Job Aids Basics, 2nd Edition

You’ve probably heard the term job aid before. If you’re a trainer, instructional designer, or someone who provides support to performers, you probably have experience developing job aids. Or, maybe you’ve read some of the literature explaining how job aids are such an effective and cost-productive means of providing just-in-time performance support, and they sound like a good fit given the time-urgent client demands you face. You may have heard references to performance support tools and quick reference guides and wondered if they’re the same as job aids. You may even be under pressure from management to create some “apps” to use on phones or tablets for people out in the field. Do those count as job aids as well?

Regardless of your reason, the act of picking up this book probably means you have some practical questions about job aids you’d like answered.

Well, the good news is that understanding job aids and learning how to design them isn’t rocket science. This book was written with you in mind. It’s an introduction to job aids, so you’ll know what they are and how they’re used. And while this book doesn’t go into detail about programming apps, it also looks at remote or web-based resources that enhance work performance.

Additionally, this book is a practical guide to designing and developing job aids. The material here focuses on delivering plenty of application advice, such as what type of job aid to use in particular situations and tips for designing specific job aids. Therefore, this book is full of job aid examples, as well as activities to help you apply what you learn.

As you read the chapters, you’ll start to notice a range of job aids in your world. In fact, you’re surrounded by job aids. There are plenty of job aids—both well designed and not—that you encounter in your daily life. Some of those job aids have been so integrated into people’s everyday routines that most fail to recognize them for what they are. That’s fine; one sign of a good job aid is that it’s accessible and easy to use when it’s needed, yet invisible or unobtrusive when it’s not. Part of your education about job aids can start by evaluating the job aids that surround you. Start by noticing some of them—on kitchen appliances or in your car—and think about how helpful or confusing they are, what design elements work or get in the way, and the degree to which they support a particular task.

Why Use Job Aids?

Job aids are designed to provide information to support performers on specific job-related tasks. Joe Harless (1996), in his work with the Harless Performance Guild, found that the majority of performance problems could be attributed to information issues. Job aids are designed to help address performance problems due to information issues. Therefore, job aids are likely to be an appropriate solution for a range of problems in most organizations.

Additionally, job aids are often a very cost-effective solution (Harless 1986) to many performance problems. In instances where an organization can choose from a range of possible solutions to deal with a problem, job aids often have the highest return on investment (ROI). This is because job aids typically don’t involve the costs of such other options as training, conferences, or various kinds of information technology (IT) tools. The U.S. Coast Guard (2003) found that most job aids can be developed 75 percent faster than training on a similar subject and that when job aids are available, the amount of time necessary for training is reduced substantially.

You create a job aid to improve performance on a specific task. But, the performance improvement doesn’t happen if the performers won’t use the job aid you create. In designing job aids, you should never lose sight of the performance context. Job aids that look great or have superb detail may be difficult for performers to use if they don’t want to appear ignorant to customers, or they might take too much time to access and utilize. They may also take up too much memory or bandwidth to be practical in the field; this is particularly true when we consider phone apps and web-based tools. So, you need to understand the performers, the situation they work in, and what barriers exist to using a job aid. Consequently, accessibility, ease of use, and unobtrusiveness are critical for successful job aids.

Job aids can usually be deployed much more quickly than organization-wide training as well. Even in instances where a job aid may not be as effective as another solution, on balance the job aid may still have a much higher ROI. Therefore, because of scarce resources and competition for your time, there will be many instances where a job aid will be the solution of choice for a wide range of performance gaps.

Take the example of office equipment theft. If employees forget to lock outside doors when leaving for the day, some office supplies or equipment might be stolen from time to time because the building is not secure. The company could invest in security systems and automated doors that lock after closing time. This would likely eliminate the theft problem. A job aid, such as a sign by the door, reminding the last employee to leave for the day to lock the door would probably reduce the problem, but because the job aid won’t be 100 percent effective (sometimes a person will forget to read the job aid or get distracted on the way out of the door), some theft will still occur. However, it’s likely that the cost of the security and automation system would be so much greater than the cost of the job aid that even with some reduced level of theft (rather than complete elimination of the problem), the job aid approach has a superior ROI.

Job aids typically have higher ROI percentages than other solutions. Because job aids typically minimize the amount of time performers need to be away from the job, even a job aid that only reduces (rather than eliminates) a performance gap usually generates ROI results that are much greater than competing solutions.

Even when a job aid isn’t the solution to a problem, it usually will be an effective way of boosting application and enhancing performance. Think of job aids as training reinforcement. They remind performers about what to do or how or when to do it—all things they were supposedly trained on. So to increase training application and retention, it often makes sense to provide a job aid to help reinforce what you covered during training.

Figure 1-1 is a job aid created by Timon Hazell, a computational design leader and speaker in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry. It deals with Autodesk Revit, a building information modeling design program used by engineers, architects, and contractors. The idea was to create a one-page job aid for employees to post by their computer after they’re trained on the program. Then, after one or two months of initially using the program, the job aid would no longer be necessary because employees would have memorized the keyboard shortcuts. So while the job aid is much more text heavy than what we’d typically use, it’s appropriate for this specific task—providing an alternative to a 100-plus-page manual that can be taped next to the user’s monitor and aid in memorization post-training.

Here’s another way to evaluate the efficacy of job aids: Compare how a job aid can clarify and remind a performer of details that are difficult to remember. For example, one organization had a problem with workers logging on to workstations to access a critical database. The problem was twofold. First, the data on the workstations needed to remain confidential and secure, so it was necessary to use a sign-on process to make sure that unauthorized users of the database were denied access. Second, because performers rarely needed to use that database, they tended to forget the login procedure. The result was wasted time, extra demands on the help desk, false alarms to system security, users’ inability to access the database when needed, and at least three workstations that were damaged or destroyed beyond repair by frustrated users who failed in their attempts to sign on.

The organization attempted to deal with this problem by developing a set of instructions for signing on to the workstation. When the instructions failed to solve the problem, it developed a job aid. Compare the instructions (altered to protect security procedures for the organization in question) with the job aid that follows and judge for yourself the value of the job aid.

Here is the text taken from the manual with instructions for signing on to a computer workstation:

All database workstations are secure and require multiple levels of user identity verification before the user can access the system or utilize the workstation. Prior to using the workstation, user authentication must take place. User identity must be verified by the user directly and individually by providing a user work number, user-specific password, and user name. For user name, users should be consistent with agency protocol. User number, user password, and user name will have been assigned prior to utilizing the system and refer to the employee identification number, the individually determined password, and the login name. The system logon sequence will also ask the user to confirm his or her identity. This is done by typing in “yes” at the appropriate place in the sequence. The sequence in which the data is entered is critical for security approval. Nor is there a need to hit “enter” for each data query. Instead, this is necessary only at the conclusion of each screen. However, all queries must be complete. Failure to respond to any requested data will result in a denial of system access. Occasionally access will be denied. This is usually because of data entry errors by the user in the verification process. None of the data queries are case sensitive, but users must be sure that accurate replies are entered to each verification query. Should access be denied, users will be allowed one additional attempt to authenticate identity. Subsequent authentication attempts should not be attempted. Repeated failures at authentication will shut down the workstation and alert corporate security of a security violation with the database. Therefore, users who encounter two verification failure attempts should contact security at extension 3244 prior to proceeding further or attempting to log on. This is necessary to prevent workstation shutdown, authenticate user identity, and troubleshoot potential problems with the workstation user identity process. Although most errors are due to user error, there are occasionally system errors that are not due to user entry. In such cases, only corporate security is able to resolve such problems. Be sure to enter all data accurately to minimize authentication errors.

Here is the material from the instructional manual in the form of a job aid that was produced on a laminated sheet and attached to the side of the computer monitor:

5. When the corporate logo appears on the next screen, enter your employee identification number (the number on the front of your badge).

7. You will be denied access after two failed attempts. Hit “enter” and you’ll be granted access to the workstation. Important: If you are not initially granted access, you can repeat steps 2-7 in order one more time. Then you must contact corporate security at extension 3244. Do not try to log on to the workstation after two failed attempts.

Practically all training that either involves a significant delay before the new skill or knowledge is applied on the job or skills that are used infrequently would benefit greatly from a supporting job aid. This is because people get rusty or they forget key details unless they use what they learned right away.

Notice several key differences between the original instructional manual and the job aid. The original instructions indicate that the sequence of tasks is critical. For example, if the user doesn’t enter the information in the correct order, then the computer won’t allow the performer to log on to the system. However, this information is buried deep in the original instructions and would probably be missed by someone attempting to log on while simultaneously reviewing their instruction manual. In contrast, the job aid uses numbers to indicate clearly that the tasks are to be performed in a specific sequence, ensuring that users do not skip material or jump around. Additionally, the job aid provides the content in the sequence that the user will need the information (login name, password, and then employee identification number).

The original instructions are a mass of text that is difficult to read, especially when trying to perform another task, such as logging on to the computer workstation. The job aid offered plenty of white space and eliminated much of the text for clarity. White space is critical if the performer is likely to be switching eye contact from the job aid to a task or tool (in this case, the workstation screen).

Less is more; job aids generally benefit from less text and less explanation. That’s because job aids are often meant to be used while performing. More text or explanation is likely to interrupt the task and detract from performance, and might also discourage the performer from using the job aid. That’s why it’s always critical to consider the situation the performer is likely to be using the job aid in.

Finally, the job aid was designed for just-in-time availability or multitasking. The content in the instructional manual would likely be forgotten by the time the user had to attempt to log on to the system because the training would have occurred months or even a year before the worker would ever need to use the database. The job aid was designed with the recognition that the person using the job aid probably would be attempting to sign on at the same time they were referring to the job aid. Therefore, the job aid allowed for quick understanding of key points and sequence while reducing the potential for confusion.

What’s a Job Aid, Anyhow?

If you’re new to job aids and don’t have an extensive background in instructional design or performance consulting, you probably have only a vague sense of what people mean when they refer to a job aid. You probably know what the concept of a job aid is, but you might not be exactly clear on what is and isn’t a job aid. Let’s take a look at what constitutes a job aid.

Job aids can take many forms, and they utilize a range of formats and media. Some examples of possible job aids are:

• a buzzer, bell, or alarm that goes off as a reminder of when to do something

Understanding Human Performance

Before diving deeper into what is and is not a job aid, it’s valuable to get some perspective about human performance. Ethan Sanders and Sivasailam Thiagarajan (2002) developed a model for ATD (based in part upon Thomas Gilbert’s behavioral engineering approach) that breaks down the six critical areas for identifying the cause of a performance gap and determining what solutions to use to close that gap:

1. Structure or process: This category deals with how the work and performers are organized. It includes company policies, reporting relationships, work sequence, work flow, job description, and organizational mission and vision.

2. Resources: This category includes any kind of tool, whether it be shovels, backhoes, computers, sufficient staffing, appropriate funding amounts, or adequate amounts of time for the work assigned. Resource factors typically involve getting more of a particular resource or improving its quality.

3. Information: This category includes having clear direction about priorities, receiving feedback from customers, getting timely and accurate performance feedback, and being apprised of meetings or other relevant activities. It’s important to note that information as a category is not about teaching the performer how to do a particular task. Rather, if information is the cause of the performance gap, that means the worker has the ability or skills to do the work but is missing some data that would allow them to use the appropriate skills to produce the desired result. For instance, you may know how to open a door, but the sign on the door informs you whether you should push or pull to open the door.

4. Knowledge or skills: This category includes providing various types of training, hiring smarter or more skilled performers, and redesigning tasks so they require less knowledge. It addresses the basic issue of whether the performer has the ability to do the job.

5. Motivation: This category includes worker burnout issues, incentives and benefits, unfair treatment or discrimination, and worker commitment to organizational purpose. Motivation has to do with whether the performer wants to do the job well or if there are other factors that outweigh incentives to perform. For instance, confusing situations or materials can be demotivating.

6. Wellness: This category includes work-related injuries, fatigue, mental illness, emotional trauma, and other factors that mean a performer is physically, emotionally, or intellectually under their usual performance levels. For instance, boredom may reduce alertness, leading to sloppy mistakes. Wellness addresses whether the employee’s health or variations in physical or emotional state could alter performance.

How would you use job aids to help with wellness issues? People working overnight, for example, are likely to be very sleepy near the end of their shift. With sleep deprivation comes forgetfulness. So a checklist reminding performers of key actions or emphasizing a proper sequence would probably be a good thing.

This six-part model is critical to understanding job aids. Job aids aren’t meant to close all types of performance gaps; rather, they are designed to provide information. Therefore, they can directly address only one of the six factors that affect performance. Now, it is true that a job aid could positively affect motivation. For example, if a worker receives a job aid, they might feel more confident and thus better motivated to take on challenging tasks. Or, a job aid might inadvertently provide a performer with critical knowledge that enhances their ability to do the job. But even though it might affect motivation or build skills, that is not the initial intent behind the use of the job aid. Instead, enhanced motivation or skills are a side effect of the tool.

Furthermore, just as it’s a mistake to throw training at a problem that is not related to knowledge or skills, it is also a mistake to use a job aid to address a problem that a job aid cannot solve. Therefore, one of the prerequisites to prescribing a job aid is to be sure that a job aid is the correct way to improve that performance problem. As mentioned, job aids are designed to address performance problems due to information issues. If customer service continually breaks down because the shipping process results in a failure to fill customer orders, creating a job aid will not fix the process and therefore won’t solve the problem.

While job aids address information issues (and not all organizational problems are information issues), they can be effective tools to help design workarounds. Specifically, if a process is broken or if the performers lack the appropriate tools—for example, if software tends to crash because it is outdated—a job aid can help performers work around those issues. A workaround is really no more than a temporary solution and not the ideal way to address these kinds of problems.

However, it is important to note that if you do fix this problem (failure to fill customer orders) by changing the shipping process, you may need to create a job aid to inform and remind workers of the new process. Therefore, job aids will often be a critical support tool for a range of solutions. An organization may change resources by upgrading computers, improve skills by providing training, seek to motivate by improving benefits, or enhance wellness by providing a workout room. Job aids may support any of these solutions: providing details about how to use the computers effectively, offering reminders about the training content or new benefits, and notifying people about the workout room use policy.

Performance gaps fall within six areas—structure or process, resources, information, knowledge or skills, motivation, and wellness (Sanders and Thiagarajan 2002). Job aids address only performance gaps attributable to information issues. However, solutions dealing with process or knowledge usually benefit from information provided by job aids. And job aids may indirectly help with other non-information-related performance gaps. For instance, you can use job aids to provide reminders and refreshers about training or new policies and processes being implemented to improve performance.

Jeannette Gautier-Downes and Allison Rossett (1991) have a widely accepted definition of what constitutes a job aid: It is “a repository for information, processes, or perspectives that is external to the individual and that supports work and activity by directing, guiding, and enlightening performance.” Several key points of this definition are important to understand.

First, consider the term repository. A job aid stores information for performers and then makes that information accessible or available. That’s the primary purpose of a job aid. Now, does a repository of information sound like a bookstore, library, or filing cabinet to you? Even though they may be places to find information, they aren’t job aids. Libraries, bookstores, and filing cabinets may have content that can teach how you to do something (knowledge or skills). They do provide data on a wide range of subjects, but for our purposes, a job aid is designed with a specific task or performer in mind. Many things can be repositories of data, but they are not necessarily job aids.

Second, think about the phrase external to the individual. Performers are asked to remember all sorts of information that is critical to their job. That is where job aids come in. Sometimes the stress of work or the sheer volume of information makes it difficult to recall key facts. Or it’s essential that the performer react consistently every time. Or workers may use the information so infrequently that it’s easy to forget details or jumble a critical sequence. Job aids can help with all these issues.

Third, the phrase supports work is what helps separate a job aid from something like a library. A job aid exists to support a specific task or performer, but it is not designed to primarily teach or instruct. It is not a repository of data that various individuals may choose to use in any manner that benefits them. Instead, a job aid is designed to facilitate a specific task or assignment.

Here is the definition of a job aid that this book uses: A job aid is an external resource designed to support a performer in a specific task by providing information or compensating for lapses in worker memory or skill.

How does this differ from the definition of Gautier-Downes and Rossett? The term specific task indicates that a job aid is designed to help a performer with a particular piece of work or assignment. Absent this distinction, it becomes more difficult to distinguish between a job aid and general data sources that have no purpose other than to be useful. For instance, a job aid can provide specific information relevant to a task, like a list of phone numbers to deal with escalation of customer problems. A directory of all company phone numbers, names, job titles, locations, and email addresses would still have those phone numbers, but it isn’t designed with a specific task in mind—it’s just a general information repository. Also, providing information or compensating for lapses in worker memory or skill emphasizes that it’s important that job aids be used only for performance problems that job aids can solve. At the point that instruction or training takes place, it’s migrating from a job aid to training of some sort. Job aids aren’t designed to improve motivation or teach people how to do things they don’t know how to do or can’t currently do. Instead, they address information issues.

These two distinctions (specific task and providing information) are important ones to make because they pertain to issues of design and evaluation. If you want to design an effective job aid, you need to be clear about its purpose and capabilities. Therefore, it is critical to target a specific task rather than look to produce something that is just a general resource without a performer or task in mind. Furthermore, the purpose of a job aid is to improve performance and thus obtain better results. So, it’s important to emphasize providing information as a means of boosting performance. Finally, by emphasizing the specific task and providing information, this definition highlights two factors that are critical to distinguishing job aids from tools and instructional materials.

Some have referred to job aids as “performance support tools” or “task aids” (Long 2004). There are many things that support performance or help people to do tasks. Practically any tool—from a bulldozer to a telescope to a wireless phone to a help desk—could be something that aids in a task or supports performance. Therefore, it’s not sufficient to argue that something that helps a performer is a job aid. That would destroy the distinction between a job aid and a tool. A saw is a tool, not a job aid. But a job aid might be attached to the saw, reminding workers how to change its blade safely. The term task aid might be a better synonym for job aid. And as previously mentioned, some organizations will use the phrase quick reference guide. In any case, it’s important to note that other literature sometimes refers to job aids as performance support tools, QRGs, or task aids.

Let’s move from the conceptual to the practical. Here are some examples of job aids and the circumstances where they might be appropriate:

• A recipe for a cake (to remind the cook about the appropriate amounts and sequence for the ingredients). A recipe won’t do much good if you have never baked before, but for someone with at least rudimentary kitchen skills, it increases the chance of a good cake with fewer wasted ingredients.

• A preflight checklist (to make sure the pilot has a safe and operable aircraft before taking off). It won’t teach you how to fly a plane, but for someone who is a qualified pilot, it will make sure you don’t forget something important.

• A list of password hints for a range of programs that you use on your computer. You already know the passwords but they’re easy to forget, especially for programs that may be used only occasionally.

• A grocery list (so you don’t forget to bring home the eggs for the cake you’re going to bake). You know how a grocery store works, but it’s easy to forget everything you need for this week.

• A facilitator guide for a trainer. Someone who knows the content and has taught the course before can benefit from the reminders about key points, timing, and instructions for course activities.

• A reminder about the day’s specials. It won’t help you wait tables if you’ve never been a server before, but it’s helpful when specials change daily.

• The instructions for the life vest under your seat on an airplane. Your flight attendant already told you how to put it on. But if you need to pull that life vest out, the stress from the moment means that a job aid on how to put it on and inflate it is probably essential. So a well-designed life vest will have instructions printed on it to remind you of what to do.

What do these job aids (and situations) have in common? They involve skills that the worker or user already has—you’re not being trained on how to bake or how to train a class or how to use a computer. They provide information (and reminders). And they recognize situations where a reminder will enhance performance and improve consistency.

What Isn’t a Job Aid?

You’ve seen information on what a job aid is. Now, let’s take a quick look at what a job aid isn’t. There is a tendency to confuse this distinction on the basis of format. For example, because many job aids may consist of a form, such as a checklist or a worksheet, it’s easy to assume that anything that looks similar must also be a job aid.

Remember that something isn’t a job aid because of how it looks, but because of its purpose. If it makes information accessible for a specific task, then it’s a job aid. But, if it instructs someone by telling them how to do something they didn’t know how to do, then it’s a form of training and deals with knowledge or skills. If the checklist doesn’t exist to remind a worker what to do but instead is a document that must be filled out to meet job requirements, then it isn’t a job aid but falls within structure or process.

Moreover, something that helps someone to do work better isn’t necessarily a job aid. Providing employees with laptop computers to take on the road might improve performance, but this solution is a tool, not a job aid. If it isn’t about providing information or aiding recall specific to a task, then it isn’t a job aid.

Let’s look at examples of things that might mimic the format of job aids but are not job aids:

• A job application form that someone fills out when applying for work. This is part of the work process—it helps the company review applications by standardizing information—but it isn’t a job aid. However, if the job applicant has an index card or sticky note listing key results from their previous jobs (so they don’t forget this information when filling out job applications), that list of key results would be an informal job aid. Just because some job aids use forms (to guide the process or remind the user of key points) doesn’t mean that all forms are therefore job aids.

• A checklist that is part of training materials (such as an onboarding or new employee orientation program). The content is presented in the form of a checklist as a way of highlighting and summarizing content, but all of it is new to the learner who needs to acquire these skills. Just because many job aids use checklists doesn’t mean all checklists are job aids—it depends on the purpose.

• A drop-down menu as part of a software training class. The software has a series of drop-down screens that provide instruction and next steps for learners. This is a form of training, similar to interactive content like knowledge checks within course materials. Techniques to provide advice aren’t necessarily job aids if they’re part of training materials for people who don’t know how to use the tool.

What’s the Difference Between a Job Aid and a Tool?

It’s easy to confuse job aids and tools initially. The distinguishing characteristic between the two involves their use. A job aid is a repository for information. It may have the effect of enhancing performance by improving user confidence. For example, an experienced speaker might have notes on index cards. The mere presence of the cards might boost the speaker’s confidence, but the purpose of the job aid (the presentation notes on the index cards) is to reduce what the speaker needs to remember. It is an unintended consequence that the job aid improves confidence and, thus, performance. The primary purpose of a job aid is to hold information so the performer doesn’t need to remember it.

A tool enables a performer to do something that would otherwise be undoable. Examples are a wrench used to tighten a nut, a parachute that allows someone to jump out of a flying airplane and survive the landing, or a software program that allows access to a secure network outside the firewall (so an employee can check corporate email while traveling). Even if the performer could do the task without the tool, the tool allows the worker to do the work faster, easier, or better by increasing precision or consistency. A tool doesn’t exist primarily to provide information or compensate for memory—that’s the description of a job aid. A tool might assist someone with a task, or a tool could even complete it for the worker, such as software that checks for viruses on a computer.

Job aids can be stand-alone items or they can be designed into a tool. Using the three examples mentioned earlier, a wrench is a tool, but if it includes a reminder printed on the side (“lock jack before removing lug nuts”) then it has a job aid included with the tool. If the parachute (a tool) includes an orange handle to release the ripcord (so someone jumping from an airplane can easily find the handle they’re looking for as they plummet to earth), then coloring that ripcord handle orange makes it a form of a job aid through effective visual stimulus. If the software program includes pop-up reminders to the user to log out when finished (so a “door” doesn’t remain open and provide a possible security breech), then that reminder is a job aid.

Is an EPSS a Job Aid?

EPSS stands for electronic performance support system. An EPSS is capable of being either a job aid or a tool. Some examples of EPSSs that are also job aids are:

• a file containing a list of task-specific phone numbers and addresses so performers don’t have to remember them all

• an electronic calendar or scheduler that retains meeting commitments so staff members don’t forget when meetings are scheduled

• a pull-down menu within a software program that reminds a user of the correct keystrokes for particular HTML codes.

The key element in all these examples is that the performer already knows how to do the work, but the EPSS aids in memory or provides information. In none of these cases is the EPSS providing a skill that the performer does not already have.

An EPSS can also be a tool and, therefore, not a job aid. For instance, an EPSS can be a GPS device that identifies exactly where the user is located by tapping into GPS satellite signals. An EPSS can also be software that automatically restructures a document to fit new formatting requirements, performs a word count, or analyzes sentence structure for spelling errors. In these cases, even if the performer had the ability to do this work without the EPSS, it serves as a tool either by doing the work for the performer (thus automating the work) or by allowing the work to be faster or more efficient. However, in these examples the EPSS does not compensate for lapses in worker memory. The spell-checking software is faster than a visual check by the performer not because of human memory but because the software tool can review the entire document faster than the human can read it. It is thus more efficient.

It is accurate to say that there is some overlap between job aids and EPSSs. But, not all job aids are EPSSs and not all EPSSs are job aids. The key is to discern the purpose: If it is to provide information or aid memory, then it’s a job aid. If the purpose is anything else, then it’s a tool.

Getting It Done

Now that you’ve had an opportunity to get some sense of what a job aid is and the potential value one can provide, review Exercise 1-1, which provides some additional things you can do that will position you for the rest of the book and allow you to apply what you have learned thus far.

Answering these questions can help you to find some job aid samples from your own life as well as possible opportunities. Later in this book, you’ll get a chance to practice developing your own job aids. A good way to start is by finding areas in your own work that would benefit from a job aid. That way you’ll be doing something that has immediate application, you’re familiar with, and will yield a practical return. The next chapter looks at different types of job aids and identifies which circumstances benefit from job aids.

1. Identify at least three examples of job aids that you use in your life. They can be personal or professional uses. If your initial reaction is that you don’t use any job aids, try looking in your kitchen or the dashboard of your car and you’ll find a range of job aid examples to choose from. What did you like about each job aid? In what ways were they cumbersome or poorly designed? To what extent did you need to interrupt a task to use the job aid?

2. Identify at least three examples from your work where a job aid would be helpful but is not currently available. Specifically, think of tasks that require you to use your memory or instances where you tend to forget important information that is necessary to complete the job.

3. Identify at least one instance at work where a job aid might have been a cheaper or more effective alternative to a solution (such as training, an organization development activity, job restructuring, changing of job duties, or automation) that was used to address a performance problem. Why would the job aid have been more effective or less expensive?

4. If you’ve got a smartphone, look at the apps and software you have on your phone. Identify at least one job aid that is embedded in one of the apps or software. And think of a job aid that would be useful to have on your smartphone.

1

Why Focus on Job Aids?

Why Use Job Aids?

Basic Rule 1

Noted

Basic Rule 2

Think About This

Basic Rule 3

What’s a Job Aid, Anyhow?

Understanding Human Performance

Think About This

Noted

Noted

Noted

What Isn’t a Job Aid?

What’s the Difference Between a Job Aid and a Tool?

Noted

Is an EPSS a Job Aid?

Getting It Done