Performance measurement techniques task analysis

The following techniques can be used to collect data about human performance in CPI tasks and provide input to task analysis methods described in Section 4.3. These data can include process information critical for the task, control strategies used by the workers, diagnostic plans etc. A distinction can be made among data collection methods that provide qualitative data (such as interviews, observations, and sources of documentation) and methods that can be used to measure aspects of performance (such as activity analysis, simulations, and information withholding). The latter methods can provide more precise data which can be quantified. 

This is the process of establishing the time taken to perform a specified task by a qualified worker operating at a defined level of performance. Both of these measures are difficult to define, and hence, the process is quite controversial. Nevertheless, basic procedure involves three distinct phases -analysis, measurement, and synthesis. Measurement techniques like time study and analytical estimating usually demand direct observation. An understanding of work-time consequences is unquestionably crucial to job design. 

The measurements of performance capacities associated with human functions should conform to certain criteria. Details can be found in Brand and Crownshield [ 1981 ] and Chaffin [ 1982]. A general set of psychometric criteria is also discussed by Sanders and McCormick [1993]. It includes measurement accuracy, reliability, validity, sensitivity, and freedom from contamination. Meeting these criteria depends not only on the instruments used but also on the methods of analysis and the expertise of the analyst. It is almost impossible to satisfy these criteria perfectly, especially when the task is being performed in its natural environment (as opposed to a laboratory simulation). However, the analyst must always be aware of them and must be pragmatic in measuring task variables. Meister [1985] lists the following practical requirements for measurements (1) objective, (2) quantitative, (3) unobtrusive, (4) easy to collect, (5) requiring no special data-coUection techniques or instrumentation, and (6) of relatively low cost in terms of money and effort by the experimenter. However, these are not necessarily mutually exclusive. 

The mass spectrometry (MS) of nudeic acids (NAs) has a history similar to that of proteins and other biomolecules. Although earlier work had been made possible by field desorption and fast atom bombardment (FAB) and other ionization techniques, the field did not really take off until the soft ionization techniques of electrospray ionization (ESI) [1] and MALDI [2] became available. Even with the benefits of these new ionization techniques, however, the analysis of NAs turned out to be substantially more difficult than that of proteins and, as a result, MS-based technologies are not nearly as prominent in genetics and genomics as they are in proteomics. The widespread utilization of MS for NA analysis has been further limited by the competition of powerful techniques that can rely on amplification, hybridization, and fluorescence detection. MALDI-MS has found its place in these fields only more recently, and its performance must consistently be measured against that of the competing techniques in any given analytical task. 

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