Step-by-step how-to
One procedure with minimum theory — a lesson people open when they need it.
Based on: performance support and job aids. Not everything needs to be memorised. For a procedure, people do best with clear steps they can follow and come back to at the moment of need.
When to use it
- Procedures: closing the till, reporting an incident, requesting leave.
- Onboarding steps.
- How to use a tool: a new system, an app, a machine.
How the lesson flows
| # | Card | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Card — When to use this | When the procedure applies and what you need before you start. |
| 2–5 | Card — Step 1… | One step per card, with a screenshot or photo. |
| 6 | Ordering | Learners put the steps in the right order. |
| 7 | Checklist | The whole procedure to tick off at work. |
Add or remove step cards as the procedure needs — most procedures have 3–7 steps.
Example
Reporting a workplace injury: when to report (any injury, even minor) and what you need. Steps: make the area safe, give first aid, tell your manager, fill in the form within 24 hours. Ordering: put the four steps in order. Checklist: the same steps to keep at hand.
Tips
- Start each step with a verb: "Open", "Check", "Send".
- A picture is worth more here than anywhere else. Add a screenshot of the exact button or a photo of the place.
- Learners can come back to the lesson any time from their My overview page. Tell them it's there.
- Add a Button card at the end with a link to the tool or form.
Where it comes from
In October 1935, the US Army Air Corps was testing a new bomber, the Boeing Model 299 (the later B-17). On a test flight it crashed shortly after take-off. The investigation found that the crew had forgotten to release the control lock. The plane wasn't too difficult to fly, but there were too many steps to remember. The response was not more training: pilots got a short checklist for take-off, flight, landing and taxiing. Checklists have been a standard part of aviation ever since.
The idea that the best help is support at the moment of work, not a course in advance, was put into words in training by Joe Harless and others in the 1970s (job aids). Gloria Gery then wrote Electronic Performance Support Systems (1991). Today the approach is often described with Bob Mosher and Conrad Gottfredson's five moments of need: when people learn something for the first time, want to learn more, need to apply it, when something changes, and when something goes wrong. A how-to lesson is meant for the third one, applying it.
Did you know?
- In 2008 the World Health Organization introduced the Surgical Safety Checklist. In a study at eight hospitals around the world (Haynes et al., 2009), deaths after surgery fell from 1.5% to 0.8% after it was introduced. Atul Gawande tells the story in his book The Checklist Manifesto (2009).
- A good job aid is meant to be used, not memorised. That's why the lesson ends with a checklist people can come back to.
- A job aid isn't a sign of weak skills. Pilots with thousands of hours of experience still use checklists.