Developing a program of study and writing the companion documents requires a detailed knowledge of the occupation for which a proposed training plan is being designed. To acquire this knowledge, specialists in the field are consulted in order to gather a variety of information such as the sequence in which occupational tasks and operations are performed, the relative importance of each task, how frequently each task is performed and under which conditions, the performance criteria and, lastly, the transferable skills and socio-affective behaviors involved.
The job analysis is a critical phase of the program development process, given the type of information required and how it will be used in subsequent phases. This information is particularly useful in determining competencies and defining operational objectives.