The definition of task analysis varies depending on the purpose for it and the context in which it is performed. Similarly, purposes for conducting task analyses vary, from using the process as an aid in designing job descriptions to using it to develop effective tools for human-computer interaction (e.g., analyzing user needs and behaviors to develop software). David H. Jonassen et al describe five general classes of task analysis: job or performance analysis, learning analysis, cognitive task analysis, content or subject-matter analysis, and activity-based methods, which is a relatively new category of the task-analysis discipline. Each approach requires different methods. In many cases, however, task analysis can most simply be described as the division of activity into its specific component levels in order to determine the value in solving particular performance problems.

Task analysis is a way of assessing what people, machines, or a combination...