ABSTRACT
Each TA exercise must be tailored to answer different questions on widely differing systems and this potential variety of applications means that it can be difficult to select and apply the methods appropriately. Informal discussions with analysts, and with those responsible for commissioning and managing TA exercises, suggest that there is potential to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the practical application of TA. Furthermore, it would be helpful to have some evidence about the level of variability that can be expected in the quality of TAs. Although TAs can provide the psychological insights that ensure that a system fully supports
the users and enables them to undertake their tasks effectively, unfortunately, it is also possible for the outputs to be little more than incomplete task descriptions that give scant consideration to the feasibility of the identified tasks.
