Building Performance Measures in Instructional Design
This step is often included in the task analysis and was briefly touched upon in that section.
During the task analysis or immediately after, construct performance measures for each task to be trained and for each critical steps for achieving the performance measures. If your organization has the resources, then all tasks, including the ones that were not selected for training, may also be included as this information provides documentation for the correct performance of tasks.
Performance measures are the standards for how well a task must be performed. There are four basic analysis techniques used to ensure that all performance measures associated with a task are recorded (Wiggs, 1984):
- Observation Task Analysis: Observe the task under actual working conditions and record each step for performing the task and the standards of performance.
- Simulated Task Analysis: Observe skilled individuals or groups performing the task under simulated working conditions. The working conditions should match the job environment as closely as possible. Record each step and standards of performance with inputs from the skilled performers.
- Content Analysis: Analyze the operating or technical manual to determine the steps and standards of performance.
- Interview Analysis: Consult with a SME to determine the required steps and standards of performance. This is normally used to validate the data gathered by other techniques. This method should not be used alone. Experts often leave out vital steps as they have performed the task so often that some of the steps become so internalized that they fail to acknowledge doing so!
The customer or client must approve the task performance measures. If possible, the client supervisors and SME should write them with the training organization's guidance. This does not relieve the trainers' accountability for this function since they are the masters of this technology.
References
U.S. Army Field Artillery School (1984). A System Approach To Training (Course Student textbook). ST - 5K061FD92
U.S. Department of Defense Training Document (1975). Pamphlet 350-30. August, 1975.
Wiggs, Garland (1984). Designing Learning Programs. In Nadler, Leonard (Ed.). The Handbook of Human Resource Development. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Next Steps
Go to the next section: Choose Instructional Setting
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Analysis Templates (contains several analysis templates)