The interactive dialog is a process by which you can generate position descriptions and other output products that are tailored to your specific TMC of interest. The dialog prompts you to input information about your TMC so that it can determine the set of KSAs that are required for a TMOT working in your TMC. The interactive dialog provides two methods for accomplishing this, the full dialog and the streamlined dialog.
The full dialog allows you to fully describe the TMC of interest by selecting all of the functions, composite tasks, and discrete tasks that the TMC performs. You can also create new functions and tasks if your TMC performs functions and tasks that are not included in the base set used by the tool. Each function has a set of composite tasks associated with it, each composite task has a set of discrete tasks associated with it, and each discrete task has as set of KSAs associated with it. Therefore, after you have selected all of the functions, composite tasks, and discrete tasks performed by your TMC, the tool can present a list of all the KSAs required for a TMOT performing those functions and tasks, along with detailed statistics about frequency, timeframe, and performance level for each KSA.
The streamlined dialog allows you to develop the complete KSA list without having to select every composite and discrete task performed by your TMC. You select the functions your TMC performs, and the dialog will then present pages of discrete tasks for those functions for you to select from. The discrete tasks that are presented are chosen by the dialog in such a way that the complete KSA list can be derived in a streamlined manner. The detailed statistics about each KSA will not be available, however. If you are interested in obtaining the KSA list and producing output products as quickly as possible, or if you are not interested in creating a detailed function and task characterization of your TMC, the streamlined dialog should be used.
From the Interactive Dialog page, you start a new full dialog session by clicking on the full dialog link that matches your preference for default values. If you select Start New Full Dialog (No Defaults), no functions or tasks will be selected by default. If you select any of the other "start new full dialog" links, functions and tasks will be selected by default to match the operations of the TMC on which the defaults were based. Clicking a "start new full dialog" link will cause any previous full dialog inputs that have not been saved to a profile to be lost. To view the full list of functions and tasks on a single page, see the List of Functions and Tasks page.
If you have started a new full dialog session in the current browser session, or if you have loaded a profile with saved full dialog inputs, a "Return to Full Dialog" link will appear. Click this link to return to the full dialog using your prior inputs.
The process for characterizing your TMC using the full dialog is as follows:
Select the appropriate checkbox (current and/or future) for each function that is currently performed by your TMC or will be performed in the future. Click on the function names to view definitions of the functions in the glossary. For more information , see the Using the Select Functions Page help page.
If your TMC performs functions that are not in the list, you can add new functions. For more information, see the Using the Create and Edit User Functions Page help page.
Highlight the function name in the list box and use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to adjust the order of the functions in the list. For more information see the Using the Prioritize Functions Page help page.
Select the appropriate checkbox (current and/or future) for each composite task that is currently performed by your TMC or will be performed in the future. The composite tasks may be displayed on multiple pages, depending on the number of functions you selected. For more information, see the Using the Select Composite Tasks Page help page.
If your TMC performs composite tasks that are not in the list, you can add new composite tasks to any function. For more information, see the Using the Create and Edit User Composite Tasks Page help page.
Select the appropriate checkbox (current and/or future) for each discrete task that is currently performed by your TMC or will be performed in the future. The discrete tasks may be displayed on multiple pages, depending on the number of functions you selected. For more information, see the Using the Select Discrete Tasks Page help page.
If your TMC performs discrete tasks that are not in the list, you can add new discrete tasks to any composite task. For more information, see the Using the Create and Edit User Discrete Tasks Page help page and the Using the Select KSAs for User Discrete Tasks Page help page.
You can create new KSAs and associate them with user-defined discrete tasks, and if you select those discrete tasks, the user-defined KSAs will appear in the KSA list. For more information, see the Using the Create and Edit User KSAs Page help page.
From the Interactive Dialog page, you start a new streamlined dialog session by clicking on the streamlined dialog link that matches your preference for default values. If you select Start New Streamlined Dialog (No Defaults), no functions will be selected by default. If you select any of the other "start new streamlined dialog" links, functions will be selected by default to match the operations of the TMC on which the defaults were based. Clicking a "start new streamlined dialog" link will cause any previous streamlined dialog inputs that have not been saved to a profile to be lost.
If you have started a new streamlined dialog session in the current browser session, or if you have loaded a profile with saved streamlined dialog inputs, a "Return to Streamlined Dialog" link will appear. Click this link to return to the streamlined dialog using your prior inputs.
The process for characterizing your TMC using the streamlined dialog is as follows:
Select the checkbox for each function that is performed by your TMC. Click on the function names to view definitions of the functions in the glossary. For more information, see the Using the Select Functions Page in the Streamlined Dialog help page.
The streamlined dialog will display specific discrete tasks that it wants you to respond to, in order to derive the complete list of KSAs for your TMC in a manner that requires less input from you than would be required by the full dialog. Select the checkbox for each discrete task that is performed by your TMC. The discrete tasks may be displayed on multiple pages, depending on the number of functions you selected. For more information, see the Using the Select Discrete Tasks Page in the Streamlined Dialog help page.
After you have characterized your TMC using either the full dialog or the streamlined dialog, the KSAs required for TMOTs in your TMC will be displayed on the KSA List page. On this page, you can review the list of KSAs that apply based on your function and task inputs, modify the values of variables in certain KSAs, and select the KSAs that will be included in your output products.
To select KSAs for inclusion in your output products, select the checkboxes for each of the KSAs that should be included. To modify a variable value, click in the text field for the variable you want to change and modify the value that is displayed. You can click the Update Page button to see your new variable values incorporated into the KSA text.
If the KSA list was generated from the full dialog, you can view the list of selected discrete tasks that resulted in the inclusion of a KSA in the KSA list by clicking on the KSA number. You can also adjust the performance level of the individual discrete tasks, which in turn determines the performance level of the KSA, on the Modify Performance Levels page. For more information, see the Using the Modify Performance Levels Page help page.
For more information on the full dialog KSA List page, see the Using the KSA List Page help page. For more information on the streamlined dialog KSA List page, see the Using the KSA List Page in the Streamlined Dialog help page.
Completing the dialog allows you to generate any of the three output products the tool can create: position descriptions, training programs, and lists of testable skills. For more information, see the Tool Outputs help page.
