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Job analysis a guide to assessing work activities

Gael, Sidney

In a sentence

A step-by-step practitioner's guide to conducting job analysis through the job inventory (task inventory) approach, centered on the computer-aided Work Performance Survey System (WPSS) developed at AT&T.

Job Analysis: A Guide to Assessing Work Activities is a comprehensive, hands-on manual for anyone who needs to understand and document exactly what tasks are performed in specific jobs and how workers perform them. Drawing on decades of U.S. Air Force research and AT&T's development of the Work Performance Survey System (WPSS), Sidney Gael walks the reader through the entire lifecycle of a job analysis project: planning and managing the effort, deriving accurate task statements, writing well-structured questionnaires, interviewing incumbents and supervisors, distributing and collecting surveys, computerizing and analyzing the data, and interpreting the results to support training, selection, job design, and job evaluation. Assuming no prior experience, the book provides concrete guidelines, examples, and even a complete computer user manual, plus a shortcut version for small organizations. It is the rare 'how-to' text in a field where procedural guidance is scarce, enabling readers to produce objective, accurate, and complete information about a job or set of jobs with minimal reliance on consultants.

The four lenses

  • Science
  • Statistics
  • Systems
  • Strategy

The model

A causal-framework model expressing how job analysis design levers (task statement quality, questionnaire design, technique mix, sampling adequacy) drive respondent behavioral and psychological states (response accuracy, comprehension) which in turn produce data quality outcomes (reliability, validity) and ultimately job information utility supporting downstream HR programs. Includes computer analysis as an enabling condition.

Task Statement Qualitydesign lever

The degree to which written task statements follow the standard structure (action verb, object, qualifier), use specific and consistent terminology, maintain an appropriate and uniform level of detail, stand alone, and are compatible with rating scales.

Questionnaire Design Qualitydesign lever

The clarity, format, organization, and appropriateness of the WPSS questionnaire including task attribute question selection, response scales, response directions, personal information items, and data-reduction-friendly layout enabling self-administration.

Job Information Technique Mixdesign lever

The combined use of content analysis of documents, observation of incumbents, and interviews with incumbents and supervisors to derive task statements, recognizing that no single technique produces the needed specificity, objectivity, and completeness.

Sampling Adequacycontextual condition

The extent to which the respondent sample size and site selection represent the range of work activities and locations, enabling accurate inference from sample statistics to the population of job incumbents.

Respondent Comprehensionpsychological state

The extent to which job incumbents and supervisors understand the task statements, response scales, and directions well enough to complete the questionnaire appropriately and with little or no help.

Task Response Accuracybehavioral pattern

The degree to which respondents' ratings of task attributes (significance, time, frequency, difficulty) faithfully reflect the actual work performed, including veracity of task occurrence reporting.

Job Inventory Data Reliabilityoutcome metric

The stability and consistency of job inventory data across administrations, raters, or consolidated samples, typically expressed as correlation coefficients or agreement percentages for task attributes.

Job Inventory Data Validityoutcome metric

The degree to which task data correspond with reality or actual task involvement, established by comparing incumbent and supervisor responses, comparing responses with actual performance data, or inferring from logical relationships and reliability.

Computer Analysis Capabilitycontextual condition

The availability and correct use of WPSS interactive computer programs to enter, store, retrieve, analyze, and report the kind and volume of task and personal data collected, which is a practical necessity for full-scale inventories.

Job Information Utilityoutcome metric

The usefulness of the resulting job information for supporting downstream human resource programs such as job descriptions, training requirements, selection procedures, job design, and job evaluation.

How they connect

  • task statement quality → influences respondent comprehension
  • questionnaire design quality → influences respondent comprehension
  • respondent comprehension → predicts response accuracy
  • technique mix → influences task statement quality
  • response accuracy → predicts data reliability
  • sampling adequacy → moderates data reliability
  • data reliability → predicts data validity
  • response accuracy → predicts data validity
  • computer analysis capability → moderates job information utility
  • data validity → predicts job information utility

The story

The reader A human resource specialist, manager, researcher, or consultant who wants to produce objective, accurate, and complete information about a job or set of jobs.

External problem

They need detailed, quantitative data about the tasks performed in specific jobs to support training, selection, job design, and evaluation decisions, but published 'how-to' guidance on collecting and computerizing such data is scarce.

Internal problem

They feel confused by conflicting definitions, uncertain about which method to use, and daunted by the prospect of managing a complex, data-intensive project without prior experience.

Philosophical problem

It is just plain wrong to make consequential decisions about employees and organizations on the basis of vague, unsystematic, or outdated job information when accurate task data can be obtained.

The plan

  1. Plan the project: define objectives, select jobs, determine resources, and set a schedule.
  2. Derive and write task statements using document review, observation, and interviews.
  3. Develop, pretest, and finalize a WPSS questionnaire with appropriate task attribute questions.
  4. Distribute questionnaires to a representative sample and collect completed responses.
  5. Computerize and analyze the data using the WPSS interactive programs.
  6. Interpret the results and apply them through direct uses and follow-up procedures.
  7. Use the shortcut SME-conference procedure when full-scale analysis is infeasible.

Success

  • The reader produces objective, accurate, and complete job descriptions and task data.
  • Job analysis results support multiple programs — training, selection, job design, evaluation — from a single application.
  • Data are stored, easily retrieved, and updated periodically at a fraction of the original cost.
  • The organization improves worker efficiency, productivity, and employee satisfaction.
  • Managers can monitor or reduce reliance on outside consultants.

At stake

  • Decisions rest on inaccurate, outdated, or overly general job information.
  • Poorly written task statements and flawed questionnaires yield uninterpretable data (Garbage In, Garbage Out).
  • The project fails to represent the range of work variations, biasing results.
  • Federally mandated requirement that selection procedures be predicated on job analysis goes unmet.
  • Wasted time, cost, and effort on a project that never achieves its objectives.

Questions this book answers

What tasks are actually performed in a given job, and how do workers perform them?
How can task information be collected reliably and validly from geographically dispersed job incumbents?
How should task statements be written so that respondents can rate them meaningfully?
How do you plan, schedule, staff, and manage a job analysis project from start to finish?
How can job analysis results be interpreted and applied to training, selection, job design, and job evaluation?

Glossary

Task Statement Quality
The extent to which written task statements conform to the standard grammatical and structural conventions and guidelines that make them accurate, specific, consistent, non-overlapping, understandable, and compatible with rating scales.
Questionnaire Design Quality
The overall clarity, appropriateness, organization, and self-administrability of the WPSS questionnaire, including its task attribute questions, response scales, directions, personal information items, and data-reduction-friendly layout.
Job Information Technique Mix
The composite application of content analysis of job documents, observation of incumbents at work, and interviews with incumbents and supervisors used to derive and verify task statements.
Sampling Adequacy
The degree to which the respondent sample size and site selection represent the range of work activities and operational conditions, permitting accurate inference from sample statistics to the incumbent population.
Respondent Comprehension
The extent to which respondents understand the task statements, response scales, and completion directions well enough to answer appropriately with little or no assistance.
Task Response Accuracy
The fidelity with which respondents' task attribute ratings reflect the actual work performed, including truthful reporting of task occurrence.
Job Inventory Data Reliability
The stability and consistency of job inventory data across administrations, raters, or consolidated samples for a given task attribute.
Job Inventory Data Validity
The degree to which task data correspond with reality or actual task involvement in the job.

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