A Task Analysis Is Not Sufficient

Tasks lead to Outputs that are Inputs “downstream.”

Both Tasks and Outputs need to be part of your Analysis effort. I used to get really frustrated, back in the late 1970s and early 1980s when I’d see Task Analysis outputs that seemed more like random list of Tasks – and to me they held zero value.

So linking Tasks to their Outputs – was like beginning with the end in mind – and was critical to my and my staffs’ practice of ISD.

But wait – there’s more.

The Measures for both Tasks and Outputs need to be understood as well.

Where do these Measures come from? From the Stakeholders.

Some Stakeholders focus on Measures for Tasks; and other Stakeholders focus on Measures for Outputs. And some Stakeholders focus on Measures for both. Figure it out.

Outcomes

I’ve had people tell me that what’s really important are the Outcomes.

Yes – and to me – Outcomes are when the Measures for the Output are met (or not).

Resources

Here is one (actually two) of many free resources on this site.

Modeling Mastery Performance and Systematically Deriving the Enablers for Performance Improvement– by Guy W. Wallace, CPT – Chapter 11 of the Handbook of Human Performance Technology – 3rd Edition – 2006.  This methodology was first published in this 1984 article in ISPI’s (then NSPI’s) PIJ in November 1984.

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