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How do you define task analysis, and given that definition, how does
it help you in your job as a technical writer?
To me, technical writing for a end-user audience who will use the
documentation to learn how to use the product assumes task analysis
because you cannot break a task down into logical steps without it.
Main Entry: anal·y·sis
Pronunciation: &-'na-l&-s&s
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural anal·y·ses /-"sEz/
Etymology: New Latin, from Greek, from analyein to break up, from ana-
+ lyein to loosen -- more at LOSE
1 : separation of a whole into its component parts
2 a : the identification or separation of ingredients of a substance b
: a statement of the constituents of a mixture
3 a : proof of a mathematical proposition by assuming the result and
deducing a valid statement by a series of reversible steps b (1) : a
branch of mathematics concerned mainly with functions and limits (2) :
CALCULUS 1b
4 a : an examination of a complex, its elements, and their relations b
: a statement of such an analysis
Therefore, if you're not performing task analysis, and you're
documenting end-user products, IMO you're not a tech writer (well, at
least not a good one).
So yes, given this definition and the assumption that end-user
documentation is the focus of a technical writer, then task analysis
is critical.
However, given end user documentation is not all we do, and task
analysis may not fit in soe realms of science or medical writing, I
cannot commit myself to any other option in the poll than "what's task
analysis?".
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