How to use Task Analysis in Learning Experience Design
Every project starts with some research and analysis. The depth and breadth of this step will vary from project to project but it’s always there.
One activity I recommend including when designing workplace learning is a Task Analysis.
A Task Analysis involves looking closely at what someone is trying to do—the steps they take to complete a specific task. It starts with observation, and systematically breaking down the action taken by the person to complete the task into its component parts.
From this, you get an idea of the what knowledge and skills are needed to perform the task.
This sounds straightforward, just document the steps, right?
At a superficial level, yes, but there is actually a ton of useful insight you can get by spending some time analyzing task performance.
For example, if you have time/resources you should do this with multiple individuals and teams. This is where you might uncover:
▸ Variances between how individuals perform the task
▸ Workarounds or shortcuts developed at different locations
▸ Resistances and barriers to performance
▸ Ideas about how to improve the process and performance
▸ A baseline for measuring improvements against post-training
▸ Insight into which parts of the task are most challenging
In fact, sometimes this is where you learn that the performance gap is not a training problem at all, but that there are barriers getting in the way of people doing their job or other process issues.
In an extreme case, Task Analysis is where you can gain insights that may help you realize you don’t need a course, you need a checklist, which has huge implications for the resources required to address the issue.
By observing and interacting with real people doing the actual work, you learn about the steps, but you also learn about the decision making process, how they perceive the task, and why they do—or don’t—perform it a certain way.
