Integrating cognitive task analysis into instructional systems development

Traditional methods for task analysis and training design, such as those embodied in Instructional Systems Development (ISD), decompose jobs into discrete tasks composed of specific action sequences and identify prerequisite knowledge and skills for each task. Although these methods have been effective for designing training for simple procedural skills, they offer little insight for analysis or training of jobs involving complex cognitive skills, which increasingly require training today. Because of this, cognitive considerations need to be incorporated into ISD, particularly in the task analysis phase. Recently, cognitive methods have begun to be used to conduct task analysis for training program development and human-computer system development. In this article, recent developments in cognitive task analysis are reviewed, and The Integrated Task Analysis Model (ITAM), a framework for integrating cognitive and behavioral task analysis methods within the ISD model, is presented. Discussed in detail are ITAM's three analysis stages—progressive cycles of data collection, analysis, and decision making—in three components of expertise: skills, knowledge, and mental models.