Signs in the Workplaces Semiotics and Human Performance Technology

Semiotics, or the study of signs, has much to offer the field of performance technology. In this paper, we examine the process of analysis and illustrate how semiotic theory can inform the way a performance problem is approached, analyzed, and understood. We argue that a semiotic approach to analysis can reveal meanings that would otherwise remain hidden and which can provide valuable information for the design of appropriate interventions. Semiotics is not so much a new theory of performance technology as much as it provides “value added” to current Human Performance Technology processes.