I’m ready for my closeup
As job and task analysts, we have a wide variety of media tools at our disposal for capturing details of the work we may miss as we observe and take notes. If you aren’t already, I strongly recommend you consider including video, audio, and screen capturing to your process. Why?
Video
Video today is as easy as turning on your phone. Most mobile devices today can easily capture video clips and help to catch those subtle details of a task we can all miss while observing work. You can use video three different ways: Documentary style, Interview Style, and Task Details.
Documentary style is where the camera follows the conversation as if it is an observer or an active participant. When I do this, I simply record everything. I carry the camera (or even wear it sometimes) around as I observe, ask questions, and watch the process unfold. There are too many times to count where the video caught some details I missed when I was first watching something. It could be something simple like a step I forgot to write down or it could be some inconsistency when watching the same task more than once. Video is like the non-blinking eye gathering all the details where we can easily review it later. Not to mention you can easily use some of these clips in the training program itself to explain how things may happen after training.
GoPros offer an easy solution to wearable cameras.
Interview style is what it sounds like where you mainly record you and the experts talking through a process. It may also involve demonstrations but likely it isn’t happening on the job site itself. It’s a chance to record not only what you are asking and the responses, but also how long it takes them to think of the answer. Other answers they offer. Examples and demos they provide. It can really help to make sure you aren’t missing anything.
Task detail videos are great for capturing small task work. Think of someone repairing a watch. It wouldn’t be critical to capture the entire scene of the repair person sitting at the station and the watch only a small portion of what is on the screen. It would be more beneficial to zoom in tight on the watch itself in a way where it isn’t obstructing the repair person’s view and record the small actions he or she takes to disassemble the piece, perform a repair, and reassemble it. These videos can be worth gold when assembling the final training.
Pictures
Video isn’t perfect. Depending on frame rates, lighting, and focus you may or may not capture good still images of a specific step. Sometimes rather than watching a process unfold, you may just want a few still images of specific steps. You may just want a single clear image of specific tools used in the process or maybe some unique positioning or parts you can’t show with a video. Pictures can also may your experts a little more comfortable because you aren’t recording every second and instead just a few snaps here and there. They can prepare and pose more and sometimes step out of a shot before you take it.
When taking pictures on location, you may need to consider using a good camera (not just your phone) and consider the lighting in the scene. Some good cameras can compensate for low lighting with an increased ISO setting (light sensitivity) but that can also introduce a lot of noise and grain to the image.
Audio
I’ve worked with a few organizations where they were reluctant to allow me to record video or take pictures because they were concerned with inadvertently capturing customer data, trade secrets, or passwords. Most of the time I can overcome this hesitancy but some organizations are more instant than others.
As a last resort, I’ll still capture the audio of an interaction. I may use a recorder or my phone and capture the conversations and descriptions we discuss. I take notes but recording things helps to make sure I don’t miss details. Audio can also be a component to consider when capturing video. Many of the built-in on-camera microphones can do an okay job but often times they lose quality as your subject moves around or if there is a lot of other background ambient noise. To help with this, I recommend an off camera mic you can wear or attach to your experts so you capture everything they say even if they turn away from the camera.
Screen Capturing
If you’ve ever made some kind of training for a software, you’ve likely used a screen capture software. There are quite a few options out there on the market and many people have their favorites. Some are free, some have a lot of bells and whistles, and some can do video or animated outputs. Generally, we are speaking of software that records your computer screen (and you speaking most of the time) as you walk through a task or a process on the computer. Often this is to train a software package but it could be for a wide variety of uses including recording you using an electronic whiteboard, drawing, using animations as you speak, etc.
Screen capturing software can save the day when doing task analysis. There is nothing better than getting a highly detailed, action by action recording of someone moving through a system. Sometimes when an expert moves too quickly for me to capture an exact detail, I know I can rely on the screen recording to let me go frame-by-frame through what he or she did.
One consideration is that some software systems (think a point of sale system) are closed systems and you can’t install additional software on it. To overcome this, I often just go back to my camera. I’ll set it up on a tripod and aim it at the screen. I may use another microphone to make sure we capture our conversation and we are good. It’s not perfect because depending on your frame rates and the screen’s refresh rate, you can get lines moving through the image. You may also have glare on the computer screen. Other little things can put off the final product.
Setup
All of these options require some setup. If you are planning to use video when you observe tasks with your experts, first decide how you plan to shoot it. Consider these questions.
What style are you planning to use? Documentary? Interview? Task?
Are you going to shoot it or will someone else be there?
Are you planning for the experts to possibly wear the camera?
Will you be using your phone or a more robust setup? Will you need power? Extra Lights?
Will you need a special setup to capture tasks?
Do you need any special permissions to install the screen recording software?
Who pays for the software? Your budget? Your expert’s budget?
The answer to these questions will tell you about some of the preparation you’ll need to do. In the very least, you MUST make sure your experts are fully aware of what you intend to do while recording and especially what you plan to do with the files afterwards. Communicate with them at least a week or more in advance to let them know you’ll be recording and include the details of the equipment you’ll use, if other people are joining you, and get any special permissions you may need. If you intend to ask an expert to wear a camera, make sure he or she is okay with it and that it won’t interfere with the work. Make sure the method you intend to attach the camera works for the expert and will be comfortable. You may also need to work with the local IT group to install the software needed for screen recording.
Be very clear to your experts and stakeholders what you intend to do with the recordings. Be clear that you (and possibly your team) are the only ones who will view the video files. Reassure them that you will keep the files secure and that you don’t plan to post them online or make them available to others. Also be very clear if you feel you’ll need or want to use the video clips in future training courses. I also often give the experts a chance to review the clips before I start using them in training.
Ultimately, if they trust you, they’ll let you do it. If you can record the tasks in any way, it’s going to be gold for you later as you create the documentation and finalize the training analysis of the tasks and jobs.