Assessment of Object Use for Task Modeling

Past research in task modeling suggests the need to introduce objects when using task models for the design of interactive applications. Objects are however rarely included in the task model notations and formalisms. Furthermore, when part of the formalism, their definition is usually informal; and the supporting tool does not generally take them into account for simulation. K-MADe is the first tool that fully uses objects for condition evaluations during task model simulation. This paper presents an evaluation investigating the usage of formal objects with K-MADe. The results show that whilst object concepts seem to be essential in the task model process, their usage and manipulation is not easy.