Instructional design/Task analysis

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Introduction[edit | edit source]

Let's start off slow and simple. Imagine if you will the task of making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. If you can get someone in the house to make you a sandwich, please tell me how to do this!

Like I said, we're starting simple here. Making a sandwich is a task that is comprised of many little tasks. Those little tasks are called subtasks. Those subtasks are made up of even littler parts called elements. Think about it... find the bread, get a knife, and so on. This will be a sample task later in this lesson. If you can break down making a PB&J sandwich, you will be able to handle nearly any HTA.

With that being said, let's get on with the lesson!

As a side note, there are several forms a task analysis can take. For the purpose of this lesson, we will be working with the hierarchical task analysis (HTA). An HTA is also known as task-decomposition.


After completing this lesson, you will be able to:

  • state the conditions for using HTA.
  • identify the elements of an HTA.
  • state the procedure for conducting an HTA.
  • apply a rule that classifies content as a subtask, element, or step.
  • write a learning (performance) objective associated with the HTA.


Click Next to continue. The entire lesson should only take you approximately 20 minutes.




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