TASK ANALYSIS

The traditional approach to task analysis formerly known as job analysis is characterized by two models:
the British model and the American model. The British model has emphasized analysis in terms of specific
activities for which the job holder is held responsible whereas the American model has inclded an
emphasis on the competencies needed for job. !ith both models the analysis is sally carried ot by
mana"ement with the help of e#perts$ and in other respects as well the two models are %ite similar. Both
have been fond to be sefl in analyzin" semi&skilled and skilled work.
't is becomin" obvios$ however$ that the traditional approach to task analysis is not sitable for the
increasin"ly comple# reality or or"anisational work. 'n particlar$ this approach is inade%ate when it is
applied:
(ana"erial jobs that are more comple# than those previosly sbjected to analysis) *obs in pblic systems
that are characterized by compels responsibilities) and +rop or team tasks$ which are increasin"ly
emer"in" as a way of or"anisin" work in indstries.
!hat is needed in order to address the more comple# jobs that characterise today,s or"anisation is a
different approach to task analysis.
Task analysis can be defined as the process of identifying the tasks of a particular job in a
particular organisational context by analysing actiities! establishing perfor"ance criteria!
deter"ining re#uired co"petencies! and analy$ing any discrepancies uncoered by this process%&
This definition$ which is based on the concept of task s""ested by the Tavistock -chool$ indicates the
followin" "idelines for sccessfl task analysis:
./ Analysis shold be ndertaken only after developin" an nderstandin" of the particlar or"anisational
conte#t involved. The rationale for this is that my job e#ists within a particlar or"anisation$ which has its
own mission$ philosophy$ orientation$ and "oals. 0or the prposive task analysis and this article$ job
means a modle of work assi"ned to a person occpyin" a particlar positin" 1or role/ in an or"anisation.
2/ The job shold be broken down into specific activities perform and e#pected to be performed by the job
holder or incmbent. An activity is an observable action often bond by time.
3/ The activities shold be "rade into tasks. A Task: is a set of related activities a fnction that makes a
distinct contribtion to or"anisational "oals.
4/ 5erformance criteria and their indicators shold be established.
6/ The companies re%ired for effective performance of each task shold be identified.
7/ The discrepancies between perceived and actal performance and between importance attribted and
importance reflected in time spent shold be indemnified.
8n the basis of the "idelines sated above$ we can say that task analysis involves the followin" steps:
./ 9onte#tal analysis)
2/ Activity analysis)
3/ Task delineation)
4/ 9ompetency analysis
6/ 5erformance analysis) and
7/ :iscrepancy analysis
The type of Task Analysis s""ested here may be sefl to the or"anisation and the individal employees
in several ways.
./ -election and placement. Better recritment and selection deices can be prepared on the basis of a task
1especially competency analysis/. 9ompetency analysis can also help an or"anisation to place people in
jobs in which they can be more effective 1matchin" the role;job with people/.
2/ !ork plannin"$ incldin" the followin":
a/ -ettin" individal takes for a specific period
b/ <elpin" a job incmbent to decide priorities of task
c/ (inimizin" overlap between jobs
d/ 'dentifyin" ne"lected tasks in a work nit
e/ *ob enrichment
3/ 5erformance appraisal$ incldin"
a/ =e"otiated takes and activities to be performed
b/ >valation 1by self and the spervisor/ of the %ality;%antity standards of task performance 1both
process and otcome effectiveness/
c/ Analysis of factors helpin" and hinderin" task performances
4/ 5otential appraisal$ incldin" preparation of a system on the basis of the competency analysis and actal
potential appraisal work.
6/ >mplacement development$ incldin"
a/ 0eedback on stren"ths and weaknesses
b/ 5erformance consellin"
c/ Trainin"
7/ Team bildin"$ especially
a/ Better nderstandin" of each other
b/ ?ocatin" areas of task conflicts and dealin" with them
c/ Bildin" linka"es and mtality between jobs
'(NT)*T+AL ANALYSIS
't is essential to know the mission$ orientation$ and "oals of the or"anisation of which the job is a part. An
nderstandin" of the or"anisational conte#t also heaps in clarifyin" the "eneral orientation of the job. 0or
e#ample$ the mission of a hospital may be defined as providin" effective medical care and related spport
to the patients wishin" to se the hospital. The term related spport: may be an important dimension of the
mission of the hospital it may imply that the jobs of the doctors and nrses also need to inclde
psycholo"ical spport as a takes. 'f task analysis were ndertaken in this sitation withot the
development of this nderstandin"$ the observers may not see activates involvin" psycholo"ical spport.
Those who ndertake task analysis mst first develop an nderstandin" of the or"anisation,s mission$
which is the direction or combination of directions in which the or"anisation is movin". The mission incldes
sch elements as definition of the or"anisation,s basic bsiness how it markets its prodcts or services and
to whom and its intentions with reared to profitability$ "rowth$ li%idity$ vales$ treatment of employees and
cstomers$ and its stats in its field. -ometimes an or"anisation,s mission e#its in written and pblished
form. @e"ardless of whether a formal mission statement e#its$ those responsible for task analysis shold
smmarize the mission in a one sentence statement and shold keep this statement handy thro"hot the
process of task analysis.
The or"anisation,s broad "oals or objectives also mst be identified. These "oals may or may not be a part
of the mission statement. A samplin" of employees may be asked to state these "oals$ and then these
varios statements may be compared with any "oal statements that e#ist in formal docments. This
e#ercise is also helpfl in terms of testin" whether the employees know the or"anisation,s formally stated
"oals or whether the "oals have chan"ed since they were ori"inally stated in docments.
The last phase of conte#tal analysis$ an optional one$ is to identify the main tasks of the or"anisation.
A"ain$ "rops of employees may be asked to identify the tasks that pertain to each "oal and to identify the
jobs mainly responsible for these takes. These employee statements then may be compiled and discssed.
-ch an e#ercise is also sefl in clarifyin" "oals and tasks and in increasin" employee,s commitment to
them.
A'TI,ITY ANALYSIS
The second step is activity analysis. The sccessfl completion of this step is dependent on clear
nderstandin" of the %alities of an activity. An activity has three characteristics)
./ 't is observable. 0or e#ample$ plannin" is not re"arded as an activity becase it cannot be observed.
2/ 't is descriptive. The behavior concerned mst be capable of bein" stated specifically in terms that
describe rather than evalate or interpret. 0or e#ample$ if behavior on the part of a nrse is recorded as
takin" a patient,s temperatre$ this behavior %alifies as an activity) however$ if the same behavior were
recorded as doin" dia"nosis$ this phrase wold be an interpretation of what had occrred and wold not
%alify as an activity.
3/ 't is objective. An activity$ when observed by more than one person$ shold be capable of bein" recorded
in written form in the same way by all observers. This is not to say that all observers will record all activities
in the same way$ bt that anyone readin" the written record of all observers, descriptions of an activity
wold interpret these descriptions to be of the same activity.
'n addition$ a distinction shold be med between an activity and sb activity. An activity is a behavior
ndertaken to accomplish a takes$ while a sb activity is one of set of behaviors ndertone to complete an
activity. 0or e#ample$ when a bank employee makes an entry in a led"er$ he or she is performin" an
activity whose sb activities mi"ht inclde takin" the led"er from the shelf$ openin" the led"er$ liftin" a pen
and so forth.
Sources of Infor"ation about actiities
There are three main contribtors of information for activity analysis: 1./ the job incmbent$ 12/ those who
interact with the job incmbent 1called role&set members/$ and 13/ otside e#perts. The role&set members
inclde the incmbent,s sperior$ sbordinates$ collea"es$ and in some cases others who interact with the
incmbent 1for e#ample patients and their relative in the case of a nrse as job incmbent/. The otside
e#perts may be takes analysts$ edcators$ specialists in the field or the or"anisation,s top mana"ement.
These three sets of contribtors can prodce a "reat deal of sable information based on their
observations$ their reports of the activities that the job incmbent actally completes$ and their
assessments of activities than the job incmbent is or shold be e#pected to complete. The role&set
members or e#perts$ for e#ample$ may be asked to obese the job incmbent and write their observations in
some systematic way 1every five or ten mintes for e#ample/. 'n addition$ they may be asked to write their
e#pectations re"ardin" activities that the job incmbent probably performs or shold perform$ even tho"h
they may not have observed any of these activities. A doctor$ for instance$ mi"ht write that he or she
e#pects or wold e#pect a nrse to monitor patients and notify the doctor when any patient needs
immediate attention. The job incmbent can also write a report of activities actally performed and any
additional ones that he or she e#pects toper form in the jobs in the ftre.
'ollecting infor"ation on actiities
-everal methods can be sed to prepare a comprehensive list of activities. The most commonly sed
methods a"e interviews$ diaries lon" books$ and %estionnaires.
-. Interie/s0 The interview is the most widely sed and sefl method of collectin" information for activity
analysis. +enerally the respondent is simply asked to report observers and e#pectations. -ometimes
however$ it may be sefl to ask specifically what the job incmbent did on a particlar day. Becase
respondents tend to "ive "eneral answers$ it is necessary to probe in an interview so that actal activities
are revealed. 0or e#ample$ when interviewed abot what a nrse does$ a set&set member mi"ht say$ well$
she takes care of patients. 't then becomes necessary to takes how the nrse takes care of patients
what she actally does. 0or this reason interviews re%ire patience on the parts of the interview. After
thoro"h %estionin" the respondent becomes edcated abot the concept of an activity$ and hoe or her
answers become more pertinent and re%ire less intervention from the interviewer.
1. 2iaries0 A diary is a set of detailed notes that a job incmbent keeps abot the work&related activates
that he or she performs drin" the work day. Before assi"nin" the task of keepin" sch a diary$ it is a "ood
idea to meet with the job incmbent to discss what an activity is and what shold be noted in diary. At this
meetin" it may be helpfl to provide a combination of instrction.
3. Log 4ooks0 A lo" book is a record that someone else keeps while observin" job incmbent. A"ain$ it
may be sefl to discss the potential contents of the lo" with the person keepin" it.
5. 6uestionnaires0 A %estionnaire may be devised and administered to the job incmbent$ the role&set
members$ and;or otside e#perts.
The 7roduct
After one or more of the s""ested methods has been sed for activity analysis the prodct will be a lon"
list of activities. At this point ht enlist is comprehensive and his not been sbjected to any kind of sortin") it
incldes a nmber of essentially redndant items as well as both hi"hly specific and less specific items.
The prpose of the activity&analysis diary is to help yo keep notes abot all of yor work&related activates.
(aintain the diary for for weeks) every work day for the first week$ then every other work day for the
second week$ and then every third work day for the last two weeks.
TASK 2)LIN)ATI(N
After activity analysis has been completed$ the ne#t step is to "rop the activities into tasks and to name
these tasks. This process$ known as task delineation$ involves sbjective decision makin" and shold be
ndertaken only by people who know and nderstand the job.
There is no rle re"ardin" the nmber of takes to be delineated. <owever$ there shold not be so few that
one cannot review them and form a clear pictre of a job. -imilarly$ there shold not be so many that the
differences amon" activities are not readily apparent and that their nmbers become cmbersome for
performance appraisal and other prposes.
The tasks shold be balances in terms of the nmber of activities each comprises. 'f one task has too many
actives$ it needs to be divided into two or more tasks. 0or e#ample$ when delineatin" a nrse,s takes one
shold not call patient care a task becase too many activities are covered by this term. 'nstead$ patient
care shold be broken down into care re%irin" special skills$ crew re%irin" fee skills 1sch as makin" the
patient,s bed/$ and socio&psycholo"ical care and spport. After the tasks have been delineated$ it is a "ood
idea to rate the importance of each to the job and to assess the percenta"e of time spent by the job
incmbent on each.
'(87)T)N'Y ANALYSIS
A job incmbent needs different types and levels of competencies in order to perform job well. 9ompetency
analysis helps in identifyin" the competencies that are necessary for the tasks that have been delineated.
9ompetencies can be divided into five main types) knowled"e$ skills$ abilities$ orientation$ and e#perience.
8f these five types$ orientation may re%iem some e#planation. 8rientation is a "eneral attitde reflectin"
the vales of the job holder. 0or e#ample$ in the case of a nrse$ respect for the patient may be deemed to
be an important orientation. 0owlin" is an e#ample of an orientation description.
Another process that may be completed is the identification of the job incmbent,s present level of echo
identified competency. A five&point sale is recommended for this prpose. The same "rop that establishes
competencies with the possible e#clsion of the job incmbent$ dependin" on his or her level of insi"ht
may make this assessment.
7)9:(98AN') ANALYSIS
The main prpose of performance analysis is to evalate the impact of a job how effective it is bein" done
or has been done. This step consists of assessin" how well the job incmbent has performed the tasks for
which he or she is responsible.
The effectiveness of a task can be measred in terms of its otcome$ or the end reslts$ as well as in terms
of its process$ or how it is performed. <ard data may be "athered indicatin" both kinds of effectiveness. 0or
e#ample$ one can evalate the task of takin" cstomer orders with re"ard to the nmber of orders taken
1otcome/ as well as with re"ard to the time spent on the task or the nmber of mistakes made 1process/.
0or each task it is advisable to identify only a few indicators of effectiveness one or two for otcome
effectiveness and one or two for process effectiveness. 't is important to keep in mind that indicators mst
be specific$ concrete$ and measrable. :evelopin" them is a difficlt and creative task and shold be
ndertaken only by people who have e#tensive knowled"e of and insi"ht into the job. A "rop consistin" of
the job incmbent$ the role&set members$ and e#perts may brainstorm in order to identify a nmber of
indictors and then select only the best alternatives.
2IS'9)7AN'Y ANALYSIS
:iscrepancy analysis is the identification of any discrepancies that become obvios as a reslt of the
previos five steps. 0or e#ample$ discrepancies may e#ist between activities reported by the job incmbent
and those reported by the set&set members$ between activates reported and those observed or e#pected$
between the importance of a task and the time spent completin"$ it between needed companies and
e#istin" competencies$ and so on. These "aps may indicted a need for certain remedial measres$ sch as
redefinin" the set$ trainin" additional work plannin"$ deletin"$ increased monitorin" or consellin".
't is a "ood idea to check periodically for discrepancies between the job definition as reflected in the
delineated tasks and actal job performance. 'nformation abot performance can be obtained by any one
or a combination of the followin" methods:
The job incmbent any monitor the time spent on each activity)
The role&set members any analyse the importance attribted to varios tasks virses the time spent
anthem) and ;or.
Trained observers may observe the job incmbent for a few days.
:iscrepancies between desired activities or tasks and actal performance may then be noted and acted on
accordin"ly.
TASK ANALYSIS AS A S+7)9,IS(9Y T((L
Task analysis as briefly descried in this nit can be sed as spervisory tool$ to improve fnctionin" of a
nit. -ome ses of Task Analysis have already been s""ested. A few are focsed below:
-. 2esigning training0 :iscrepancy analysis of the re%ired competencies and the present level of these
companies in the employees concerned will help in identifyin" trainin" needs$ and then desi"nin" a trainin"
strate"y$ or at least trainin" pro"rammes to p"rade the competencies which seem to be at a lower level.
'nformation abot the importance of the varios tasks may also help in desi"nin" trainin" pro"rammes for
hi"h priority task. -imilarly$ the discrepancy between the importance of a task and the time spent on it may
"ive some sefl information. 8ne reason for not spendin" eno"h time on a task may be lack of
competency re%ired to do the task. -ch information may help in indicatin" the trainin" needs.
1. 7erfor"ance "onitoring0 A performance monitorin" system can be developed based on the indicators
of process and otcome effectiveness for the varios tasks. -ome of these indicators can be sed in
desi"nin" a format or a system of meetin"s for prposes of performin" monitorin".
3. ;ork 7lanning0 Analysis or the discrepancy between e#acted and reported activities$ or importance of
the tasks and time spent on them may indicate the need for work plannin"$ incldin" dele"ation and
redistribtion of work amon" varios jobs in work nit. The concerned employees may work in a "rop with
the spervisor in redistribtion of tasks$ so that each employee can ma#imise his;her contribtion to the
or"anisational "oals.