Task analysis

<h2>Task analysis</h2>

The concept here is that a job has a number of tasks in it. These tasks can be analysed e.g. as a process or combination of decisions being made to a flow of actions. A heirarchy in the task is often observed.

Here I have grouped both physical and cognitive tasks which can be analysed by a majority of the HF tools. Be mindful that you can combine or integrate a number of tools when conducting an assessment. No one tool will provide you with enough information.

Decide which tool to use based on the decision guide questions:

<a class="thought-link" href="brain://l-nXVSj9fUOr6YF0Z5X5pw/QuestionsToAskSelectionOfMethods">Questions to ask - Selection of Methods</a>

<h3>Checklists</h3>

A word on checklists - many organisations have checklists for a variety of good and legacy reasons.  Checklists are documents or software with lists of criteria deemed to be important that people tick off to document the state of something or confirm an action is completed.

Ensure you can trace the source of the checklist to a credible or valid model or method or at least an internal reference prescribing the criteria or standards to be achieved.  If you can't,  be critical of any findings and ask why the checklist is in use -  what value is it offering?

Checklists support error reduction, provide business data (if retained) and can be used by management for assurance.

Good HF reasons to have checklists for tasks - if it's complicated work (not easy to be trained or remember all the steps every time), it's safety critical (one error could cause harm), there are multiple parties involved.