case study on workload analysis

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Workload Analysis: Steps, Examples & Tools

Your team is your most valuable resource when executing a project. The ability to know who you need and when you need them for the project is what workload analysis is all about. As you can imagine, workload planning is essential for project success.

We’ll explain what workload analysis is and when you should be using it in your project. Then we’ll outline the steps you need to take for workload distribution, list some tools you can use for workload capacity and why it’s important. Then we’ll throw in some free templates to help with workload analysis.

What Is Workload Analysis?

Workload analysis is how project managers figure out how many team members they will need to properly execute a project. It not only deals with workload planning but also workload balance to ensure that no one person is overallocated, which threatens burnout and can erode morale.

Being able to see the workload of your team during the execution phase of the project is part of the monitoring and controlling phase. Workload tracking helps project managers reallocate team members as needed to serve the project and not overburden any one member of the project team.

Workload analysis is part of the larger workload management and is an ongoing process throughout the execution of the project. A project manager will always be tracking workload and analyzing workload to catch red flags and make sure they’re optimizing their team and not keeping anyone waiting on the sidelines.

Project management software helps with workload analysis and capacity planning. ProjectManager is award-winning project management software that has resource management tools to keep teams productive without risking burnout and poor morale. Project managers can view our color-coded workload chart, which makes it easy to see who is overallocated. Then you can reallocate your resources right from the chart to balance the team’s workload and keep them productive and happy. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

When Should You Use Workload Analysis?

Workload analysis comes into play most with two scenarios: optimizing current business processes and planning new projects. In terms of the former, resource allocation is crucial to keep business processes and operations running smoothly. They need to have the right resources at the right time to keep the business doing what it does.

Businesses risk delays and worse if they ignore workload analysis and think they can just assign their team’s work and not constantly be tweaking their workload to keep them working at capacity. The same is true when planning new projects .

When a project is approved, there’s likely already a plan and budget in place. But that project schedule needs to align with your resources and you have to know who’s available and when they’re available to work. Then, once assigned, you need to track their work and make sure they’re not overallocated. Without workload analysis, projects can quickly go over budget and miss important deadlines.

Workload Analysis Steps

Workload analysis starts by being able to monitor your team. But it’s more than just knowing what they’re doing, though that helps. You need to follow these steps to gain valuable insights into managing the team’s workload.

1. Identify Your Project Goals

The first step is to define the project goals. All projects have a goal and knowing that will inform the rest of the project, from start to finish. Without a clear idea of your goal for the project, you’re never going to accomplish anything and just waste time, money and project resources .

2. Define the Scope of  Your Project

To understand where your team needs to be allocated you first have to understand the project scope . This will help you see what’s ahead in the project and, in so doing, you’ll be able to create tasks that’ll inform the workload for your team.

3. Estimate the Resources That You Need

Resources aren’t only people, but raw materials, equipment and anything else that the team needs to accomplish the task assigned to them. Therefore, you need to forecast what resources you’ll need, which includes your team, their skill sets and nonhuman resources. The best way to do this is task by task. You can use a work breakdown structure to identify all the project deliverables and the tasks needed to deliver them.

4. Estimate Costs and Create a Budget

Now that you’ve estimated the resources you’ll need, it’s time to figure out how much each of these will cost. This will lead to the creation of the project budget that is part of any project. You’ll request those funds to deliver the project, therefore, it should be as accurate as you can make it. These cost estimations are particularly important because they will determine if it’s possible to hire more employees.

5. Create a Timeline

You have all the elements to create a schedule. Map your tasks on a visual timeline that starts at the beginning of the project and ends with its completion. You’ll want to link task dependencies to avoid delays, add milestones to help you track progress and give each task a start and end date.

6. Compare Your Current Resource Capacity With Your Resource Requirements

At this point, you can look at the resources you have and compare them to what your project requires. You might have enough resources, too many resources or not enough resources. This will determine if you have to allocate more resources to the project .

7. Assemble a Team With the Necessary Skills

Onboard the team you need to execute the project. They should have the skills that are required to execute the project properly. You’re also looking for a team that can work together, whether in the office or remotely. If they’ve never worked together, you can set up some team-building exercises to help them bond.

8. Balance Workload Distribution by Evenly Assigning Tasks

With the schedule in place, you can start assigning tasks to the team. Be sure to evenly distribute the tasks across your team. As noted above, if one team member is carrying too heavy a log it’s going to put a drag on the project and can erode morale.

9. Monitor Resource Availability & Utilization Throughout the Project

To avoid overallocation and to ensure that your team is keeping to the schedule, you’ll want to monitor your resource availability and ensure that you have what you need when you need it. Throughout the project, you can reallocate resources as needed to keep the project on track and the workload balanced.

Workload Analysis Example

To better illustrate what workload analysis is, let’s imagine a project manager in a manufacturing company who has been given a project to create 100 widgets. The manufacturing facility can produce a thousand widgets a day with a crew of 10, but the factory is already being used to create 500 different widgets.

The project manager will have to look over the resources available. In this case, the other project is using only a five-member team to deliver the 500 widgets. That leaves five workers unallocated. The project manager can take one of those five unassigned workers and get them on his project, which should be completed within a day.

During the run of those 100 widgets, however, the project manager will want to monitor the progress of the person working on his project. Maybe the project manager could put all five employees to work on the project and get it done five times faster. Maybe some of those unassigned workers will be assigned to other duties.

The project manager must keep an eye on the availability of the manufacturing crew. If there’s time to wait a day or longer, the project manager won’t have to allocate more than one or two employees to the project. However, if the availability of resources is limited, the project manager will have to figure out how best to allocate the resources and get the project done. That’s workload analysis.

Workload Analysis Tools

Our workload analysis example was simple, but it helps to wrap your head around the process. Of course, these calculations don’t need to be done by hand. There are workload analysis tools that can help. Here are a few.

• Workload charts: Displays tasks on a calendar grid showing each team member’s task allocation or workload.
• Timesheets: A physical or digital tool for recording and tracking the hours each team member spends working.
• Workload tracking dashboards: Monitors workload by converting data into graphs and charts.

Benefits of Workload Analysis

Being able to monitor every aspect of a project is a critical part of project management. You can control a project and keep it on track if you’re unaware of what’s happening on a day-to-day basis. This is certainly true with workload analysis and these are some of the reasons why.

Helps Avoid Resource Under- and Overallocation

Being able to keep your team’s workload balanced is essential for many reasons. If they’re overallocated, you risk burnout and an erosion of team morale, which is detrimental to your project’s success. On the other hand, if your team is underallocated, then they’re not working at capacity and being as productive. Workload analysis keeps an eye on allocation and allows project managers to apply workload balance.

Reveals Skill Gaps and Hiring Needs

Another benefit of workload analysis is that it provides a window into your team’s skill sets. You can tell if they need more training, which serves both them and the project . At the same time, by monitoring the workload, a project manager can see if more resources are needed to complete the work on schedule. They can bring this data to the executive team to show the need for new hires.

Helps Complete Projects on Time

Workload analysis is one of the tools in a project manager’s toolbox to deliver projects on time and within budget. Resources cost money. If your team is behind schedule it’s going to cut into your budget. The project might reach completion, but it missed its deadline and cost more than it was funded for. However, workload analysis helps to keep at least the labor part of the equation sound so teams are working at capacity and staying productive.

Provides a Healthy Work Environment

We’ve mentioned morale and the danger of eroding morale a few times, but it’s worth going into a bit more because it’s such an important part of workload analysis. If your team is unhappy, they’re not going to deliver their best. Overburdening them with tasks is a sure way to make them unhappy, which leads to an unhealthy work environment for them and others. It becomes like a poison introduced to the project and it infects every aspect of the work. Workload analysis can help to ensure the teams are working at capacity and sharing the load so that there’s no unnecessary jealousy.

Workload Analysis Templates

One way to do workload analysis is with templates. ProjectManager has dozens of free project management templates for Excel and Word that you can download to manage every aspect of your project, from start to finish. Here are a few to help with workload analysis.

Resource Plan Template

Before you can analyze workload you have to plan it. Our free resource plan template for Excel allows you to list your resources, the cost of those resources and then assign them on a calendar for weeks in advance.

Capacity Planning Template

Use our free capacity planning template for Excel to figure out how much production capacity you need to meet demand. It’s a useful tool for manufacturing, but any project can apply this free template for resource management.

Timesheet Template

Timesheets are one of the tools that assist in workload analysis. Our free timesheet template for Excel lists the days, dates, start time, lunch start and end times and more to track the amount of time spent working. There are also columns for regular hours, overtime and total pay.

How ProjectManager Helps With Workload Analysis

While templates can help with workload analysis, they’re always going to be dated. You have to manually update templates, but project management software is a more efficient way to manage workload. Our workload chart, as mentioned above, allows you to identify overallocation and underallocation in real time. But that’s only one piece of our larger resource management features.

Track Resource Allocation, Availability and Utilization

Our software has multiple project views that allow your team to work how they want. They also help with resource allocation. When a project manager is assigning resources on our robust Gantt charts they can see the availability of the team, including vacation time, PTO and even global holidays. This, with the workload chart and timesheets, can help them get the most out of their teams by tracking labor costs, allocation and more.

Monitor the Cost and Progress of Your Projects

Project managers need a tool to allow them to instantly see the progress of the project and the performance of their team. All they have to do is toggle over to our real-time dashboard and get a high-level overview of the project. Our dashboard is constantly updated with live data, which it then displays in easy-to-read graphs and charts that show project metrics, such as cost, time, workload and more. Unlike lightweight tools, our dashboard doesn’t require a complicated and time-consuming setup. It’s ready when you are.

Our software gives you all the resource management tools you need to manage your team’s workload and more. One of our multiple project views is a calendar that allows you to see your project plan month by month. You can add tasks, move tasks and use resource management features to help keep the project on track.

ProjectManager is award-winning project management software that connects teams in the office, out in the field or anywhere in between. They can share files, comment at the task level and stay updated with email notifications and in-app alerts. Join teams at companies as varied as Avis, Nestle and Siemens who are using our software to deliver successful projects. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

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Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Assignments

• Annotated Bibliography
• Analyzing a Scholarly Journal Article
• Group Presentations
• Dealing with Nervousness
• Using Visual Aids
• Grading Someone Else's Paper
• Types of Structured Group Activities
• Group Project Survival Skills
• Leading a Class Discussion
• Multiple Book Review Essay
• Reviewing Collected Works
• Writing a Case Analysis Paper
• Writing a Case Study
• About Informed Consent
• Writing Field Notes
• Writing a Policy Memo
• Writing a Reflective Paper
• Writing a Research Proposal
• Generative AI and Writing
• Acknowledgments

Definition and Introduction

Case analysis is a problem-based teaching and learning method that involves critically analyzing complex scenarios within an organizational setting for the purpose of placing the student in a “real world” situation and applying reflection and critical thinking skills to contemplate appropriate solutions, decisions, or recommended courses of action. It is considered a more effective teaching technique than in-class role playing or simulation activities. The analytical process is often guided by questions provided by the instructor that ask students to contemplate relationships between the facts and critical incidents described in the case.

Cases generally include both descriptive and statistical elements and rely on students applying abductive reasoning to develop and argue for preferred or best outcomes [i.e., case scenarios rarely have a single correct or perfect answer based on the evidence provided]. Rather than emphasizing theories or concepts, case analysis assignments emphasize building a bridge of relevancy between abstract thinking and practical application and, by so doing, teaches the value of both within a specific area of professional practice.

Given this, the purpose of a case analysis paper is to present a structured and logically organized format for analyzing the case situation. It can be assigned to students individually or as a small group assignment and it may include an in-class presentation component. Case analysis is predominately taught in economics and business-related courses, but it is also a method of teaching and learning found in other applied social sciences disciplines, such as, social work, public relations, education, journalism, and public administration.

Ellet, William. The Case Study Handbook: A Student's Guide . Revised Edition. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing, 2018; Christoph Rasche and Achim Seisreiner. Guidelines for Business Case Analysis . University of Potsdam; Writing a Case Analysis . Writing Center, Baruch College; Volpe, Guglielmo. "Case Teaching in Economics: History, Practice and Evidence." Cogent Economics and Finance 3 (December 2015). doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2015.1120977.

How to Approach Writing a Case Analysis Paper

The organization and structure of a case analysis paper can vary depending on the organizational setting, the situation, and how your professor wants you to approach the assignment. Nevertheless, preparing to write a case analysis paper involves several important steps. As Hawes notes, a case analysis assignment “...is useful in developing the ability to get to the heart of a problem, analyze it thoroughly, and to indicate the appropriate solution as well as how it should be implemented” [p.48]. This statement encapsulates how you should approach preparing to write a case analysis paper.

Before you begin to write your paper, consider the following analytical procedures:

• Review the case to get an overview of the situation . A case can be only a few pages in length, however, it is most often very lengthy and contains a significant amount of detailed background information and statistics, with multilayered descriptions of the scenario, the roles and behaviors of various stakeholder groups, and situational events. Therefore, a quick reading of the case will help you gain an overall sense of the situation and illuminate the types of issues and problems that you will need to address in your paper. If your professor has provided questions intended to help frame your analysis, use them to guide your initial reading of the case.
• Read the case thoroughly . After gaining a general overview of the case, carefully read the content again with the purpose of understanding key circumstances, events, and behaviors among stakeholder groups. Look for information or data that appears contradictory, extraneous, or misleading. At this point, you should be taking notes as you read because this will help you develop a general outline of your paper. The aim is to obtain a complete understanding of the situation so that you can begin contemplating tentative answers to any questions your professor has provided or, if they have not provided, developing answers to your own questions about the case scenario and its connection to the course readings,lectures, and class discussions.
• Determine key stakeholder groups, issues, and events and the relationships they all have to each other . As you analyze the content, pay particular attention to identifying individuals, groups, or organizations described in the case and identify evidence of any problems or issues of concern that impact the situation in a negative way. Other things to look for include identifying any assumptions being made by or about each stakeholder, potential biased explanations or actions, explicit demands or ultimatums , and the underlying concerns that motivate these behaviors among stakeholders. The goal at this stage is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the situational and behavioral dynamics of the case and the explicit and implicit consequences of each of these actions.
• Identify the core problems . The next step in most case analysis assignments is to discern what the core [i.e., most damaging, detrimental, injurious] problems are within the organizational setting and to determine their implications. The purpose at this stage of preparing to write your analysis paper is to distinguish between the symptoms of core problems and the core problems themselves and to decide which of these must be addressed immediately and which problems do not appear critical but may escalate over time. Identify evidence from the case to support your decisions by determining what information or data is essential to addressing the core problems and what information is not relevant or is misleading.
• Explore alternative solutions . As noted, case analysis scenarios rarely have only one correct answer. Therefore, it is important to keep in mind that the process of analyzing the case and diagnosing core problems, while based on evidence, is a subjective process open to various avenues of interpretation. This means that you must consider alternative solutions or courses of action by critically examining strengths and weaknesses, risk factors, and the differences between short and long-term solutions. For each possible solution or course of action, consider the consequences they may have related to their implementation and how these recommendations might lead to new problems. Also, consider thinking about your recommended solutions or courses of action in relation to issues of fairness, equity, and inclusion.
• Decide on a final set of recommendations . The last stage in preparing to write a case analysis paper is to assert an opinion or viewpoint about the recommendations needed to help resolve the core problems as you see them and to make a persuasive argument for supporting this point of view. Prepare a clear rationale for your recommendations based on examining each element of your analysis. Anticipate possible obstacles that could derail their implementation. Consider any counter-arguments that could be made concerning the validity of your recommended actions. Finally, describe a set of criteria and measurable indicators that could be applied to evaluating the effectiveness of your implementation plan.

Use these steps as the framework for writing your paper. Remember that the more detailed you are in taking notes as you critically examine each element of the case, the more information you will have to draw from when you begin to write. This will save you time.

NOTE : If the process of preparing to write a case analysis paper is assigned as a student group project, consider having each member of the group analyze a specific element of the case, including drafting answers to the corresponding questions used by your professor to frame the analysis. This will help make the analytical process more efficient and ensure that the distribution of work is equitable. This can also facilitate who is responsible for drafting each part of the final case analysis paper and, if applicable, the in-class presentation.

Framework for Case Analysis . College of Management. University of Massachusetts; Hawes, Jon M. "Teaching is Not Telling: The Case Method as a Form of Interactive Learning." Journal for Advancement of Marketing Education 5 (Winter 2004): 47-54; Rasche, Christoph and Achim Seisreiner. Guidelines for Business Case Analysis . University of Potsdam; Writing a Case Study Analysis . University of Arizona Global Campus Writing Center; Van Ness, Raymond K. A Guide to Case Analysis . School of Business. State University of New York, Albany; Writing a Case Analysis . Business School, University of New South Wales.

Structure and Writing Style

A case analysis paper should be detailed, concise, persuasive, clearly written, and professional in tone and in the use of language . As with other forms of college-level academic writing, declarative statements that convey information, provide a fact, or offer an explanation or any recommended courses of action should be based on evidence. If allowed by your professor, any external sources used to support your analysis, such as course readings, should be properly cited under a list of references. The organization and structure of case analysis papers can vary depending on your professor’s preferred format, but its structure generally follows the steps used for analyzing the case.

Introduction

The introduction should provide a succinct but thorough descriptive overview of the main facts, issues, and core problems of the case . The introduction should also include a brief summary of the most relevant details about the situation and organizational setting. This includes defining the theoretical framework or conceptual model on which any questions were used to frame your analysis.

Following the rules of most college-level research papers, the introduction should then inform the reader how the paper will be organized. This includes describing the major sections of the paper and the order in which they will be presented. Unless you are told to do so by your professor, you do not need to preview your final recommendations in the introduction. U nlike most college-level research papers , the introduction does not include a statement about the significance of your findings because a case analysis assignment does not involve contributing new knowledge about a research problem.

Background Analysis

Background analysis can vary depending on any guiding questions provided by your professor and the underlying concept or theory that the case is based upon. In general, however, this section of your paper should focus on:

• Providing an overarching analysis of problems identified from the case scenario, including identifying events that stakeholders find challenging or troublesome,
• Identifying assumptions made by each stakeholder and any apparent biases they may exhibit,
• Describing any demands or claims made by or forced upon key stakeholders, and
• Highlighting any issues of concern or complaints expressed by stakeholders in response to those demands or claims.

These aspects of the case are often in the form of behavioral responses expressed by individuals or groups within the organizational setting. However, note that problems in a case situation can also be reflected in data [or the lack thereof] and in the decision-making, operational, cultural, or institutional structure of the organization. Additionally, demands or claims can be either internal and external to the organization [e.g., a case analysis involving a president considering arms sales to Saudi Arabia could include managing internal demands from White House advisors as well as demands from members of Congress].

Throughout this section, present all relevant evidence from the case that supports your analysis. Do not simply claim there is a problem, an assumption, a demand, or a concern; tell the reader what part of the case informed how you identified these background elements.

Identification of Problems

In most case analysis assignments, there are problems, and then there are problems . Each problem can reflect a multitude of underlying symptoms that are detrimental to the interests of the organization. The purpose of identifying problems is to teach students how to differentiate between problems that vary in severity, impact, and relative importance. Given this, problems can be described in three general forms: those that must be addressed immediately, those that should be addressed but the impact is not severe, and those that do not require immediate attention and can be set aside for the time being.

All of the problems you identify from the case should be identified in this section of your paper, with a description based on evidence explaining the problem variances. If the assignment asks you to conduct research to further support your assessment of the problems, include this in your explanation. Remember to cite those sources in a list of references. Use specific evidence from the case and apply appropriate concepts, theories, and models discussed in class or in relevant course readings to highlight and explain the key problems [or problem] that you believe must be solved immediately and describe the underlying symptoms and why they are so critical.

Alternative Solutions

This section is where you provide specific, realistic, and evidence-based solutions to the problems you have identified and make recommendations about how to alleviate the underlying symptomatic conditions impacting the organizational setting. For each solution, you must explain why it was chosen and provide clear evidence to support your reasoning. This can include, for example, course readings and class discussions as well as research resources, such as, books, journal articles, research reports, or government documents. In some cases, your professor may encourage you to include personal, anecdotal experiences as evidence to support why you chose a particular solution or set of solutions. Using anecdotal evidence helps promote reflective thinking about the process of determining what qualifies as a core problem and relevant solution .

Throughout this part of the paper, keep in mind the entire array of problems that must be addressed and describe in detail the solutions that might be implemented to resolve these problems.

Recommended Courses of Action

In some case analysis assignments, your professor may ask you to combine the alternative solutions section with your recommended courses of action. However, it is important to know the difference between the two. A solution refers to the answer to a problem. A course of action refers to a procedure or deliberate sequence of activities adopted to proactively confront a situation, often in the context of accomplishing a goal. In this context, proposed courses of action are based on your analysis of alternative solutions. Your description and justification for pursuing each course of action should represent the overall plan for implementing your recommendations.

For each course of action, you need to explain the rationale for your recommendation in a way that confronts challenges, explains risks, and anticipates any counter-arguments from stakeholders. Do this by considering the strengths and weaknesses of each course of action framed in relation to how the action is expected to resolve the core problems presented, the possible ways the action may affect remaining problems, and how the recommended action will be perceived by each stakeholder.

In addition, you should describe the criteria needed to measure how well the implementation of these actions is working and explain which individuals or groups are responsible for ensuring your recommendations are successful. In addition, always consider the law of unintended consequences. Outline difficulties that may arise in implementing each course of action and describe how implementing the proposed courses of action [either individually or collectively] may lead to new problems [both large and small].

Throughout this section, you must consider the costs and benefits of recommending your courses of action in relation to uncertainties or missing information and the negative consequences of success.

The conclusion should be brief and introspective. Unlike a research paper, the conclusion in a case analysis paper does not include a summary of key findings and their significance, a statement about how the study contributed to existing knowledge, or indicate opportunities for future research.

Begin by synthesizing the core problems presented in the case and the relevance of your recommended solutions. This can include an explanation of what you have learned about the case in the context of your answers to the questions provided by your professor. The conclusion is also where you link what you learned from analyzing the case with the course readings or class discussions. This can further demonstrate your understanding of the relationships between the practical case situation and the theoretical and abstract content of assigned readings and other course content.

Problems to Avoid

The literature on case analysis assignments often includes examples of difficulties students have with applying methods of critical analysis and effectively reporting the results of their assessment of the situation. A common reason cited by scholars is that the application of this type of teaching and learning method is limited to applied fields of social and behavioral sciences and, as a result, writing a case analysis paper can be unfamiliar to most students entering college.

After you have drafted your paper, proofread the narrative flow and revise any of these common errors:

• Unnecessary detail in the background section . The background section should highlight the essential elements of the case based on your analysis. Focus on summarizing the facts and highlighting the key factors that become relevant in the other sections of the paper by eliminating any unnecessary information.
• Analysis relies too much on opinion . Your analysis is interpretive, but the narrative must be connected clearly to evidence from the case and any models and theories discussed in class or in course readings. Any positions or arguments you make should be supported by evidence.
• Analysis does not focus on the most important elements of the case . Your paper should provide a thorough overview of the case. However, the analysis should focus on providing evidence about what you identify are the key events, stakeholders, issues, and problems. Emphasize what you identify as the most critical aspects of the case to be developed throughout your analysis. Be thorough but succinct.
• Writing is too descriptive . A paper with too much descriptive information detracts from your analysis of the complexities of the case situation. Questions about what happened, where, when, and by whom should only be included as essential information leading to your examination of questions related to why, how, and for what purpose.
• Inadequate definition of a core problem and associated symptoms . A common error found in case analysis papers is recommending a solution or course of action without adequately defining or demonstrating that you understand the problem. Make sure you have clearly described the problem and its impact and scope within the organizational setting. Ensure that you have adequately described the root causes w hen describing the symptoms of the problem.
• Recommendations lack specificity . Identify any use of vague statements and indeterminate terminology, such as, “A particular experience” or “a large increase to the budget.” These statements cannot be measured and, as a result, there is no way to evaluate their successful implementation. Provide specific data and use direct language in describing recommended actions.
• Unrealistic, exaggerated, or unattainable recommendations . Review your recommendations to ensure that they are based on the situational facts of the case. Your recommended solutions and courses of action must be based on realistic assumptions and fit within the constraints of the situation. Also note that the case scenario has already happened, therefore, any speculation or arguments about what could have occurred if the circumstances were different should be revised or eliminated.

Bee, Lian Song et al. "Business Students' Perspectives on Case Method Coaching for Problem-Based Learning: Impacts on Student Engagement and Learning Performance in Higher Education." Education & Training 64 (2022): 416-432; The Case Analysis . Fred Meijer Center for Writing and Michigan Authors. Grand Valley State University; Georgallis, Panikos and Kayleigh Bruijn. "Sustainability Teaching using Case-Based Debates." Journal of International Education in Business 15 (2022): 147-163; Hawes, Jon M. "Teaching is Not Telling: The Case Method as a Form of Interactive Learning." Journal for Advancement of Marketing Education 5 (Winter 2004): 47-54; Georgallis, Panikos, and Kayleigh Bruijn. "Sustainability Teaching Using Case-based Debates." Journal of International Education in Business 15 (2022): 147-163; .Dean,  Kathy Lund and Charles J. Fornaciari. "How to Create and Use Experiential Case-Based Exercises in a Management Classroom." Journal of Management Education 26 (October 2002): 586-603; Klebba, Joanne M. and Janet G. Hamilton. "Structured Case Analysis: Developing Critical Thinking Skills in a Marketing Case Course." Journal of Marketing Education 29 (August 2007): 132-137, 139; Klein, Norman. "The Case Discussion Method Revisited: Some Questions about Student Skills." Exchange: The Organizational Behavior Teaching Journal 6 (November 1981): 30-32; Mukherjee, Arup. "Effective Use of In-Class Mini Case Analysis for Discovery Learning in an Undergraduate MIS Course." The Journal of Computer Information Systems 40 (Spring 2000): 15-23; Pessoa, Silviaet al. "Scaffolding the Case Analysis in an Organizational Behavior Course: Making Analytical Language Explicit." Journal of Management Education 46 (2022): 226-251: Ramsey, V. J. and L. D. Dodge. "Case Analysis: A Structured Approach." Exchange: The Organizational Behavior Teaching Journal 6 (November 1981): 27-29; Schweitzer, Karen. "How to Write and Format a Business Case Study." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/how-to-write-and-format-a-business-case-study-466324 (accessed December 5, 2022); Reddy, C. D. "Teaching Research Methodology: Everything's a Case." Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods 18 (December 2020): 178-188; Volpe, Guglielmo. "Case Teaching in Economics: History, Practice and Evidence." Cogent Economics and Finance 3 (December 2015). doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2015.1120977.

Writing Tip

Ca se Study and Case Analysis Are Not the Same!

Confusion often exists between what it means to write a paper that uses a case study research design and writing a paper that analyzes a case; they are two different types of approaches to learning in the social and behavioral sciences. Professors as well as educational researchers contribute to this confusion because they often use the term "case study" when describing the subject of analysis for a case analysis paper. But you are not studying a case for the purpose of generating a comprehensive, multi-faceted understanding of a research problem. R ather, you are critically analyzing a specific scenario to argue logically for recommended solutions and courses of action that lead to optimal outcomes applicable to professional practice.

To avoid any confusion, here are twelve characteristics that delineate the differences between writing a paper using the case study research method and writing a case analysis paper:

• Case study is a method of in-depth research and rigorous inquiry ; case analysis is a reliable method of teaching and learning . A case study is a modality of research that investigates a phenomenon for the purpose of creating new knowledge, solving a problem, or testing a hypothesis using empirical evidence derived from the case being studied. Often, the results are used to generalize about a larger population or within a wider context. The writing adheres to the traditional standards of a scholarly research study. A case analysis is a pedagogical tool used to teach students how to reflect and think critically about a practical, real-life problem in an organizational setting.
• The researcher is responsible for identifying the case to study; a case analysis is assigned by your professor . As the researcher, you choose the case study to investigate in support of obtaining new knowledge and understanding about the research problem. The case in a case analysis assignment is almost always provided, and sometimes written, by your professor and either given to every student in class to analyze individually or to a small group of students, or students select a case to analyze from a predetermined list.
• A case study is indeterminate and boundless; a case analysis is predetermined and confined . A case study can be almost anything [see item 9 below] as long as it relates directly to examining the research problem. This relationship is the only limit to what a researcher can choose as the subject of their case study. The content of a case analysis is determined by your professor and its parameters are well-defined and limited to elucidating insights of practical value applied to practice.
• Case study is fact-based and describes actual events or situations; case analysis can be entirely fictional or adapted from an actual situation . The entire content of a case study must be grounded in reality to be a valid subject of investigation in an empirical research study. A case analysis only needs to set the stage for critically examining a situation in practice and, therefore, can be entirely fictional or adapted, all or in-part, from an actual situation.
• Research using a case study method must adhere to principles of intellectual honesty and academic integrity; a case analysis scenario can include misleading or false information . A case study paper must report research objectively and factually to ensure that any findings are understood to be logically correct and trustworthy. A case analysis scenario may include misleading or false information intended to deliberately distract from the central issues of the case. The purpose is to teach students how to sort through conflicting or useless information in order to come up with the preferred solution. Any use of misleading or false information in academic research is considered unethical.
• Case study is linked to a research problem; case analysis is linked to a practical situation or scenario . In the social sciences, the subject of an investigation is most often framed as a problem that must be researched in order to generate new knowledge leading to a solution. Case analysis narratives are grounded in real life scenarios for the purpose of examining the realities of decision-making behavior and processes within organizational settings. A case analysis assignments include a problem or set of problems to be analyzed. However, the goal is centered around the act of identifying and evaluating courses of action leading to best possible outcomes.
• The purpose of a case study is to create new knowledge through research; the purpose of a case analysis is to teach new understanding . Case studies are a choice of methodological design intended to create new knowledge about resolving a research problem. A case analysis is a mode of teaching and learning intended to create new understanding and an awareness of uncertainty applied to practice through acts of critical thinking and reflection.
• A case study seeks to identify the best possible solution to a research problem; case analysis can have an indeterminate set of solutions or outcomes . Your role in studying a case is to discover the most logical, evidence-based ways to address a research problem. A case analysis assignment rarely has a single correct answer because one of the goals is to force students to confront the real life dynamics of uncertainly, ambiguity, and missing or conflicting information within professional practice. Under these conditions, a perfect outcome or solution almost never exists.
• Case study is unbounded and relies on gathering external information; case analysis is a self-contained subject of analysis . The scope of a case study chosen as a method of research is bounded. However, the researcher is free to gather whatever information and data is necessary to investigate its relevance to understanding the research problem. For a case analysis assignment, your professor will often ask you to examine solutions or recommended courses of action based solely on facts and information from the case.
• Case study can be a person, place, object, issue, event, condition, or phenomenon; a case analysis is a carefully constructed synopsis of events, situations, and behaviors . The research problem dictates the type of case being studied and, therefore, the design can encompass almost anything tangible as long as it fulfills the objective of generating new knowledge and understanding. A case analysis is in the form of a narrative containing descriptions of facts, situations, processes, rules, and behaviors within a particular setting and under a specific set of circumstances.
• Case study can represent an open-ended subject of inquiry; a case analysis is a narrative about something that has happened in the past . A case study is not restricted by time and can encompass an event or issue with no temporal limit or end. For example, the current war in Ukraine can be used as a case study of how medical personnel help civilians during a large military conflict, even though circumstances around this event are still evolving. A case analysis can be used to elicit critical thinking about current or future situations in practice, but the case itself is a narrative about something finite and that has taken place in the past.
• Multiple case studies can be used in a research study; case analysis involves examining a single scenario . Case study research can use two or more cases to examine a problem, often for the purpose of conducting a comparative investigation intended to discover hidden relationships, document emerging trends, or determine variations among different examples. A case analysis assignment typically describes a stand-alone, self-contained situation and any comparisons among cases are conducted during in-class discussions and/or student presentations.

The Case Analysis . Fred Meijer Center for Writing and Michigan Authors. Grand Valley State University; Mills, Albert J. , Gabrielle Durepos, and Eiden Wiebe, editors. Encyclopedia of Case Study Research . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2010; Ramsey, V. J. and L. D. Dodge. "Case Analysis: A Structured Approach." Exchange: The Organizational Behavior Teaching Journal 6 (November 1981): 27-29; Yin, Robert K. Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods . 6th edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2017; Crowe, Sarah et al. “The Case Study Approach.” BMC Medical Research Methodology 11 (2011):  doi: 10.1186/1471-2288-11-100; Yin, Robert K. Case Study Research: Design and Methods . 4th edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishing; 1994.

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Workload Analysis Means Improved Productivity: A Complete Process for Professionals

Thanks to workload analysis, your project can avoid delays and conflicts in dependencies before it even starts. Here's how you can make it a part of your resource management methods in a blink of an eye!

Arkadiusz Terpiłowski

Table of contents

Get proven tips on optimizing workload, project delivery, and finances - monthly.

What is workload analysis? Definition

A workload analysis, also known as workload assessment or workload evaluation, is a process of systematically examining and understanding the demands and requirements of tasks and activities performed within a particular job, role, or organization.

What is the main objective of the implementation of workload analysis?

The goal of workload analysis is to gain insights into how employees or resources are utilized, identify potential areas of improvement, and ensure that the workload is balanced and manageable for individuals and teams working on task scenarios.

How can workload analysis help you manage the current workload?

Workload analysis methods are not just another slogan - they can really help you manage all the data you need to plan your resources without schedule conflicts . Here are a few things you can achieve with this process.

Resource optimization

Resource optimization, or workforce optimization , is one of the leading performance-based techniques of managing people without stress or conflicts. By understanding workload distribution, organizations can allocate resources more effectively. This includes assigning tasks to the right individuals based on their skills and expertise, which can lead to improved productivity and performance.

Improved productivity

Workload analysis helps identify inefficiencies and bottlenecks in processes, allowing organizations to streamline workflows and increase overall productivity. By focusing on high-priority tasks, teams can achieve more in less time.

Reduced overtime and costs

An optimized workload can reduce overtime expenses, as employees can complete their tasks within regular working hours. It can also minimize the need for hiring additional staff, leading to cost savings.

Improved risk management

Overloaded employees may be more prone to errors and mistakes, which can result in costly rework or compromised quality. By managing workloads effectively, organizations can reduce the risk of errors and maintain higher quality standards.

Workload analysis template: an example of a perfect process

If you want to measure the mental workload of your employees, you do not need various physiological techniques - you just need a perfect process for monitoring user's performance.

Step 1: Identify and sort tasks

Create a project scope to get a better understanding of what lies ahead. In the process, outline all the tasks and activities that make up the job or project. Using the information on the workload, create task lists for each stage of the project.

Then, categorize tasks based on their nature, complexity, and priority. Some tasks may be routine and repetitive, while others may require special skills or involve decision-making. Do not be afraid of using some subjective measures when necessary, especially in case of dependencies - sometimes, your experience in managing such responsibilities might be more valuable than any reports.

Step 2: Measure the workload for each task

At this stage of planning team workload, you should try to measure the amount of either mental or physical work you will need to distribute among your employees. To do so, measure the volume of work being generated within a specific period, such as a day, week, or month. This can help determine the overall workload.

At the same time, evaluate the complexity of different tasks and how they may impact the time and effort required to complete them. You should also measure workload of each task and determine the time your team will need to complete them. Using such simple, primary task measurements should provide you with all the information you will need for your resource management plan - including the crucial information on how many people your project requires to make any progress.

Step 3: Determine the capacity of your resources

Before you create a project schedule , you should focus a little more on your team's availability . To do so, assess the capacity and capability of the workforce to handle the current workload effectively. This includes considering factors like skills, experience, and expertise. Still, first and foremost, the team members you wish to choose for the job should match primary task measurements in terms of their availability; otherwise, the tasks might be left with no hours of work done to complete them!

Step 4: Find obstacles and bottlenecks

Let's face it: your team's brain activity, performance, and efficiency will drop when it has too many tasks on its hands. Fortunately, you do not need to monitor employees' eye activity, body movement or heart rate to tell when they are struggling; you simply need to anticipate any obstacles and solve them before your team demands a break from overtime.

At this point, evaluate the potential stress and fatigue factors associated with the workload. Check whether any overlapping projects might interfere with your operations (especially with their expected duration). If necessary, make a query to other managers to see what their plans are and whether or not they might affect the work of your department.

For the sake of accuracy, we strongly recommend using a resource management tool in this process. Such software can automatically combine the data from different operations and reflect the actual situation in the department. In the same time, they can notify project managers about mistakes in their plans while saving them from endless paperwork - just like shown in the example below.

Step 5: Allocate resources

Based on the workload analysis, make informed decisions about resource allocation, such as staffing levels, task assignments, and prioritization. Importantly, you should create visual tasks in Gantt charts or other designated tools to allow for continuous monitoring of the planned work and avoiding mistakes in workload assessment.

Step 6: Monitor the subjective workload measures for your project

Of course, the work on your workload analysis does not stop when your basic workload analysis is over. The performance-based techniques such as this one rely on constant monitoring of the project and user's performance, as the data can later be used to develop new solutions for existing problems.

To do so with a high degree of accuracy and combine many fields of work (i.e., resources, finances, projects, performance, and more), we highly recommend using the designated tool for the workload assessment - such as Primetric. This software can provide project managers with information on:

• the execution of each employee's responsibilities,
• the performance of the entire project,
• the status of each of the tasks,
• financial data of the project and work done in it,

...and more.

As a result, such tools can help you analyze all the crucial elements of workload analysis without any additional mental workload for the managers.

Do you want to learn more about workload analysis?

We've got you covered!

Visit our blog to learn more about resource management in our articles about:

• calculating team utilization ,
• good employee utilization rate ,
• resource forecasting ,
• efficient workload management process ,
• resource management process . 

Arkadiusz is Head of Growth and Co-founder at Primetric. Prior to that, Arkadiusz was at the helm of his own software development company where he oversaw operations. A great enthusiast of process improvements, his personal mission is to make software companies more profitable and efficient on their path to growth.

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Workload Analysis Step by Step

Understanding how to manage workloads effectively has become paramount in a world driven by productivity and efficiency. The challenge lies in allocating tasks and projects to ensure optimal resource utilization while maintaining employee well-being. 

This guide dives deep into workload analysis , its significance, and a step-by-step process to conduct it successfully — shedding light on how businesses can weather the complexities of modern work dynamics and thrive in them. Lastly, you’ll learn about the crucial role of time tracking in conducting a successful workload analysis and which are the best time tracking solutions. 

How much time does your team spend on specific tasks?

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What is workload analysis?

Workload analysis is the systematic process of evaluating and distributing tasks and projects among employees to achieve a balance between productivity, quality, and employee satisfaction.

As such, workload analysis involves assessing the work, time, and effort required for each task and determining the most effective way to allocate these tasks to the available workforce.

This analysis helps organizations make informed decisions about staffing levels, resource allocation, process optimization, and overall efficiency.

Read also: The best team workload management tools

5 reasons why workload analysis is important

Workload analysis is crucial for maintaining a healthy, efficient, and productive organization. It impacts various aspects of a company or team, from employee well-being to resource management and decision-making, ultimately contributing to its overall success.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the reasons why workload analysis is essential :

1. Optimizing resource allocation

Workload analysis helps organizations allocate resources more efficiently , such as staff, time, and budget. This ensures that resources are utilized effectively, reducing waste and increasing productivity.

Read also: How to measure team effectiveness

2. Balancing work

By analyzing workload, companies can identify areas where work is unevenly distributed. This allows them to redistribute tasks or adjust staffing levels to achieve a better balance. This, in turn, helps prevent overworked employees and burnout in employees.

3. Forecasting and planning

Workload analysis provides valuable insights for forecasting future workload demands. This helps you prepare for changes, such as increased business activity, new projects, or shifts in priorities, ensuring they can adapt and remain competitive.

4. Employee well-being

An excessive workload can lead to employee stress, fatigue, and burnout. By conducting workload analysis, businesses can identify when employees are overloaded and take proactive measures to ensure their well-being. This, in turn, improves employee morale, job satisfaction, and retention rates.

Learn how to make an effective schedule for employees to prevent burnout and work stress.

5. Data-driven decision making

Finally, workload analysis provides objective data that supports decision-making. It allows managers to make informed choices about hiring, training, workload distribution, and resource allocation based on actual work metrics rather than assumptions.

Discover why quick decision-making is important for your business .

Free eBook: How to work smart, not hard

Best productivity tips for teams and their leaders.

How to conduct a workload analysis

Conducting a comprehensive workload analysis involves a systematic approach to gathering data and assessing tasks, resources, and distribution of work. Here are the steps to conduct a workload analysis:

1. Identify tasks and projects

Start by listing all the tasks that are part of the job roles or departments you’re analyzing. These tasks can range from routine daily activities to less frequent but essential responsibilities. 

In addition to individual tasks, identify the organization’s ongoing projects or major initiatives .

Understanding the scope and requirements of these projects is crucial for workload analysis, as they may require special attention and resources.

Read also: What is project tracking?

2. Determine the time and effort required

This step involves estimating the time and effort needed to complete each task and project, providing valuable insights into resource allocation , workload distribution, and overall project management. 

This estimate should include not only the actual execution time but also any preparation, coordination, communication, and follow-up time required.

Consider the complexity of the tasks, the skill level of the individuals performing them, and any potential interruptions or dependencies that might affect the timeline.

Read also: How to estimate project hours

3. Analyse current resource allocation

Evaluating the current resource allocation includes assessing how resources — human resources, time, technology, budget, and equipment — are currently allocated within the organization.

Starting with the most obvious, evaluate how employees’ time is allocated among various tasks and projects.

• Are there specific tasks that require a significant portion of employees’ time?
• Are there tasks that are taking longer than anticipated due to resource constraints?
• Are some team members overloaded while others have lighter workloads?

Identify any imbalances that may happen.

Additionally, determine how efficiently other resources are being utilized. Are there cases of over-utilization, leading to burnout and decreased efficiency, or under-utilization, resulting in wasted resources?

Try to optimize resource utilization to balance work demands and available resources. To simplify this process, you can use resource planning software that will help you spot these inefficiencies and allocate your resources better.

How can you track time spent on tasks?

Sign up to Timeular and track time with your team. In the most effortless, smart, and secure way.

4. Make adjustments and monitor progress

This is the final crucial step in the workload analysis process. Once you’ve gathered data, assessed tasks, estimated time and effort, and analyzed resource allocation, taking action based on your findings is essential.

This step involves making necessary adjustments to optimize workload balance, resource allocation, and overall efficiency, followed by continuous monitoring to track progress and adapt to changing circumstances.  

Based on the insights gained from your workload analysis, implement the necessary changes, which may include reallocating tasks, adjusting staffing levels, revising processes, updating technology, or optimizing resource utilization.

Ensure that the adjustments are communicated clearly to all relevant stakeholders. This includes employees, teams, and any other parties affected by the changes. 

Finally, establish a system for ongoing monitoring of the implemented changes. Regularly track key metrics, such as workload distribution, resource utilization, time-to-completion for tasks, employee satisfaction, and overall productivity. Use these metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of the adjustments and to improve your workload management skills.

The best practices for effective workload analysis

1. collect accurate workload data with time tracking.

Time tracking is a vital tool for effective workload analysis. By accurately recording the time spent on various tasks, projects, and activities, it provides valuable insights into resource allocation and utilization.

This data enables managers and teams to identify workload imbalances, allocate tasks more efficiently, and ensure that team members are not overwhelmed or underutilized. Time tracking helps estimate task durations and plan future projects based on historical data, promoting realistic deadlines.

It also facilitates performance evaluation, enabling teams to focus on tasks that yield the most value. Ultimately, time tracking enhances productivity, aids resource management, and contributes to informed decision-making.

Read also: How to increase employee productivity

2. Use data and metrics

Data-driven insights provide a solid foundation for understanding the organization’s current state, identifying areas for improvement, and making informed decisions.

Use data such as historical task completion times, employee performance metrics, and project deadlines to decide .

TIP: Don’t you know how to collect employee performance data? Find everything you need in our guide “ Tracking employee performance “.

3. Involve employees in the process

Involving employees in the workload analysis process is beneficial and crucial for success.

Employees possess valuable insights, on-the-ground knowledge, and a unique perspective on their work, making their active participation essential for accurate assessments and meaningful improvements. 

Seek input from employees about their daily tasks, workload challenges, and any inefficiencies they’ve observed. This can be done through surveys, one-on-one discussions, focus group sessions, or other retrospective ideas.

Encourage honest feedback and assure employees that their insights are valuable.

Read also: The best retrospectives for remote teams .

4. Regularly review and adjust workload analysis

Workloads evolve. Regularly reviewing and adjusting workload analysis is essential to ensure the analysis remains relevant, effective , and aligned with your changing needs.

You can adapt to new circumstances by periodically revisiting the analysis, fine-tuning your strategies, and continuously improving efficiency and productivity. 

5. Consider automation and technology solutions

Considering workplace automation and technology solutions is a crucial aspect of modern workload analysis.

Leveraging automation and technology can significantly enhance the analysis process’s efficiency, accuracy, and scalability .

Time tracking software can provide real-time data on how much time is allocated to specific activities, offering valuable insights for workload assessment.

Importance of time tracking for workload analysis

Time tracking is essential for workload analysis, providing accurate data on task completion, quantitative metrics, and resource allocation , which are crucial for decision-making. It aids to identify:

• resource-intensive tasks,
• bottlenecks,
• areas for process improvement.

In general, time tracking leads to streamlined operations and optimizing resource efficiency. 

Time tracking’s historical data supports forecasting workload demands, helps set realistic project deadlines, and ensures employee well-being by preventing excessive workloads.

Nevertheless, time tracking can be perceived by teams as a burden. To facilitate the buy-in from the team, it is best to opt for an effortless and intuitive time tracking solution such as Timeular .

Timeular: the perfect tool for a workload analysis

Timeular is the most effortless team time tracking solution, ideal for the ones seeking to understand their time allocation better and improve their workload management . This is how Timeular will help your team run a workload analysis :

• Tracking time in Timeular is so easy that your team will pick up the habit effortlessly;
• You’ll receive transparent and automated reports about the team’s workload analysis every day;
• Easily spot where team members are spending most of their time;
• See if there are workload imbalances among the team by looking at each member’s time entries;
• Reports can be filtered, customized, and exported in XLSX, CSV, and PDF;
• Team members can track leaves and time off, so there’s greater transparency in time reporting.

Timeular automates time reports

In the ”Insights” tab, at the end of every day, you’ll see a report of how the team is spending time. The reports also will I’ve you insights about billable vs. non-billable hours, and you can filter time entries per team member, activity, tag, and time frame.

I love the reporting tool. It’s very graphic and the visuals really help me understand how things are going. The colours make it easy to digest too. I can filter, export and share as I wish and that’s really important. Richard Wingfield, Head Geek at Envision Design

Keep budgets under control

In Timeular, you can closely monitor project budgets to monitor their progress and profitability. You can swiftly identify projects at risk of surpassing budgets and reallocate your team’s time to where it is most needed.

Multiple time tracking methods

Timeular offers multiple time tracking methods that will help the team easily pick up the time tracking habit.

• Using the Timeular Tracker. A time tracking cube connected via Bluetooth to the app;
• Automatic time tracking ;
• With keyboard shortcuts;
• Adding Calendar events in one click thanks to the calendar integration.

Read also: Employee complaining about the workload: what to do?

Run an accurate workload analysis with Timeular.

See where your team’s time goes, keep their workloads in balance. Start tracking time in Timeular!

Understanding how work is distributed is important for organizational efficiency , happy employees, and successful projects.

By looking at tasks closely, figuring out how much work they need, and then sharing the work evenly, teams can find a good balance between getting things done and taking care of themselves.

In this article, you’ve picked up four steps to do a workload check:

• See what tasks and projects are there.
• Work out how much time and effort each one needs.
• Look at how the team’s resources are being used.
• Keep an eye on how things are going.

You’ve also seen that keeping track of time is a big part of checking workloads. To understand how the work is spread out, it’s important to use a simple time tracking tool like Timeular.

What is the difference between workforce analysis and workload analysis?

Workforce analysis assesses the company’s human resources, including skills, competencies, and future needs. Workload analysis, on the other hand, concentrates on distributing tasks efficiently among existing employees.

• TIP : Try one of the best workforce management software on the market.

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Measurement and Evaluation of Mental Workload Based on Complex Human–Machine Interaction Tasks

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• Cite this conference paper

• Kuntong Li 15 , 16 ,
• Chenjie Yang 15 , 16 ,
• Jiaying Li 15 , 16 ,
• Jingqi Zhang 15 , 16 &
• Meng Yang 15 , 16  

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering ((LNME))

Included in the following conference series:

• The International Conference on Smart Manufacturing, Industrial & Logistics Engineering (SMILE)

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This study conducted ergonomic experiments based on three MATB-II tasks with different difficulty levels, collected the subjects’ EEG indicators, task performance, and subjective mental workload indicators during task execution, and proposed a mental workload evaluation method based on the Error Back Propagation (BP) algorithm. The results showed that subjective mental workload increased with the increase in task difficulty and duration. The resource management task scored the lowest among the three tasks, which may reveal the significance of the difficulty of the resource management task. Through EEG data analysis, there were significant differences in the four types of EEG power with different difficulty and duration. The BP algorithm based on difficulty and duration can distinguish the mental workload under different task difficulties in the time dimension, and the accuracy reached 66.61% under fivefold cross-validation. The research results can guide complex human–computer interaction systems’ design, task planning, and mental workload assessment.

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Acknowledgements

Funding: This work was supported by the Ministry of Education, Humanities and Social Science project (23YJAZH123).

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Kuntong Li, Chenjie Yang, Jiaying Li, Jingqi Zhang & Meng Yang

Tianjin Intelligent Manufacturing and Intelligent Security Technology Innovation Think Tank, Tianjin, 300384, China

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Tianjin University, Tianjin, China

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Sichuan University, Chengdu, China

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Li, K., Yang, C., Li, J., Zhang, J., Yang, M. (2024). Measurement and Evaluation of Mental Workload Based on Complex Human–Machine Interaction Tasks. In: Chien, CF., Dou, R., Luo, L. (eds) Proceedings of Industrial Engineering and Management. SMILE 2023. Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-0194-0_28

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