversely, not understanding users' thought processes will likely lead to ineffective requirements and a product that is hard to use.
"80% of software lifecycle costs occur during the . . . maintenance phase" and "80% of necessary maintenance is due to unmet or unforseen user requirements" (Karat, in Bias & Mayhew, Cost Justifying Usability)
Usability analysts use a technique called task analysis to understand peoples' thought processes and procedures as they perform a task. The task analyst uses structured interviews and observations of users as they perform the task in question, often in the users' workplace, in order to discover the goals, procedures and information people use in performing a task.

We meet with you to learn about your product and define the goals of the task analysis
You recruit a group of 6 to 8 test users who are representative of your actual users (In some situations, we can recruit users for an extra fee)
We conduct the structured interviews and observations individually for each user (usually 1 to 3 hours per user)
We analyze the data. This usually involves describing the goals, procedures and information sources users employ in performing their tasks.
We translate the information about users' thought processes into interface requirements and high-level interface designs (interaction designs) that will mazimize the fit between the interface and how users think about the task
We present our findings to you and discuss the implications of the findings with your product developers

You will receive a written report and and in-person presentation containing the following information:

A description of the goals, procedures, and information sources representative people use to perform the task
A set of interface requirements that follow from how the users think about and perform the task
High-level interface designs (e.g., navigation and task flow) that match the information requirements of users' tasks

The written report will be a multimedia document (using text and graphics) delivered via CD-ROM or the internet.

Gugerty Usability Services