The Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS) was designed to assess the nature of tasks performed on the job. It was developed by J. Richard Hackman and Greg Oldham to test their job characteristics model. This model suggested that the nature of job tasks leads to several important outcomes including employee motivation, job performance, and job satisfaction. It has been one of the most influential models in the academic literature on I-O psychology and management.
Most people who have used the instrument have assessed the five core characteristics using 15 of the items. The original scale had 3 items per subscale that used different item formats, In 1987 Idaszak and Drasgow (Journal of Applied Psychology) modified the scale to address this issue and improve the psychometric properties. The full scale has additional job characteristics and other scales to assess some of the proposed outcomes, such as job satisfaction.
Job Diagnostic Survey Report, May 1974
JDS English, revised 15-item measure