Uncovering User Needs with Critical Incident Task Analysis

What do users really need? Do they really know what they need? Although developers and testers are expected to implement stories and requirements that add real value, users often describe wants rather than needs and ask for features rather than solutions. Rob Sabourin shares his experiences applying task analysis using the “critical incident method” to better understand user processes and determine needs and desired solutions. Rob does not ask “what the system should do for the user” but rather, learns “what the user does with the system.” The critical incident task analysis method is a fast and systematic way to study user experiences and analyze business needs. From brilliant successes and dismal failures we learn to identify and understand the user process. Rob shares examples of how task analysis captures critical attributes, quality factors, non-functional requirements, and failure recovery aspects of a system over and above typical functional requirements and business rules.