Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA) is a family of psychological research methods for uncovering and representing what people know and how they think. CTA extends traditional task analysis to tap into the mental processes that underlie observable behavior, and reveal the <a href="https://www.globalcognition.org/cognitive-skills/">cognitive skills</a> and strategies needed to effectively tackle challenging situations.

Instead, the idea of the critical decision method is to get experienced professionals to describe some of the toughest challenges they faced. By using carefully crafted probes, the CTA interviewer teases out how these people assessed situations and made decisions in critical moments of their experience.

Directly observing the behaviors of these folks gave me the insights I needed to tailor the solution. The same applies in a learning setting. Go watch that customer service agent <strong>IN PERSON </strong>and see for yourself what they are doing well, what they are not doing well, and what they might be totally missing.

The first question is obvious: What is the problem? However, answers will almost always be symptoms and not causes.

Continue the conversation by asking, “Which metrics are you trying to positively affect?”

You can accelerate right past symptoms by asking, “What are employees doing that they shouldn’t be doing?” or “What are employees not doing that they should be doing?”

Gain valuable insight regarding the timing of the problem by asking, “When did it first begin?” and “When does it occur?”

Get a clear picture of the location by asking, “Where does the problem occur?”

A simple way to initially assess the scope is by asking, “How big is the problem in measurable terms?” The measurable terms should be linked to the metrics that matter question.

“What questions should I have asked that I haven’t?” This question triggers the client to share any last minute details that are relevant to finding a solution.