Thursday, September 04, 2008

What is...A Job Task Analysis

Recently I finished working on producing and tabulating a Job Task Analysis pertaining to Crime Scene Investigators, specifically looking at how applicable our training was to real life tasks.

What is a Job Task Analysis
  • Inventory of tasks related to daily work
  • People from the field are asked to rate the tasks according to Importance (how task relates to success in job) and Frequency (how often task is done)
  • Using a likert scale tasks are rated from 1 - 5 (1 being least important to 5 being most important)
Why is it important?
  • A job task analysis can measure the relevance of job specific training
  • Reveals what the most important tasks are to know and understand how to do
  • Reveals what tasks are done more frequently
  • Each task can illustrate a different depth of knowledge for a given task, therefore showing what depth to teach to E.g. demonstrating, synthesizing, analysizing (Bloom's Taxonomy)
Who uses a job task analysis?
  • Trainers - to create occupation training
  • Teachers - to illustrate depth of knowledge needed
  • Universities and professors - to validate curriculum
** Large companies typically have the resources to create, publish, and distribute job task analysis. These can be extremely useful to ensure quality training for employees.

The Bottom Line of JTA
  • Must have a job inventory of tasks large enough to cover a wide range of activities
  • Must distribute job task analysis to enough people to ensure validity and reliability
  • Tabulation can take large amounts of time
  • After distribution at least 1/3 of those who participated in JTA should assemble to discuss tasks to make sure language used is clear and speaks accurately to daily work

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