GR1 - Task Analysis

User analysis

Relevant User Characteristics

• Any gender
• Ages 18-50
• English-speaking
• Living in a group setting or in charge of a living group
• Inexperienced to experienced internet/computer users
• Weak to Strong Math skills

Example Users

Sue the Non-Technical

Sue is in her 40s. Her daughter is away at college and decided she wanted to live off-campus with some friends. Sue and her husband decided that it would be more cost effective if they bought her a condo and then had her friends pay rent to them for living there. While they trust their daughter and their friends, they want to keep a watchful eye over the expenses of the household since they will ultimately be responsible. They have decided to have all of the bills sent to them, and then they will bill her daughter's roommates. Her daughter has told her that her roommates would rather use a web interface or e-mails to get the bills. She understands finances so she can do the mathematics of who owes what, but she is not technically savvy. Because navigating through a website can be difficult for her, she needs an interface that is as simple as possible and will help direct her on what to do.

Ryan the Busy-Bee

Ryan is in his 30s and is a tech-savvy businessman with little time. He could handle the finances, but he's very busy and would rather spend his time doing other things that he enjoys with his little free time. His main concern is finding a solution that he can set up quickly and that will require little upkeep.  In particular, he wants to have a tool that performs the necessary calculations for him, and then allows him to send the finances to all of his roommates. Because Ryan is so busy, he likes to have something to remind him of when all of his bills are due, so that he does not have to keep track of this in his head.

Amy the Non-Mathematical

Amy is in her 20s and is not very good at math. Her weak math skills usually make it hard for her to keep track of her finances. Her roommates are often upset with her because she either forgets to pay for a bill or pays the wrong amount. Amy wants a tool that will take care of the math for her, while having an interface that still lets her understand what is going on and what all of the numbers mean.

Task analysis

Task 1: Create Account

• Preconditions:
  • Desired account name must not exist
• Subtasks:
  • Fill out account form
  • Submit account form
  • Confirm chosen account name and password

Task 2: Access Account

• Preconditions:
  • Have an account (already created)
  • Know account information
• Subtasks:
  • Fill out login information
  • Submit login information

Task 3: Create a Household

• Preconditions:
  • Have to be logged in
• Subtasks:
  • Fill out household form
  • Submit household form
  • Confirm

Task 4: Link to a Household

• Preconditions:
  • Have a household (already created)
  • Know household information
  • Have to be logged into an account 
• Subtasks:
  • Fill out household information
  • Submit household information
  • Confirm

Task 5: Share a Household

• Preconditions:
  • Have to be logged in
  • Have to be part of a household
  • Know other individual's e-mails or account names
  • Household selected
• Subtasks:
  • Fill out form
  • Confirm

Task 6: Select a Household

• Preconditions:
  • Have to be part of multiple households
  • Have to be logged into an account 
• Subtasks:
  • Select household from list
  • Confirm

Task 7: Add a Bill

• Preconditions:
  • Have to be logged in
  • Have to be part of a household
  • Household selected
• Subtasks:
  • Fill out bill amount
  • Select household members to include
  • Select each household member's share
  • Select due date
  • (Optional) Set repeating
  • (Optional) Categorize
  • Confirm

Task 8: Pay a Bill

• Preconditions:
  • Have to be logged in
  • Have to be part of a household
  • Have to have a standing bill to pay
• Subtasks:
  • Select the bill
  • Confirm that the bill is paid

Task 9: View Bill on Calendar

• Preconditions:
  • Have to be logged in
  • Have to be part of a household
  • Household selected
• Subtasks:
  • Select Calendar
  • Search through calendar for bill

Task 10: View Itemized House Expenses

• Preconditions:
  • Have to be logged in
  • Have to be part of a household
  • Household selected
• Subtasks:
  • Select Itemized House Expenses
  • Select options
  • View Expenses

Task 11: View Graph of House Expenses

• Preconditions:
  • Have to be logged in
  • Have to be part of a household
  • Household selected
• Subtasks:
  • Select type of graph
  • View graph

Domain analysis