1
?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2004
2
?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2004
Technical Note 2
Learning Curves
3
?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2004
? Underlying Principles of Learning
Curves
? Learning Curve Example
? Types of Learning
? From Learning Curves to Performance
Improvement
OBJECTIVES
4
?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2004
Underlying Principles of Learning Curves
1,Each time you perform a task it takes
less time than the last time you
performed the same task
2,The extent of task time decreases over
time
3,The reduction in time will follow a
predictable pattern
5
?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2004
Example of a Learning Curve
Suppose you start a
term paper typing
business,You time
yourself on the first
paper,then the second,
and so on,
Term
paper
1
2
3
4
5
6
Time (in
Minutes)
100
90
84.62
81.00
78.30
76.16
Note that only 90 of
100 minutes are used
in the second
repetition,This is an
example of a 90%
learning curve.
6
?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2004
Plotting the
Learning Curve
All learning curves have this
downward sloping curve.
9 0 % L e a rn i n g C u rv e
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
U n i t
Pr
o
d
u
c
ti
o
n
T
i
m
e
(M
i
n
u
te
s
)
7
?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2004
Types of Learning
? Individual Learning
Improvement when individuals gain a skill or
efficiency by repetition of a job
? Organizational Learning
Improvement from the groups of individuals
from repetition and changes in administration,
equipment,and product design
8
?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2004
From Learning Curves to Performance
Improvement (Part 1)
? Proper selection of workers
? Proper training
? Motivation
? Work specialization
? Do one or very few jobs at a time
9
?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2004
From Learning Curves to Performance
Improvement (Part 2)
? Use tools or equipment that assists or
supports performance
? Provide quick and easy access for help
? Allow workers to help redesign their
tasks
10
?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2004
End of Technical Note 2