Getting to know users and their tasks

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the significance of interacting with users and knowing their tasks while designing an interface. The first step is to find some real people who would be potential users of the interface being built. Once there are some people to talk with, the system building team should develop concrete, detailed examples of tasks they perform or want to perform that the system should support. Most large software projects are developed using some version of the waterfall method. The basic waterfall method assumes that a piece of software is produced through a clearly defined series of steps, or phases:(1) Requirements analysis,(2)Specification,(3)Planning,(4) Design, (5) Implementation, (6) Integration, and (7) Maintenance.