Method of critical events

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The method of critical incidents ( English Critical Incident Technique, CIT for short ) is a technique that records factors for particularly effective or ineffective behavior in relation to work activities. The method was largely developed by the US psychologist John C. Flanagan (1906-1996).

The procedure was developed as an observation method to represent critical events objectively and according to plan. 'Critical events' include behaviors that have a decisive influence on a result or situation (e.g. those that determine whether something will be a success or a failure). The events are not typical and not representative; they deviate from the normal and everyday.

The most important thing about this method is the triggering situation, the behavior of the people involved and the resulting consequences (success or failure). The data for the subsequent analysis is collected through observation or interviews by trained personnel.

Historical

The Critical Events Method was the first method to deal with the analysis of professional fields and the categorization of specific professional requirements. It was known by Flanagan in 1954 as the critical incident technique and was originally developed for selecting and assigning flight personnel.

application areas

According to its founder Flanagan, the method of critical events can be used flexibly and is not dependent on rigid rules. This flexibility enables the method to be used for different problems. However, it is mainly used in the context of work analysis and leadership research.

Exemplary areas can be found in personnel selection, personnel training or workplace design. The method of critical events is used to analyze and reveal promoting or reducing factors in relation to the success and their influence on the organization.

The data obtained are used to improve processes within the organization, for example by adequately training the staff or assessing whether new employees meet the given requirements.

Action

The questioning, observation or a combination of both starts with critical events. The test person is asked specifically about these events. It is important for the survey to identify critical events, i.e. situations that deviate from everyday life and are critical for the respective activity. The method only deals with events in which extremely positive or extremely negative performance has been observed.

At the beginning it must be determined which behavior is of interest. The circumstances and the intended goal of the method must therefore be clarified. In order to ensure a successful implementation, the development of the questions to the test person is crucial. Since the method tries to capture the situations as concretely as possible, behavior descriptions must be asked for as precisely as possible. This makes it possible to collect the knowledge of experts and use it for further decisions.

In addition to the specifically formulated question, the definition of situation parameters is another important factor for a successful implementation of the method in order to be able to adequately evaluate events and behaviors . According to Flanagan, external parameters as well as parameters of the observed behavior should not be missing when collecting critical events. The external parameters include the general description, the location, the people involved, the time and the conditions. Examples of the parameters of the observed behavior are the type of activity, the behavior and the criterion of importance for the goal of the method.

Interviewees are asked specifically about situations they have experienced from their experiences. They should describe the situation, the behavior of the people involved and the resulting result in as much detail as possible. At the end of the method there is a description of the situation and behavior. As a result, repetitive situations are analyzed and behaviors that lead to success or failure are derived.

The critical event method is usually divided into five sub-steps:

  • Determination of the objective in order to be able to assess whether the observed work behavior contributes significantly to the success or not
  • Planning of data collection (direct observation of a critical situation by trained observers according to clear criteria or conducting interviews)
  • Data collection of the events or behaviors that led to a good or bad execution of the order (definition of requirements for the described situations, implementation of the interviews, focus on the description of the situation and the impact of the action)
  • Evaluation of the collected data
  • Interpretation of the data material (defining categories and classifying and structuring the critical events, training employees to implement the analyzed, success-dependent behavior)

Purpose and use

Using the method of critical events, critical situations from past events are recorded in order to identify decisive behaviors and derive new knowledge for organizational development .

The procedure is well suited to ascertain very specific actions and processes as well as to determine actually effective (positive and negative) factors (causes, context conditions, effects) in very specific situations that are decisive for the outcome of an event. It serves to show undiscovered connections and thus to enable further development of the organization and the people involved.

Since the affected employees are actively involved, this method has a great advantage over other methods of work organization. It uses an inductive approach, whereby the information about the critical events is derived from the experiences of the respondents.

The knowledge gained can be used to train staff in similar situations and to counteract behavior that led to failure. The method is not about finding individual errors, but rather analyzing sequences with regard to critical behavior in order to avoid future errors and to improve processes.

Application requirements

The method of critical events assumes that the observed or interviewee is well versed in the relevant professional field and has practical knowledge. Often the respondent must have worked in the relevant area for a certain amount of time in order to be eligible for the method and its evaluation.

The time of the survey should be as close as possible to the event so that the situation and behavior of the people involved and the result can be reported as precisely as possible. Of course, the observer or interviewer should have experience with the method and have been trained in the field.

criticism

Critics of the method are of the opinion that it is not very objective, since memories on the part of the respondents and the observers are fundamentally subjective and are only reproduced selectively . A defined process and standardized procedure (for example by means of a professionally developed interview) as well as the use of several well-trained interviewers or observers increases the objectivity of the method.

Respondents follow the tendency that external factors tend to lead to failure and that success is favored by personal factors in order to usually bring about an advantage for themselves. A high number of cases is required so that relationships in the recorded critical events can be recognized. However, a large number of cases result in high costs, which has a negative effect on the usefulness of this method.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c cf. Flanagan, JC (1954). The critical incident technique. Psychological Bulletin 51 (4), pp. 327-358
  2. ↑ cf. L. Rosenstiehl (2011). Basics of organizational psychology. Basic knowledge and application notes, Stuttgart: Schäfer Poeschel Verlag, pp. 71–73
  3. ↑ a b cf. Blickle, Nerdinger & Schaper (2011). Industrial and organizational psychology. Berlin, Heidelberg, New York: Springer Verlag
  4. ↑ cf. Kirchler, Erich (2011): Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Vienna VTB Verlag, p. 248
  5. ↑ cf. Schwaiger, Manfred / Meyer, Anton (2009): Theories and methods of business administration , Vahlen Verlag, ISBN 978-3-8006-3613-6 .