Return of Analysis: The Sequel

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Return of Analysis The Sequel

• James Marshall
• San Diego State University
• EDTEC 540

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In Analysis, Part I
TNA
PA
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Performance Analysis

• Gap Analysis
• Basically, optimals actuals
• The difference between what is and what ought to
  be
• Cause Analysis
• Identifies the causes (barriers/performance
  drivers) keeping things in actual-land, rather
  than optimal-land

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Analysis Review

• The four kinds of drivers? What are they?
• The driver that would be represented by a zoo
  landscaper who says shes confused about how to
  tell when the tree-trimming blade needs changing?
  Lets presume shes telling the truth.
• The district superintendent asks you to work to
  work to reduce unpleasant student incidents
  outside middle schools. Sources? What kinds of
  questions would get you to the target gaps? Can
  you frame up some of those queries?
• The audience is teachers. The topic is
  appreciation for diversity. How could the
  various analyses help you handle this slippery
  and important topic?

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On Deck For Tonight

• Three types of analysis with varied roles in PA
  and TNA
• Goal Analysis
• Task Analysis
• Content/Subject Matter Analysis

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Goal Analysis
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What are Goals?

• Goals
• A statement describing a broad or abstract
  intent, state, or condition
• A general statement of purpose or direction
• Where were going
• Examples
• Know how to clean a mouse
• Be safety conscious
• Have an appreciation for Opera
• Take an active role in the community
• How do you know its a Goal?
• Use the (admittedly sexist) Hey Dad Test

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Goals Good and Bad

• Problems with Goals
• What does it mean?
• It's easy to hide behind the mush.
• How will we know when we achieve it?
• We can't be accountable, if unspecified.

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Reasons for Goal Analysis

• To define the intangible and move towards
  objectives
• To gain consensus from sources
• To provide direction
• To identify the main performances that comprise
  the meaning of the goal
• To serve as the details for planning and
  evaluation

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Goal Analysis Process

• Write the goal down
• Specify tangible attributes
• of those who manifest the goal
• of those who manifest the opposite of the goal
• Combine the results, adding and pruning to
  represent the goal
• Create a complete list with performance
  statements
• Can you live with this list? Does it represent
  the goal? Consensus? Can you tell performers of
  the listed attributes from non-performers?

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Practice

• Problem As Americans, we all must play a role
  in protecting our country from terrorism.
• Goal Americans will be constantly vigilant.
• Task Perform a quick goal analysis that results
  in a handful of performance statements

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TNA
PA
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Task Analysis
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Task Analysis

• Breaks down a task to understand the process of
  performance
• Identifies how a job or task is successfully
  accomplished
• Task analysis typically details optimals (when
  observing water walkers).
• Occasionally used to detail actuals. But,
  typically a source of optimals.

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Task Analysis in Practice

• Find out whether, and how, to improve the task
• Find inadequate performances within tasks and
  redesign efforts, where appropriate
• Foolish to train people or provide job aids for
  employees to help them to do poorly designed jobs

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Task Analysis in Practice

• Find out the general components of the job
• Identify major tasks
• Identify the actions performed
• Identify the objects used
• Methods
• Watch water-walkers
• Watch randomly selected individuals
• Examine job announcements, etc.
• Walk and talk Cognitive Task Analysis
• Attempt to do the job yourself

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Task Analysis Methods

• Observation
• most common
• most time consuming
• useful for mental effort?
• disrupts task (sometimes)
• distinguish between sources for optimals
  actuals
• Interviews
• expands on what you see
• requires good interpersonal skills
• consult with SME's

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Observations in Task Analysis

• Job is mostly manual, or requires both manual and
  cognitive tasks
• You want to verify data collected from other
  analyses
• You can stay in environment long enough, or view
  sufficient repetitions
• You can be invisible or there is sufficient trust
  that you won't alter performance

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Subject Matter Analysis
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Subject Matter Analysis

• Purpose
• When somebody knows something, what is it that
  they know? How is it organized in their head?
  (optimals)
• Sources
• Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), documents (extant
  data), literature, water-walking performers
• Uses
• Uncover and document invisible optimals
• Press SME's to figure out what it is they know
  that makes them "expert"
• Find ideational scaffolding (schema) representing
  knowledge

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Diagnose Hypothermia

isolate the combination of critical factors which
will support or rule out H
state how factors interrelate to produce H
state definition of H
recognize environmental cues
recognize specific personal factors as threatening
identify severity of observed medical symptoms
list types of environmental cues
list types of risky personal characteristics
recognizes symptoms
lists factors in order of severity
defines relevant symptoms
states distinguishing features of symptoms
lists relevant symptoms
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Subject Matter Analysis

• Subject Matter Analysis asks
• "How is the topic organized?"
• "What are the subordinate, coordinate, and
  superordinate relationships i.e. how does the
  content seem to be structured?"
• "If I could get an expert to accurately explain
  what they know about a particular subject (the
  pieces and their relationships), what would it
  look like?"

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Subject Matter Analysis

• Subject Matter Analysis facilitates
• Finding out what is involved in being
  knowledgeable and expert
• Achieving clarity about intentions
• Resolving disputes between SMEs
• Finding the grist of the matter, and then writing
  objectives that reflect that essence

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Subject Matter Analysis

• To engage in subject matter analysis
• Find sources of expertise
• Elaborate the content
• Document/represent the material
• Sources
• Humans On the job local global vendor
  competition
• Extant Data diagrams reports manuals
  correspondence job aids glossaries
  specificationspublished literature

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Subject Matter Analysis
I. Early Observations II. Use of
telescope III. Unmanned exploration IV.
Sending people to the moon
A. Ancient beliefs B. Age of enlightment A.
Galileo B. Newton
1. Refractor telescope 2. Discoveries
a. Craters on moon b. Sunspots c. Phases of venus
A. Explorer B. Surveyor A. Apollo B. Future
plans
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Analysis Paralysis

• Which would you use when? Give an example.
• Audience Analysis
• Subject Matter Analysis
• Gap Analysis
• Goal Analysis
• Task Analysis
• Cause Analysis

• PA and/or TNA

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Clarifications

• Goal Analysis helps clarify and tangibilitate a
  murky goal. What is the concrete meaning of an
  abstract goal when the goal is translated into
  human performance?
• Subject Matter Analysis seeks content elements
  and organization. What is it that a knowledgeable
  person knows and how can we represent it?
• Task Analysis is about detailing how a task is
  performed. What is it that a capable person does?