I__. - International Military Testing Association

ASCII CODAP: PROGRESS REPORT ON APPLICATIONS
OF ADVANCED OCCUPATIONAL ANALYSIS SOFTWARE *
William J. Phalen, Air Force Human Resources Laboratory
Jimmy L. Mitchell, McDonnell Douglas Missile Systems Company
Darryl K. Hand, Metrica, Inc.
Abstract
The development of automated procedures for selecting job and task module types from a
hierarchical clustering solution and the interpretive software associated with these procedures were
reported at the 1987 and 1988 MTA conferences. Over the last two years, operational testing and
evaluation of this software has demonstrated its value in terms of enhanced analytic capabilities and
accelerated completion of the analytic process. This report provides informative examples and
experiences to illustrate how complex analyses have been accomplished by using the job and task
module type selection and interpretation software to extract, organize, and display latent bits of
relevant information from a COCAP database.
Introduction
The principal occupational analysis technology in the United States Air Force is the
Task Inventory/Comprehensive Occupational Data Analysis Programs (CODAP) approach.
This system has supported a major occupational research program within the Air Force
Human Resources Laboratory (AFHRL) since 1962 (Morsh, 1964; Christal, 1974), and an
operational occupational analysis capability within Air Training Command’s USAF
Occupational Measurement Squadron since 1967 (Driskill, Mitchell, & Tartell, 1980;
Weissmuller, Tartell, & Phalen, 1988). The CODAP system is now used by all the U.S. and
many allied military services, as well as a number of other government agencies, academic
institutions, and some private industries (Christal & Weissmuller, 1988; Mitchell, 19SS).
Recently, the CODAP system was rewritten to make it more efficient and to expand its
capabilities (Phalen, Mitchell & Staley, 1987). In the process of developing this new ASCII
CODAP system, several major innovative programs were created to extend the capabilities
of the system for assisting analysts in identifying and interpreting potentially significant jobs
(groups of similar cases) and task modules (groups of co-performed tasks). Initial
operational tests of these automated analysis programs were conducted and preliminary
results were reported at previous conferences (Phalen, Staley, Sr Mitchell, 1988; Mitchell,
Phalen, Haynes, & Hand, 1989).
Over the last two years, operational testing and evaluation of new interpretive software
has continued and these programs have demonstrated their value in terms of enhanced
analytic capabilities and their potential to accelerate completion of an occupational analysis.
Some of these programs have been released into the operational version of ASCII CODAP
while others remain experimental; i.e., they are not yet in final operational form. In this
presentation, we want to provide some examples of this continuing work. Such examples will
also serve to illustrate how complex analyses can be accomplished more expeditiously by
using the job and task module type interpretation software to extract, organize, and displ:ly
latent bits of relevant information from an occupation-specific CODAP database.
* Approved for Public Release; Export Authority 22CFR125.4 (b)(13).
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