Usability Views Article Details  home | timeline | recent | popular | e-reports | userati | books | about  Mental Model Building: Step by Step (12 Aug 2005) But first, let’s take a step back. What is a mental model? My mental models are diagrams that represent the thought- and action-process used to achieve a set of goals in a narrowly defined scope. For example, you could draw a mental model of what you do in the morning to get ready for work. You could interview other people and add their approach to the mental model diagram as well. Different kinds of people might employ different steps, like a mother might include getting the kids ready for school in her morning routine, whereas a teenage girl might include three trips back to her wardrobe to change clothes to match her mood. You could interview people from other cultures in other countries to see what task differences there are. Article URL: http://www.ok-cancel.com/comic/100.html Read 182 more articles from OK/Cancel sorted by date, popularity, or title. Next Article: Deconstructing Web Applications     This site is a labour of love built by Chris McEvoy