Overview of Job Analysis

A job analysis is defined as the collection of data on job-oriented behaviors, worker-oriented

behaviors, behaviors involved in interactions with machines, materials, and tools, methods of

evaluating performance, job context and personnel requirements (McCormick et al, 1972). Job

analysis is “one of the most widely used organizational data collection techniques” (Morgeson &

Campion, 1997), but the true purpose of the job analysis is to assist in other areas of HR (Ash &

Levine, 1980). According to Fleishman and Mumford (1991), job analyses are designed to obtain

a description of job behaviors and provide a foundation for HR functions. Brannick et al. (2007)

state that job analyses are used for everything from creating job descriptions and developing

training to determining efficiency and conducting workforce planning.

Job analysis was initially conducted to improve the efficiency of workers. The first job analyst

was Frederick Taylor, known as the father of the scientific management. Taylor studied work by

breaking it down into its smallest identifiable components to determine the one best way to

perform each component and then compiled work into larger duties and, finally, jobs.

Merrit-Haston and Wexley (1983) and Veres et al. (1987) both show that a sound job analysis

can protect employers when management decisions such as performance appraisals, selection

tools, and educational requirements are challenged in court. If a job analysis does not support

these same management decisions, then the employer is likely to lose in court. The legal

consequences of a job analysis demonstrate the importance of research into the accuracy and

content of the job analysis.

Importance of conducting a job requirements Job Analysis – Senior Software Engineer

Job analysis is regarded as an important tool, and it is conducted particularly in the making of

decisions in terms of human resources such as listed below:

Planning of Human Resources – The planning of human resources is regarded as an important

aspect in identifying what educational qualifications, competencies, aptitude and personality

traits the Senior Software Engineer should possess in the implementation of job duties in an

effective manner and in meeting various job requirements.

Recruitment – It is the process of attracting, shortlisting, selecting and appointing suitable

candidates for jobs within organization. After conducting appropriate analysis of the jobs,

recruitment systems are put into operation within all types of organizations.

Selection –Selection of candidates is done on the basis of job analysis. When the hiring

authorities conduct job analysis, they are able to identify the traits that are vital for the Senior

Software Engineer to possess to carry out their job duties in an appropriate manner.

Training and Career Development – Job analysis provides valuable information in the

development of the training and career programs within the organization, aimed at providing

essential knowledge and enhancing the competencies of the Senior Software Engineer, necessary

in implementing job duties satisfactorily. It provides information in terms of what skills are to be

honed.

Placement and Socialization – After the Senior Software Engineer is selected and trained, they

need to be placed in suitable jobs. Job analysis makes provision of information in terms of

suitability of jobs. An adequate job analysis guides the process to socialize the employees to

develop amiable terms and relationships with all those persons.

Compensation – Compensation is referred to the information in terms of financial and non-

financial benefits that have been associated with the job. For instance, when the Senior Software

Engineer experience accidents or injuries, while performing the job duties, they receive worker’s

compensation from the organization. When they require medical treatment, the organization pays

for the medical expenses.

Employee Safety and Welfare – In order to develop motivation and carry out one’s job duties in

an appropriate manner, it is necessary to promote employee safety and welfare. When the

employees feel safe and secure within the working environmental conditions, they will develop

positive viewpoints regarding their job duties and working environmental conditions.

Performance Appraisal – Performance appraisal is the system that requires evaluation of the

performance of the employees. It helps to identify the limitations and formulate measures to

bring about improvements. (Kapur, 2020).

Data Collection Method

 Interviewing employees to find out exactly what tasks are being performed.

 Observing how tasks are performed.

 Having employees fill out questionnaires or worksheets.

 Collecting data on jobs from other resources such as salary surveys and the Occupational

Outlook Handbook.
The process of collecting information for the selected position – Senior Software Engineer

Sample: This analysis acquired data from 11 subject matter experts (SMEs) for the position of

the Senior Software Engineer. Participants included eight Senior Software Engineers, two project

principal investigators, and one project manager. Each participant work at Apple Inc. in some

capacity for at least one year.

Procedure: The method chosen for this analysis was the combination job analysis method, or C-

JAM (See Appendix D). SMEs were individually asked to generate a list of tasks, knowledge,

skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) that pertained to the job of a Senior Software

Engineer. (See Appendix B). Lists of tasks and KSAOs were created by consolidating all

individual SME responses, eliminating duplicate entries, and combining similar entries.

Although the tasks and KSAOs that went into the final list were all derived entirely from SME

input, O*Net descriptions were used as a reference for naming some tasks and KSAOs on the

final list. After creating final task and KSAO lists, they were sent back to the same 11 SMEs for

them to rate each item on a number of criteria.

Measures: The C-JAM method, as described by Levine (1979), contains several scoring

categories on which SMEs were to independently rate tasks and KSAOs. The scoring values that

were used for this job analysis included a Task Difficulty item on a 7-point scale (1 = “one of the

easiest tasks of all,” 7 = “one of the most difficult of all tasks”) and a Criticality item on a 7-

point scale (1 = “consequences of error are not at all important,” 7 = “consequences are

extremely important”).

KSAOs (See Appendix A) were independently rated by each SME. For each KSAO, the extent

that trouble was likely if the KSAO were to be ignored in selection (Trouble Likely) was

assessed using a five-point scale (1 = “very little/none,” 5 = “to an extremely great extent”), as
was the extent that different levels of the KSAO distinguish superior employees from average

ones (Distinguish Superior). The necessity of the KSAO for newly hired employees (Necessity)

and the practicality of expecting the KSAO in the labor market (Practicality) were captured using

yes/no responses.

Scoring: Data were scored in accordance with the guidelines established by Brannick et al.

(1983). Means and inter-rater reliabilities (rWG) were established for each item. For job tasks, the

means of Difficulty and Criticality were added together to create the variable Task Importance.

Tasks were then ranked from highest scoring to lowest. For KSAOs, the means of Trouble

Likely and Distinguish Superior were multiplied together to create the variable KSAO

Importance, as per Brannick et al.’s suggestion.

KSAOs that were not deemed necessary for new workers but were rated greater than a 1.5 on

Distinguish Superior were considered for training purposes. If the KSAO scored less than or

equal to a 1.5 on Practical, then all employees at an organization were suggested to train on it; if

it scored greater than a 1.5, then only those employees that were sub-par on it were required to be

trained.

Once tasks and KSAOs were finalized, SMEs reached a consensus about the relationship

between specific tasks and specific KSAOs, putting their results into a linkage table.

Preparing the Job Description of a Senior Software Engineer

The structure of the job description may vary from company to company; however, all the job

descriptions within an organization should be standardized so that they have the same

appearance. See Appendix C.

Job Summary:
The Senior Software Engineer will build computer software systems, software updates for the

newly launched iPhone 14, participating in the design process from beginning to end.

Reports to:

The Director, IT & Operations

Department:

Directorate, IT & Operations

Supervisory Responsibilities:

 Recruits, interviews and hires new staff.

 Oversees the daily workflow of the department.

 Conducts performance evaluations that are timely and constructive.

 Provides training and feedback as needed.

 Provides constructive and timely performance evaluations

Duties/Responsibilities:

 Constantly designs and develops software systems for the iPhone series.

 Creates flowcharts and other documentations to identify requirements for software and to

propose possible solutions.

 Applies computer science, engineering, and mathematical analysis to the software

development process.

 Coordinates with hardware engineers and other staff to forecast whether the design will

be feasible under cost and time constraints.

 Performs software systems testing with a focus on procedures and programming.

 Communicates with customers and clients to establish maintenance procedures for

software systems.
  Performs other related duties as assigned.

 Oversees the entire department.

Required Skills/Abilities:

 Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

 Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.

 Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.

 Extensive knowledge of software systems and programming languages.

 Proficient with software engineering tools and applications.

 Leadership and supervisory skills

Job Type:

Full Time

Education and Experience:

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, or related field required.

Preferably MIT (Masters in Information Technology)

At least 8 years of related experience required.

Salary Range:

$60,000 – $80,000

Physical Requirements:

Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer.

Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at times.

References

Ash, R., & Levine, E. (1980). A framework for evaluating job analysis methods. Personnel, 57,

59.

Brannick, M., Levine, E., & Morgeson, F. (2007). Job and Work Analysis: Methods, Research

and Applications for Human Resource Management. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

Publication.

Employment and Training Administration (DOL), Washington, DC. A Guide to Job Analysis: A

How-To Publication for Occupational Analysis. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED273802

Fleishman, E., & Mumford, M. (1991). Evaluating classification of job behavior: a construct

validation of the ability requirements scales. Personnel Psychology, 44, 523-575.

Kapur, R. (2020). Understanding Meaning and Significance of Job Analysis and design

Levine, E., Bennett, N., & Ash, R. (1979). Evaluation and use of four job analysis methods for

personnel selection. Public Personnel Management, 8, 146-151.

McCormick, E., Jenneret, P., & Mecham, R. (1972). A study of job characteristics and job

dimensions as based on the Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ). Journal of

Applied Psychology, 79, 262-268.

Merrit-Haston, R., & Wexley, K. (1983). Educational requirements: Legality and validity.

Personnel Psychology, 36, 734-753.

Morgeson, F., & Campion, P. (1997). Social and cognitive sources of potential inaccuracy in job

analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 627-655.

SHRM:https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/how-to-

guides/pages/developajobdescription.aspx

Veres, J., Lahey, M., & Buckly, R. (1987). A practical rationale for using multi-method job

analyses. Public Personnel Management, 16, 153-157.

 Appendix A

Table 1. Final list of Senior Software Engineer KSAOs and KSAO definitions.
KSAO Definition
Knowledge
1. Anthropology Knowledge of the basic tenets of anthropology, such as societal trends,
ethnicity, cultures and their histories and origins
2. Clerical Knowledge of administrative procedures such as word processing,
copying, scanning, and managing files and records
3. Database Knowledge of database management
management
4. English Knowledge of the English language
language
5. Language other Knowledge of a language other than English, such as Persian, Arabic, or
than English Bangla
6. Linguistics Knowledge of the basic tenets of linguistics, such as composition and
communication
7. Operate Knowledge of the use of relevant technology, such as telephones,
technology computers, and different software packages
8. Psychology Knowledge of the basic tenets of psychology, such as the principles of
cognitive and cultural psychology
9. Statistics Knowledge of basic statistical techniques and their applications
Skills
10. Active learning Understanding the implications of new information for both current and
future problem-solving and decision-making
11. Active listening Skills in active listening, or paying attention to and understanding
clients’ and teammates’ perspectives
12. Complex Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to
problem develop and evaluate options and implement solutions
Solving
13. Coordination Skills in coordination with clients and coworkers
14. Critical thinking Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of
alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems
15. Reading Skills in reading comprehension
comprehension
16. Science Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems
17. Speaking Skills in conveying information effectively and in an engaging way
18. Time Skills in time management
management
19. Writing Skills in writing, both by hand and via computer
KSAO Definition
Abilities
20. Deductive Ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers
reasoning that make sense
21. Inductive Ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or
reasoning conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated
events)
22. Learn new Ability to learn new information, such as different languages or the use
information of different statistical packages
23. Near vision Ability to see details at close range
24. Oral Ability to effectively communicate with others in person or over the
communication phone
25. Problem Ability to recognize when a problem may occur or is occurring
sensitivity
26. Written Ability to effectively communicate with others in writing
communication
Other
characteristics
27. Achievement/Ef Establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals
fort and exerting effort toward mastering tasks
28. Adaptability/Fle Being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety
xibility in the workplace
29. Analytical Analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues
thinking and problems
30. Attention to Being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks
detail
31. Cooperation Being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured,
cooperative attitude
32. Dependability Maintaining a high level of responsibility and reliability
33. Independence Developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little
or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done
34. Initiative Being willing to take on responsibilities and challenges
35. Integrity Being ethical and honest in dealing with others
36. Intellectual Possessing the desire to learn more about relevant topics
curiosity
37. Persistence Being persistent in the face of obstacles
 Appendix B

Task and KSAO creation instructions.

Job Analysis: Senior Software Engineer
In this exercise, you will create two lists—one of the tasks that a Senior Software Engineer
carries out on the job, and one of the KSAOs (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other
characteristics) associated with Software Engineers.
Additionally, you will receive a survey in the coming weeks in which you will be asked to
rate each task and KSAO on a few different dimensions.
Before you begin, take a moment to think about a Software Engineer’s typical day of work,
the tools and techniques they must use, etc. The lists you create do not have to be exclusive
to only your specific job; as you write, think of Software Engineers working in environments
similar to the one in which you work.
If you have any questions along the way, please email me at 123@gmail.com and I will get
back to you as soon as possible. Thanks again!
1. Creating task statements. List as many task statements as you can (aim for 40-50).
A task is an activity that you perform at work. The form in which task statements should
be written is as follows:
1. There is an implied subject of the task sentence—namely, workers, employees, or
managers. The implied subject is plural, not singular.
2. There is a verb that tells what function the employees are performing.
3. The object of the verb may be data, people, or machines, equipment, work aids, or
tools.
4. There is a phrase starting with the word “to” or the words “in order to” that gives the
purpose of the worker’s activity. This may be left out, however, if the purpose is
obvious.
In general, try to be as detailed as you can be.
Some examples:
 For computer operators:
o Forward e-mail to distribution lists to pass information from a single worker
to a specified group of workers.
o Replace paper and cartridges in printers.
 For clerks:
o Fold, assemble, and staple papers.
o Check documents for accuracy.
2. Employee knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs). List as
many as you can (aim for 40-50 total).

Employee attributes needed to perform the tasks generated in part 1 may be grouped into
types of knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics.
 A knowledge is the degree to which employees have mastered a technical body of
material directly involved in the performance of a job.
 A skill is the capacity to perform tasks requiring the use of tools, equipment, and
machinery.
 An ability is the capacity to carry out physical and mental acts required by a job’s
tasks where the involvement of tools, equipment, and machinery is not a dominant
factor.
 Other characteristics are interests, values, temperaments, and personality attributes
suggesting what an employee is likely to do rather than how well an employee can do
at peak performance.
As you are developing this list, think about the job of Senior Software Engineer as a
whole. Again, think about the work you do. One approach to generating this list might be
to create a corresponding KSAO for each of the tasks you outlined above. For example,
for the task “Proofreads and edits reports prepared by the project’s Principal
Investigator,” a corresponding KSAO might be “Knowledge of database, softwares.”
Some examples:
 For personal testing specialists:
o Knowledge of test item construction principles.
o Ability to communicate orally with confused or angry applicants.
 For water and fuels analysts in an electric power plant:
o Ability to work in standing, walking positions for long periods of time.
o Willingness to work unusual work schedules.
 Appendix C
The structure of the job description

 Job title—name of the position.

 Salary grade—compensation levels, groups or pay ranges into which jobs of the same or
similar worth are placed, including minimum and maximum pay bands. 
 Reports to—title of the position this job reports to.
 Date—date when the job description was written or last reviewed.
 Summary/objective—summary and overall objectives of the job.
 Essential functions—essential functions, including how an individual is to perform them
and the frequency with which the tasks are performed; the tasks must be part of the job
function and truly necessary or required to perform the job.
 Competency—knowledge, skills and abilities.
 Supervisory responsibilities—direct reports, if any, and the level of supervision.
 Physical demands—the physical demands of the job, including bending, sitting, lifting
and driving.
 Job type and expected hours of work—full time or part time, typical work hours and
shifts, days of week, and whether overtime is expected.
 Required education and experience—education and experience based on requirements
that are job-related and consistent with business necessity.
 Preferred education and experience—preferred education and experience based on
requirements that are job-related and consistent with business necessity.
 Additional eligibility qualifications—additional requirements such as certifications,
industry-specific experience and the experience working with certain equipment.
 Appendix D

C - JAM
 Combination Job Analysis Method (Levine, 1983) in part taken from:
 FJA
 Task Inventory/Comprehensive Occupational Data Analysis Program (TI/CODAP)
 Info on what gets done, how it gets done (legally defensible)
 Job Elements method (Human attributes needed for selection)
 KSAOs are developed and rated on importance for performance

 TASK STATEMENTS
 Tasks involve changing something
 Material, person, product, subject matter or data – from one form to another
 Written form:
 1. implied subject of the task (workers, employees or managers)
 2. verb (function performed)
 3. phrase to / in order to – (purpose of activity) …much like FJA
 More detail is better when in doubt
 About 30 to 100 tasks

 THE TASK GENERATION MEETING

 SMEs (5-7 incumbents and 2 immediate supers)
 Define tasks (about 50 each)
 Work independently to review all of them
 Lists are consolidated and finalized
 Or use a series of individual interviews
 THE TASK RATING MEETING (job in general, not specific positions)
 SMEs (5-7) to reviews tasks and combine if possible
 Each rates tasks on difficulty (easiest to most difficult) and criticality of consequences (1-7)
 ANALYSIS OF TASK IMPORTANCE
 Task importance = Difficulty + Criticality (range 2-14)
 EMPLOYEE KSAOs
 Knowledge – technical mastery of material needed to perform the job
 Skill – capacity to perform tasks using equipment / tools, etc.
 Ability – capacity for physical or mental act required to perform the job
 Other – interests, values, temperaments, personality (often focused on the ‘’will do”)
 THE KSAO GROUP MEETING (lots of meetings)
 Morning Session
 SMEs generate KSAOs for the tasks
 During the lunch break SMEs review KSAOs and have a beer or two (chillax a bit)
 Or Afternoon Session
 SMEs share KSAOs and review them
 Rate them for
 Necessary
 Practical to expect the worker to have
 Trouble likely (if ignored in selection)
 How well different levels of difficulty distinguish poor to superior performance
 ANALYSIS OF KSAOs
 To refine and develop the final KSAOs
 To include “Yes” or “no”
 USING THE RESULTS (training and selection)
 Majority needed to determine if
 Necessary for new hires
 Practical to expect
 Trouble likely if ignored in selection
 RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS OF C-JAM