To understand the processes which control the rate of plastic deformation it is necessary to determine the atomic parameters and in particular the activation volume. The true activation volume can be identified only if the stress dependence of deformation rate is described by a valid expression. To determine this expression a kinetics analysis has to be carried out, often for a system of parallel and consecutive energy barriers. This is an intricate procedure which has to be carried out in well‐defined steps and in the order of increasing complexity of barrier combinations. Furthermore, the validity of the numerical values obtained in the analysis has to be established. This process of deformation kinetics analyis is elucidated and the method is described fully.