Addie - Analysis Notes

Analysis

1.      Intro

a.       Background

                                                              i.      Purpose

1.      Analysis phase is the basis for who must be trained, what must be trained, when training will occur, and were the training will take place.

                                                            ii.      Timing

1.      Terminology

a.       Analysis goes own throughout the ISD process, but this is “Front-End Analysis”.

2.      Needs Assessment

b.      Backwards Planning Model

                                                              i.      Purpose

1.      When performing an analysis, it is best to take a long term approach to ensure that the performance improvement initiative ties in with the organization’s vision, mission and values.

a.       This connects each need with a metric to ensure that it actually does what it is supposed to do.

b.      This is best accomplished by linking performance analysis needs with Kirkpatrick Four Levels of Evaluations

                                                            ii.      Process

1.      Business Needs are linked to results

2.      Job Performance Needs are linked to behavior

3.      Training Needs are linked to learning

4.      Individual needs are linked to reaction

                                                          iii.      Questions

1.      What is our objective?

2.      What do the performers need to do to reach objective?

3.      What activities or experience will help them to learn?

4.      What will motivate them to learn and perform?

c.       Business Needs

                                                              i.      Analysis

1.      Investigate the problem or performance initiative and see how it supports the mission statement, leader’s vision, and/or organizational goals.

2.      Fixing a problem or making a process better is just as good as an ROI, if not better.

3.      Organizations that focus strictly on ROI are normally focusing on cost-cutting.

a.       You can only cut costs so far before you start stripping out the core parts of a business.

                                                            ii.      Profits

1.      Senior leadership is not looking at training to be a profit center, rather they are looking at performance improvement initiatives to help grow the organization so that it can reach its goals and perform its mission.

d.      Job Performance Needs

                                                              i.      Differentiate

1.      Business needs often have a slightly more visionary or future look to it, while the job performance need normally looks at what is required now.

a.       Thus, business needs often tend to be more developmental in nature while job performance needs are normally more related towards the present.

2.      When analyzing job performance, you want to look at the entire spectrum that surrounds the job: processes, environment, actual performance verses need performance, etc.

a.       Thus it often helps to divide the analysis into three groups: people, data, and things.

e.       Training Needs

                                                              i.      Design

1.      Look at the job/performer requirements, that is, what does the performer need to know and do in order for the performance intervention to be successful?

2.      It is one thing to determine the needs of the performers, such as skill, knowledge, and their self-system, but it is quite another thing to ensure that those requirements actually take place.

f.       Individual Needs

                                                              i.      Kirkpatrick’s Reaction Level

1.      What the stage really needs to do is to ensure that the performance intervention, or learning program, actually conforms to the individual requirements.

                                                            ii.      ROI

1.      A study by the National Center on the Educational Quality of the Workforce at the University of Pennsylvania found that a dollar invested by a company in education was more than twice as effective in boosting the firm’s productivity as a dollar invested in new machinery.

2.      Determining Business Needs

a.       Intro

                                                              i.      Business Linkage

1.      The Business Outcome or Business Linkage is used to spell out how a learning initiative supports the organization’s initiative, strategies, or goals.

2.      That is, the learning initiative needs to correct a performance gap – the difference between the actual or present performance and the desire or optimal performance.

                                                            ii.      Customer Focus

1.      Since each customer is different, you have to ask them what their expectations are and how they would measure success. If they do not see the learning programs benefitting them, then they are going to start picturing your department/company as a consumer of the organization’s resources rather than a resource that produces valuable assets.

b.      Start with the End in Mind

                                                              i.      Reverse Engineering

1.      To ensure you capture the business outcome or linkage, begin with the end in mind – a learning or performance initiative should be a means to an end. Thus, learning initiatives should show how they will increase revenue or reduce costs.

                                                            ii.      Flow

1.      Since the flow of causality of good training and program goes one way, the planning must go in the opposite direction.

a.       Successful trainingàmore efficient actionsàimproved business outcomes

b.      Desired business outcomesàRequired changes in performanceàexperience and learning likely to produce desired outcome.

                                                          iii.      Design

1.      Analysis – determine the business outcome – how does it link to the business unit?

2.      Design – Determine required changes in the learner’s performance

3.      Development – create the experiences that will change the learner’s performance.

c.       Impact Mapping

                                                              i.      Development

1.      By Robert Brinkerhoff and Stephen Gill, 1994, to ensure linkage between learning initiatives and business objectives.

2.      An impact map has three core elements: capability, performance, and results.

a.       The capability is the New Knowledge and Skills

b.      The performance is the Job Behaviors.

c.       The results are the Job Success Indicators, which in turn creates the Business Objective

                                                            ii.      Theory

1.      If we learn how to do something, we have the capability to perform in a new way. For value to occur, we have to change our behavior and use the new capability in performance. Further, our performance must be aimed at worthwhile results.

d.      Backwards Planning

                                                              i.      Deployment

1.      In this step, determining business needs or outcome, the desired result or objective is spelled out in detail and agreed upon by both the business unit and the learning department/company.

2.      The next step will identify the performance behavior that is needed to obtain this objective

e.       Customer Understanding and Agreement

                                                              i.      Consensus

1.      To reach a common understanding of the required outcome between the training team and line leaders, you should define the following activities and ensure your customer understands and agrees to them

a.       What business needs will be meet?

b.      What will the learners/performers do differently and better?

c.       Who will be able to see and confirm these changes?

d.      How will we measure and document the results?

3.      Performance Analysis

a.       Intro

                                                              i.      The purpose of this activity is to aid in the decision making process by defining all the elements, issues, facts, and features taking place in the client’s system or process

                                                            ii.      Performance analysis determines the exact cause of the performance deficiency that is preventing the business unit from reaching its objective and then identifies the performance required to reach the objective.

b.      Performance Analysis Quadrant

                                                              i.      Use

1.      This tool is use to help narrow the root cause of a performance problem. By asking two questions, “Does the employee have adequate job knowledge?” and “does the employee have the proper attitude (desire) to perform the job?”

                                                            ii.      Quadrants

1.      A – Motivation

a.       If the Employee has sufficient job knowledge but has an improper attitude, this may be classed as a motivational problem. The consequences/rewards of the person’s behavior will have to be adjusted.

2.      B – Resource/Process/Environment

a.       If the employee has both job knowledge and a favorable attitude, but performance is unsatisfactory, then the problem may be out of control of the employee, i.e., lack of resources or time, tasks needs process improvement.

3.      C – Selection

a.       If the employee lacks both job knowledge and a favorable attitude, that person may be improperly placed in the position.

4.      D – Training

a.       If the employee desires to perform, but lacks the requisite job knowledge or skills, then additional training or coaching may be not the answer.

c.       Scope

                                                              i.      Meaning

1.      The scope of the system or process – i.e. the system’s boundaries.

                                                            ii.      Purpose

1.      Knowing the basics of a system enables you to better understand the tasks that lay ahead.

2.      You need to learn as much about the proposed learners as possible.

3.      The target population data is essential and most useful when making decisions about the proposed solution. You must understand the people issues!

a.       This is the biggest variable in a training program and one of the hardest parts of a training program to account for.

                                                          iii.      Design guide

1.      Anticipate number of learners

2.      Location of learners

3.      Education and experience of the learners

4.      Background of leaners

5.      Experience in present or related jobs

6.      Job performance requirements versus present skill levels

7.      Language or cultural differences

8.      Motivation

9.      Physical or mental characteristics

10.  Specific interests and biases

4.      Needs Assessment

a.       Background

                                                              i.      So as a labyrinth has a path to follow, the Learning Needs Assessment has a “gap” that must be “bridged”. This gap is what is between what is currently in place and what is needed, both now and in the future.

b.      Definition

                                                              i.      A Training Needs assessment is the study done in order to design and develop appropriate instructional and informational programs and materials.

                                                            ii.      The step also allows the customer to understand the learning/training activity and its purpose...

1.      During this initial analysis you must bring the customer in on thee learning design activities and make them part of the solution.

2.      In addition, nobody knows the system’s learning requirement better than the people who own and work it….often with the help of your guidance.

c.       Exemplary, SME, Expert, Affected

                                                              i.      Exemplary Performers           

1.      Those able to perform the tasks and are worthy of imitation, but do not have a great deal of knowledge about the peripherals surrounding the subject or task.

                                                            ii.      Subject Matter Expert

1.      Those who know the subject or task, but do not presently perform in that area.

                                                          iii.      Expert Performers

1.      Those able to perform the tasks for a certain subject area and are worthy of imitation. In addition, they have a great deal of knowledge about the peripherals surrounding the subject or task.

                                                          iv.      Those Affected

1.      Those affected by the performance problem are often the best experts with the best knowledge for solving wicked problems when there are not experts. Yet, the only time we normally bring them in is to be guinea pigs for testing our performance solution.

d.      Environment

                                                              i.      Simple

1.      Use performer as a role model to plan  your design

                                                            ii.      Complicated

1.      Use performer as a role model, in addition to using their knowledge base. If no access to Expert Performer, use an Exemplary Performer and a SME.

                                                          iii.      Complex

1.      Use SMEs to get an understanding of environment, then  use Those Affected to finish analysis and design

                                                          iv.      Chaotic

1.      Immerse yourself with Those Affected to understand their needs and then use them to brainstorm solutions.

                                                            v.      Notes

1.      The experts who are sent to help you with the learning project are often the ones who have developed Band-Aids that keep the system running.

2.      Ensure you capture their suggestion in the form of design notes attached to the analysis documents for later consideration.

e.       Hints for Discovering Needs

                                      i.      Activities

1.      Immersion

a.       Work with the employees to gain an understanding of the challenges and opportunities they face on a daily basis.

2.      Research

a.       Analyze budget and quality control documents, goal statements, evaluation reports, scheduling and staffing reports, or other documents for existing problems.

3.      Interviews

4.      Observations

5.      Surveys

6.      Group Discussions

                                ii.      Questions

1.      What are your employees doing that they shouldn’t be doing?

2.      What specific things would you like to see your people do, but don’t?

3.      When you envision workers performing this job properly, what do you see them doing?

4.      What prevents you from performing a prescribed task to standards?

5.      Are job aids available, and if so, are they accurate? Are they being used?

6.      Are the standards reasonable? If not, why?

7.      If you could change one thing in the way you perform your work, what would it be?

8.      What subject would you like to see your workers trained on? What would you like to be trained on?

9.      What new technology would benefit you the most in the performance of your work?

10.  What new technology would you like to see invented to help you with your work?

                                                          iii.      Notes

1.      Regardless of the method you choose and what questions you ask, the data gathered must accurately reflect the specific tasks now being performed. The information gathered will be used as the basis to select the tasks that need to be trained.

f.       Discovering Learning Needs

                                                              i.      Proactive  Approach

1.      This is when a training or learning analyst studies the system or process and searches for problems, potential problems, and ways to improve it.

2.      The goal is to make the system more efficient and to prevent future problems from occurring.

                                                            ii.      Reactive

1.      Occurs when a manager comes to the Learning Department for help in fixing a problem.

2.      These problems are usually caused by hew hires, promotions, transfers, appraisals, rapid expansion, changes, or the introduction of new technologies.

3.      Steps

                                                          iii.      First, investigate the problem. A training need exists when an employee lacks the knowledge or skill to perform an assigned task satisfactorily. It arises when there is a variation between what the employee is expected to do on the job and what the actual job performance is.

5.      Job &  Task Inventory

a.       Intro

                                                              i.      If the job and tasks inventories have already been compiled for the job and associated tasks that you are analyzing, then you should review them as they can supply contextual information about the problem and environment.

                                                            ii.      If you are doing a full scale scale-analysis, then you might be asked to compile a Job List, Job Descriptions, and/or a Task Inventory for each job.

b.      Job List

                                                              i.      A Job List is a compilation of all job titles associated with the system. Jobs are collection of tasks and responsibilities. A job consists of responsibilities, duties, and tasks that are defined and can be accomplished, measured, and rated.

c.       Job Description

                                                              i.      A job description is then obtained by performing a job analysis. This is the process of breaking down the complexity of a person’s job into logical parts. It identifies the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to perform the job correctly.

d.      Task Inventory

                                                              i.      Intro

1.      A Task Inventory is compiled for each job in a department or system.

2.      A task is a well-defined unit of work.  It is logical and necessary action in the performance of a job or duty. It has identifiable starting and end points and results in a measurable accomplishment or product. It takes Skills, Knowledge, and Attitudes (SKA) to perform a task.

                                                            ii.      Characteristics

1.      A task has a definite beginning and end.

2.      Tasks are performed in relatively short periods of time. Usually measure in second, minutes, or hours.

3.      Tasks are observable. By observing the performance of a jobholder, a definite determination can be made that the task has been performed.

4.      Each task is independent of other actions.  Tasks are not dependent on components of a procedure. A task is performed by and individual for its own sake.

5.      A task statement is a statement of a highly specific action. It always has a verb and an object. It may have qualifiers. But it should not be confused with an objective that has conditions and standards.

                                                          iii.      Compiling

1.      The task inventory consists of all the tasks that a jobholder requires to perform the job to standards. Each and every task performed by the job incumbent must be listed on the inventory.

a.       This information is valuable for developing employee selection procedures and training programs.

b.      For hiring, it informs the selection committee and applicant of what the job entails.

c.       For training purposes, it tells the developer what the job requires. It is also valuable for setting standards in performance appraisals and evaluating jobs to determining the correct pay level.

2.      One way of getting a comprehensive list is to have the employees prepare their own list, starting with the most important tasks. Then, compare these lists with yours.

6.      Task Analysis in ID

a.        Intro

                                                              i.      A task analysis, sometimes called an operations analysis, is a systemic collection of data about a specific job or group of jobs to determine what an employee should be taught and the resources he or she needs to achieve optimal performance.

                                                            ii.      It should start keying in how important the task is to both managers and learners, which will aid in the last backwards planning step, Individual Needs.

b.      Information Supplied

                                                              i.      The Task Analysis sequences and describes measurable behaviors, observable if possible, involved in the performance of a task. It also provides a detailed analysis of each task in terms of frequency, difficulty, and importance. The analysis starts by observing and interviewing an exemplary performer performing the task or by discussing the problem with other experts as discussed in the Needs Assessment.

c.       Items to Capture

                                                              i.      Conditions

1.      Tools or equipment needed and the environment the task is to be performed in.

                                                            ii.      Performance Measure

1.      How well must it be formed?

                                                          iii.      Frequency

1.      How often is the task performed?

                                                          iv.      Difficulty

1.      Use a standard scale

                                                            v.      Importance

1.      What place of importance is this task as compared to the performers other tasks?

                                                          vi.      Steps

1.      Logical sequencing

d.      Questions

                                                              i.      How critical is the task to the performance of the job?

                                                            ii.      To what degree is the task performed individually, or is part of a set of collective tasks?

                                                          iii.      If a subset of a set of collective tasks, what is the relationship between the various tasks?

                                                          iv.      What are the consequences if the task is performed incorrectly or is not performed at all?

                                                            v.      To what extend can the task be trained on the job?

                                                          vi.      What level of task proficiency is expected following training?

                                                        vii.      What information is needed to perform the task? What is the source of information?

                                                      viii.      Does execution of the task require coordination between other personnel or with other tasks?

                                                          ix.      Are the demands imposed by the task excessive?

                                                            x.      How much time is needed to perform each task?

                                                          xi.      What prerequisite SKAs are required to perform the task?

                                                        xii.      What behaviors distinguish good performers from poor performers?

7.      Building Performance Measures

a.       Intro

                                                              i.      Definition

1.      Performance measures are the standards for how well a task must be performed. It informs those involved the level of proficiency that the learners must obtain.

2.      For IDs, it enables them to plan the activities so that the learners will acquire  the needed experience to perform at an  acceptable level

3.      For instructors/trainers it gives them the criteria to look for to ensure the learners will be able to perform as specified when they return to the job.

4.      For learners, they know the standards that must be met to be considered acceptable.

5.      Managers, it gives them what they can expect from the resources they spent on the learning platform.

                                                            ii.      Analysis Techniques

1.      Observation Task Analysis

a.       Observe the task under actual working conditions

2.      Simulate Task Analysis

a.       Under simulated working conditions

3.      Content Analysis

a.       Analyzing manual to determine standards of performance

4.      Interview  Analysis

                                                          iii.      View Points

1.      Behavioral Analysis

a.       Analyzing tasks that are mainly composed of overt steps

2.      Information Processing Analysis

a.       Analyzing tasks that are composed of overt and covert or mental step. Thus you observe experts and read content and/or interview experts

3.      Factor-transfer Analysis

a.       Identifying the rules that underlie experts’ task performance when the task is composed mostly of covert or mental steps. Read content and/or interview experts

4.      GOMS Analysis

a.       Identifying the following elements in complex tasks composed of mostly covert or mental steps – Goals, Operations, Methods, and Selection rules.

8.      Selecting Instructional Setting & Media

a.       Intro

                                                              i.      Learning Methods and activities are normally selected first. Then the best media are chosen based on their ability to deliver the methods and activities effectively and efficiently.

                                                            ii.      The Instructional setting chosen in this step will normally have several minor media within it that can be selected on their ability to carry smaller chunks of learning activities or methods.

                                                          iii.      When deciding the best learning platform, two guiding factors must be use – effective and efficient. Seek the best program within acceptable costs, while meeting the learning intents. Often it help by dividing the tasks into three groups:

1.      Those that are to be included in a formal learning program

2.      Those that are to be included in On-The-Job-Training (OJT)

3.      Those for which no formal or JOT is needed, but the learning of them must be supported, such as with self-study packets.

b.      Factors to Consider

                                                              i.      Questions

1.      Could a job performance aid, informal learning method, or self-study packet be used in place of formal training?

2.      Can people be hired that have already been trained?

3.      Is training needed to ensure their behavior does not compromise the company’s legal position?

4.      What will happen if we do not train this task?

5.      What will be the benefits if we do train this task?

6.      If we don’t train it, how will the employee learn it?

7.      How will the learning platform help to achieve our goals?

                                                            ii.      Options

1.      Feedback

a.       Simple yet effective, and often overlooked with today’s high technology. Sometimes your job is not to train the workers who cannot perform the task, but to train their supervisors or managers in effective coaching and supervision methods.

2.      Lockstep

a.       It is best used when you have learning activities that must be performed in groups or team training when the teams need to practice and perform as a single entity.

3.      Self-Paced

a.       This allows the learners to proceed at their own pace but it requires more development time and coordination during the implementation or delivery.

4.      Job

a.       Includes Job Performance Aids and OJT.

5.      Blended

c.       Selection

                                                              i.      Although most learning objectives, concepts, and methods can be taught using almost any media, most have an ideal or best medium in a given learning situation. To help with the major media selection process, it often helps to run it through a flowchart

                                                            ii.      When selecting training media, you have to consider your learner’s needs, resources, experience, and training goals. Also, do not take a complete training program through the chart, but rather each module of your training program. The goal of a good training effort is to build a viable and efficient program, which normally means a blended learning solution.

9.      Estimating Costs and Time

a.       Budgeting

                                                              i.      Generally speaking, the closer you are to your customers or clients, the less you have to estimate.

                                                            ii.      “The expense isn’t what it costs to train employees. It’s what it costs not to train them. You realize that as you grow”. Gary Wilber, CEO of Drug Emporium.

b.      Guidelines

                                                              i.      It generally takes at least four times as long to build eLearning than it does classroom training. Of course, this depends on such factors as the tools you are using, learning methods, and what content you already have that are learner-friendly, rather than instructor-friendly.

10.  Learning Activities

a.       Questions

                                                              i.      What are the major differences between statements of fact and statements of inference?

                                                            ii.      Why is it especially important during conversations, both in gathering and evaluating the data, to distinguish between fact and inference?

                                                          iii.      When can statements of inference be used in the analysis phase?

                                                          iv.      Should both statements of facts and inference be treated with the same degree of certainty? Why or why not?

b.      Interviewing and Listening

                                                              i.      Interviewing is an important part of discovering what tasks need to be trained. The two most important activities an analyst performs are asking questions. Most of us know how to do that while most of us could improve on our listening skills.

                                                            ii.      A good listener

1.      Is aware of all the cues the speaker emits

2.      Listens with a purpose

3.      Is aware of the feelings that arise within

4.      Listens with mind, heart, and soul

5.      Listens to the messages that are buried in the words or encoded in the cues.

                                                          iii.      Good trainers are also performance specialists, that is, they assist in the identification of training and non-trainining professionals