Vocational education is a major component of our educational systems at the secondary and postsecondary school level. The passage of the Vocational Education Act of 1963 broadened the definition of vocational education from training people for specific occupations to developing human potential and long-term employability. However, due to the impact of industry and labor on vocational education legislation, most vocational programs tend to be related to specific jobs and job titles. It is important to identify the components of a specific job and each component's importance as well as evaluate the relevance of current vocational programs. Job analysis serves this dual function. The crucial step in job analysis is task analysis (a list of tasks that constitute the steps to performing a job). Since 1973, the United States Department of Defense has used the Comprehensive Occupational Data Analysis Program (CODAP) computerized system to organize, analyze, and report occupational information. Many of the methods and procedures used in the CODAP have been adapted in the development of the Vocational and Technical Education Consortium of the States (VTECS). Job and task analysis, particularly the capabilities of computerized systems, have implications for vocational program planning and evaluation. For example, task analysis may serve as a basis for curriculum planning and criterion-referenced student performance measures. Also, the task analysis approach for vocational education evaluation provides outcome measures to examine program cost-benefits. (EM)