A Graphical Task Analysis Language (GTAL)

In this paper, the authors propose and demonstrate an automated graphical formalism for describing and analyzing user interfaces. This formalism relieves interface designers from the burden of learning how to perform detailed task analysis and how to apply intricate analytic models. The proposed language serves as an interface between interface designers and the complex syntax of models useful for predicting usability aspects such as ease of use and ease of learning. It is the major component of an automated tool for describing and evaluationg user interfaces. The authors describe the functions of the different components of this tool and they explain the role that it can play in an iterative interface design methodology.