First things first
The job or task analysis only helps as long as it gives you something actionable. You have to do something with the results. Knowledge for the sake of knowledge alone is a waste of time and effort. Knowledge only gains value through action. For task analysis, we gain value through the ability to prioritize which tasks may require more time and effort to train than other tasks. We can all likely agree that not all tasks require the same attention in a training program. Some easier tasks can be trained relatively quickly compared to more difficult tasks. Some more frequent tasks may require more attention than tasks only done once in a while. Some tasks are more prone to error than others. Some tasks have a bigger effect on the organization or customers and clients than other tasks. This means that through our analysis, we must determine which of these tasks to give the most attention.
“Knowledge only gains value through action.”
To build a training on bedrock, we focus most on the most difficult and the most frequent tasks. There are other factors to consider but using these two measurements, we can get a really good direction which tasks require the most attention and which could require less time in training to learn.
We have a finite amount of time to train our learners. Finding the priority allows us to allocate that time among the different priorities in a meaningful way.
Frequency
Over time we have found that frequency is a big factor to consider when it comes to training priority. You can calculate this two ways. One is through a typical survey approach and the other is through task observation. If we look at frequency of task, we increase the likelihood we train the work they will do as they immediately leave training and this helps to reassure learners they are prepared for the work and can handle what they are likely to do.
For surveys and observation, we classify each task using the following scale.
0 Never
1 Seldom (~1-2 per year)
2 Infrequently (~3-6 times per year)
3 Sometimes (~ Once per month)
4 Often (~ Once per week)
5 Frequently (~ Once per day)
6 Very Frequently (Several Times per day)
A survey tool allows us to survey actual job holders for each task in our analysis how often they perform it. The higher the score, the more likely we are going to need to make sure we train it.
Difficulty
It is too simplistic to just prioritize the most frequent tasks over less frequent tasks. We need to add another dimension to our prioritization and difficulty adds a valuable perspective to compare the frequency. Just because someone does a task several times a day doesn’t mean it is automatically our highest priority. We can look at the most to least frequent tasks compared to how difficult job holders feel the task is. We use the following scale.
0 - One of the easiest of all tasks
1 - Considerably easier than most tasks
2 - Easier than most tasks performed
3 - About half of tasks are more difficult and half less
4 - Harder than most tasks performed
5 - Considerably harder than most tasks performed
6 - One of the most difficult of all tasks
This scale should be normally distributed with the average close to 3. This allows half to score as easier than average and half to score as more difficult than average.
Priority
If we look at both of these measurements together, we can start to get a sense of where we should spend most of our time in training delivery.
Using this simplified matrix, we can see how we devote most of our time to the most difficult and frequently completed tasks and the least amount of time (or no time) to the easiest and rarely completed tasks. We also recommend your 2nd priority goes to the frequent and easy tasks and 3rd priority is the rare but difficult tasks. The reason for this comes back to how likely they are to encounter those tasks after training. Those tasks that are rare but difficult should still be trained but should be trained in sync with when they are likely going to do the tasks. If the tasks are seasonal, ad-hoc training at that time is most appropriate. If the tasks are more spontaneous, just-in-time training and coaching would be appropriate.
Other Factors
It’s important to consider these recommendations are a starting point only. There are clearly other factors to consider when making your final decisions on training priority. Here are other considerations when making these decisions.
Consequences of error - even some easy tasks can carry large consequences if someone makes a mistake. This may influence our decision and make easier tasks higher priorities.
Criticality or Importance - a little more difficult to measure, criticality could be how important it is for someone to do this task well. It may be a very visible task or has a larger impact on organizational reputation, operations, or public relations.
Freedom - This is a consideration for how much latitude a user has when doing this task. Does the user have a high degree of freedom about how to perform the task or is it more restricted? For example some tasks may have legal ramifications if certain steps are missed or if certain information isn’t disclosed. Tasks are trained differently when there is a high or low degree of freedom.