The critical incident method is a performance appraisal technique that involves collecting and analyzing specific examples of an employee's behavior that illustrate job performance. This approach focuses on specific incidents that represent either exceptionally good or poor performance, rather than on overall impressions of the employee's performance.

Example

An HR manager might use the critical incident method to evaluate the performance of a sales representative by collecting specific examples of successful or unsuccessful sales interactions with customers. These examples can then be used to provide feedback to the employee and to guide future training and development.