Sequence Task and Duty Areas (Step 5)

DOE-HDBK-1076-94

and task statements does not take a lot of time, the results of the sequencing add

significantly to the quality and appearance of the final task list.

Before sequencing the task statements within each duty area, the facilitator should

provide the team with a rationale for sequencing them. Because a TTJA analysis is usually

conducted to provide a sound basis for later curriculum and instructional development, the

best rationale for sequencing is to place the tasks that workers would normally learn and

use first on the job on the left side of the wall.

The facilitator may ask team members to role-play the hiring of a new employee who

cannot perform any of the tasks on the chart. The members then should decide, area by

area, which tasks they would expect the employee to learn and practice first.

A few other factors should also be considered when sequencing the tasks. Some

tasks, because they represent parts of an overall process, are performed in a natural,

chronological flow and are very easy to sequence. Other tasks may involve activities that

are very difficult to sequence because the order in which they are learned or performed is

arbitrary. Sometimes they will discover two or more subsets of tasks in one duty area

that logically follow one another.

Usually, the facilitator should select the first duty area to be sequenced. Based on his

or her knowledge of what needs to be done, the facilitator can select an area in which

some of the tasks are already sequenced according to the criteria or in which it appears

that such sequencing may be readily accomplished.

An option here is to start with a duty area that has a clear space below it and simply

move the duty area downward and begin placing the task statements to the right of it.

During the task sequencing phase, the team may discover a missing task statement,

one that overlaps another, or some other need for revision to improve quality. The

facilitator should not permit major changes at this point, but some revision can be