Tools for task-based interaction and collaboration analysis Nikolaos Avouris 1 , Georgios Fiotakis 1 , Nikolaos Tselios 1 , Vassilis Komis 2 1 Electrical & Computer Eng. Dept, HCI Group, 2 Early Childhood Educ. Dept., University of Patras, 26500 Rio Patras, Greece { N.Avouris, Fiotakis, NiTse }@ ee.upatras.gr, komis@upatras.gr Abstract An innovative framework of interaction and collaboration analysis is proposed, jointly with tools to support the process. The proposed framework is based on a collaboration analysis first and individual task analysis subsequently, approach. The objective of this framework is to facilitate understanding of the group’s and individual user’s tasks and goals and associate the artifacts used with usability problems. An innovative aspect of the framework is the association of tasks to artifacts (tools) engaged by the users during the activity. The typical use of this framework is in interactive systems evaluation and design. The framework and the tools functionality are described in the paper. The framework is inspired by the Activity Theory perspective, which recognizes the importance of artifacts, actors and the context in which an activity takes place. 1 Introduction Tools and techniques to support interaction and collaboration analysis have been proposed in the frame of usability evaluation studies for many years now (Dix et al., 1998, Nielsen 1994). These techniques involve analysis of data that are collected from field studies in various forms. Stream media like audio and video, logfiles, as well as notes and comments of observers are used in these studies. Discrete data items, like files containing solutions to problems, drawings, etc. may also be used. All these data need to be correlated and processed in order the researchers to extract useful patterns of behaviour of the actors involved, identify usability and conceptual flaws in the design of the artifacts used and evaluate the approaches that have been pursued. This analysis process has become tedious, since the high volume of data has made it more time-consuming and complex. The need for adequate tools to support the analysis has therefore increased recently. A framework of interactive systems analysis is proposed in this paper, which involves two complementary views over an activity involving multiple actors, supported with relevant tools: (a) The first one concerns analysis of collaboration, which involves collection of field data, annotation of these observations and building of an abstract description of observed collaborative task execution. A tool has been built for annotation of data and building of abstract multi-level annotated views. This tool (Collaboration Analysis Tool, ColAT) bears interesting characteristics among which the support for various annotation schemes, the capability to commend and annotate at various levels of abstraction a sequence of events, interrelation of multiple media (video, audio, log files, snapshots) to the multilevel annotation and to the cognitive structures built through the second view. (b) The second view is a cognitive one, which involves building of typical task structures, as anticipated by the designers of the artifact (e.g. the computer tools that are used in the activity), subsequently relating the observed task execution to the anticipated model by individuals who participate in the activity. A tool has been built to support this task-based approach, the Cognitive Modelling Tool (CMTool), also described in (Tselios & Avouris 2003). Analysis characteristics of