A project to conduct the effort to design and develop Performance Tests – to authentically test for Performance Competence – is a combination of a CAD effort and an MCD/IAD effort.

Setting up the administrative systems and creating the performance-based Performance Tests was covered in the 2007 book “Performance-based Employee Qualification/Certification Systems” by Ray Svenson and Guy Wallace – info available here.

The book and my consulting practice on this – is based on projects from 1987 and 1994 – and afterwards. The 1987 project was for a Pay Progression Program (Pay for demonstrated Performance Competence Capability) for about 20 technician populations in the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska – and the 1994 effort was for a different firm – for about 20 different populations of technicians on the Alaska Pipeline. Many of the jobs were nearly the same – but laws prohibited the sharing and re-use of the tests. Many of the maintenance tasks were exactly the same – on the very same types/models of equipment, etc.

The story of why this was labeled a Qualification/Certification effort is explained in the book. Hint: it was a compromise between the HR group and the Maintenance Managers.

In the effort in 1989 the client decided to do the CAD project – stop and build only the tests – the IAD effort – a subset of a typical MCD (the ADDIE-like effort of my PACT Processes) first – and then build the Content of the CAD after determining which of the Modular Events were really needed.

The fact that the tests – available for review/preview by anyone – led to more pay – negated the need for Formal Training – as all of the technicians reviewed the tests and all of the technical materials/manuals available – talked with their co-workers – mastered the performance – and learned on-the-job with the help/guidance of the tests – and therefore did not need any Training.

It should be noted that the folks working in the oil fields and on the pipeline were mostly seasoned veterans of oil fields and pipelines in the lower 48 “as they say”  - before taking jobs in the extreme conditions of Alaska’s environment.

For more details about CAD and MCD/IAD – see my book series from 2011:

For more about all of my book offerings from 2011 – updates of both “lean-ISD” (1999 and recipient of an ISPI Award of Excellence in 2002) and “T&D Systems View” (2002) – please go here.

# # #

Whether you refer to this as Architecture – or Engineering – or some other label – how you recognize the Enterprise’s Processes – main Value Creation Chain and Supporting/Enabling – they will for ever be in flux.

This 1994 book referred to many architectures – as Business Architectures. The books cover begin the process of peeling back the layers…

Here are the center pages from my firm’s 1994 business brochure that provides a little more detail than the book’s cover.

The book is out of print – but used versions are sometimes available – and I do have a small stash of new copies.

Here is an older post about this.

# # #

I recall Joe Harless on the stage at an NSPI (now ISPI Conference) so many years – decades actually – ago.

He was complaining about how some in attendance – and in general – were offering advice to others about saying “no” to clients’ requests for training. He said – something to the effect of…

“And when your client asks you for help in developing some training, do not, repeat, do not say (in a whiny voice)

“Are you sure it’s a training problem!?!”

Instead say,

“Yes – I can help you – and I can help you even more if we can do a little analysis first!” 

That was his reply, his advice, to the client and to all of the assembled. At least that’s my cognitive recall so many years later – and we should all appreciate what that means.

He went on to saying things to the affect that saying “no” would start off the relationship/effort poorly.

That saying yes started one on the right path in the relationship.

And that doing the analysis before design/development – should help that client and others see whether Training was the right approach, or whether a Job Aid would be more appropriate, or whether knowledge and skills were not central to the need/opportunity/problem at hand and something else needed to be done.

Joe taught me to never say no. To always say yes. And to include Analysis in the approach that followed. And to come to a shared understanding with the client – on that journey – to uncover the situation, the need and the right solution-set. The only time I ever missed a Harless session at NSPI/ISPI was when I myself was doing a session. Otherwise, his sessions were always the place to be.

Joe Will Be at ISPI in Toronto at ISPI 2012

I have been attending NSPI – now ISPI Conference – for a long time. My first was in 1980. I’ve been to 30 of the last 32. I will be in Toronto for the 50th anniversary Conference of my professional home come this April. Please go here for more about that conference.

Joe will be there too. He’s being dragged out of retirement and will be co-delivering a session…

An Ounce of Analysis–The Legacy of Joe Harless

Paul H. Elliott, PhD, President, Exemplary Performance, LLC, Dr. Joe Harless, President, Harless Performance Guild, and Al C. Folsom, PhD, VP, Operations, Exemplary Performance, LLC 

He might not use his whiny voice to mock those who would say “no” to a request. He may have mellowed in the decade or so since he retired. But I think not. I wouldn’t bet on it. In fact, I’d bet quite the opposite.

This is the cover of Joe’s famous 1975 (first published in 1970) book. He sent me a copy (one of his last) to make copies of the cover and first few pages for the ISPI Archives Initiative Lynn Kearny and I are working on – gearing up for the 50th anniversary of our professional home.

Over the past few years I’ve had the pleasure of sitting with Joe in his Georgia home to record several video interviews. The HPT Practitioner Series are typically short videos, following a script, intended to highlight the diversity of HPT Practitioners and their practice. The HPT Legacy does the same but also includes stories from the past to capture them before they are lost to time. Here are links to the 3 videos I have done with Dr. Harless:

• Harless, Joe – Practitioner 2008 – 6:08 min
• Harless, Joe – Practitioner 2009 – 6:30 min
• Harless, Joe – Legacy 2009 – 32:49 min

Here is a link to all of the video interviews in these two HPT Video Podcast series – I have done over 55 of them so far. For your rainy afternoons.

I hope to see YOU at ISPI 2012 this coming April.

For the non-Canadians - get your Passport ready! You’ll need it to cross the border!

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There are many approaches to Performance Improvement. Here is a graphic (list below) of a sub-set of the total list.

I am trying to keep this – relatively simple – but it is not. Simple that is.

I’ve organized these “methods/tools/techniques” into 4 levels.

The World

a.k.a: Mega – Ethics; Sustainable Business Practices; Strategic Planning; Strategic and Operational Balanced Scorecards/ Dashboards; Organizational Development/ Alignment/ Design; Values; Vision & Mission Statements; Business Planning (and functional planning i.e.: Marketing Planning& Product); etc., etc.

The Workplace

a.k.a: Organization – Baldrige Award; Strategic Planning; Strategic and Operational Balanced Scorecards/Dashboards; Organizational Development/ Alignment/ Design; Values; Vision & Mission Statements; Business Planning (and functional planning i.e.: Marketing Planning& Product); Organization & Job Design; Change Management; Culture Change Management; Risk Assessment and Management; etc., etc.

The Work

a.k.a: Process - Business Process Management, Process Engineering/Re-Engineering, Task Analysis; Process Mapping; Lean; Six Sigma; Theory of Constraints; Industrial Engineering;  TQM tools (the 7 basics and the 7 advanced – plus others); Quality Function Deployment; Project Planning & Management; Human Factors Analysis and Engineering; DoE, Benchmarking; Statistical Process Control; etc., etc.

The Worker

a.k.a: People – ADDIE and SAT; performance-based Instruction/ Training/ Formal Learning; Informal Learning/ Unstructured OJT; Coaching; Mentoring; Feedback; Performance Management; Performance Reviews (360 and otherwise); Performance-based Compensation; On-Boarding; Recruiting & Selection; Job Design; Career Paths; Leadership Development; Incentives/Motivation – Rewards & Recognition; Performance Support Systems – EPSS; Psychometrics; Behavior Analysis; Job Aids; Expert Systems; Knowledge Management; Mobile Learning, etc., etc.

What’s In Your Tool-Kit?

What do you have on your list to learn more about – in 2012?

And how will you accomplish those learnings?

# # #

CAD

This was from the first “National” presentation on Curriculum Architecture Design from April 1985…

I had presented at the Chicago Chapter of NSPI the summer before on this topic:

• Developing a Performance-based Curriculum Architecture Using a Group Process CNSPI Cracker-barrel  (July 1984)

Analysis

In September 1984 Training Magazine published an article I co-authored with my business partners and one of our employees…

The editors changed the submitted title to match the theme of their issue…

Here is that article – in a short version (as published) and the originally submitted version:

CAD – Training Mag – 1984 - 6 page PDF – the first publication about Curriculum Architecture Design via a Group Process – published in Training Magazine in September 1984. Original manuscript (30 pages) – How to Build a Training Structure That Won’t Keep Burning Down.

Two months later NSPI (now ISPI) published an article on the analysis component of the methodology…

Here is that article:

Models and Matrices- NSPI PIJ -1984 - 5 page PDF – the first publication of the performance and enabler analysis methods for ISD, from NSPI’s (ISPI’s) Performance & Instruction Journal, November 1984.

I might as well provide the cover for that here as well…

Focus on Performance – Using a Group Process

The 2 key common aspect of both of these article was 1- their Performance-Orientation – and 2- the use of a Group Process – for both the analysis and the design methods.

I’ve presented many times over the years about CAD – Curriculum Architecture Design. And I’ve written articles for both external publications and internal publications (company newsletters for the 3 consulting firms where I have been a partner – and for clients’ internal publications).

I just did the CAD presentation again last week for the ISPI Central Florida Chapter.

Next Up 

In 3 weeks I will again be presenting on Curriculum Architecture Design – this time it is at Training 2012.

Session 607 – February 15, 2012…at 8:30 am…

And here is the cover of the Program…

Come join me – and see examples of Training/Development/Learning Paths – from someone who has been doing them and training/certifying others – his staff and the staffs of his clients – since 1982!

Here is an update of that Analysis article – published just this past week – based on an interview with Bill Fox – here.

This is what the late Geary A. Rummler wrote about these methods in 1999:

“If you want to ground your fantasy of a ‘corporate university’ with the reality of a sound ‘engineering’ approach to instructional systems that will provide results, you should learn about the PACT Processes. If you are the leader of, or a serious participant in, the design and implementation of a large-scale corporate curriculum, then this book is for you. This system could be the difference between achieving bottom-line results with your training or being just another ‘little red school house.’ ”

Geary was referring to my 1999 book: lean-ISD – for which he had redesigned the cover after reviewing the draft that went to the printers. He had surprised me with the redesign. He was that kind of guy and mentor.

That book received an ISPI Award of Excellence in 2002.

I updated that book – and T&D Systems View – into a new series of books last summer…

For more about these books – please go here.

Hope to see you in Atlanta on February 15th – 3 weeks from today!

# # #

These 6 books are for folks in the Learning/Training Space. They are intended to help them transition (segue) from Training/Learning to Performance Improvement - which is not just a hop, skip and a jump.

These 6 books – are updates and a re-configuration of several older books from me.

And then there is one book intended for the management clients and stakeholders of a Training/Learning group:

This book is intended for others – for the clients and other stakeholders of the Training/Learning function.

It is intended to introduce their clients/stakeholders to a Performance Orientation – versus a Content Orientation. Or a Fad (Foo Foo) Orientation.

For more on all of these 2011 books – check out the Resources Tab here.

# # #

Learning Paths

One of the most visible outputs of a Curriculum Architecture/ Curriculum Architecture Design effort – has been the T&D Path/ Learning Path/ Developmental Roadmap. I’ve been doing these since 1982 – and first published about the performance-based analysis methods and the design method – using a Group Process – a facilitated analysis and design approach with Master Performers – and not the typical SME that I had been already been burned by in my 3 year old/young career – by 1982. The 1984 article that I co-authored was written in 1983

A Learning Path or Learning Paths – have been labeled by many different monikers over the years since that first in 1982. Paths, Roadmaps, Blueprints, etc. We called them whatever the client liked.

The Path – a.k.a.: a learning continuum – isn’t always a Path.

And not everything on the Path is needed by everyone in the Target Audience(s).

As always – it depends.

Other Outputs

This graphic shows the “other outputs” – plus the T&D Path.

The analysis data – as is from a CAD effort and/or augments/extended a bit – can be used to drive performance into many other Talent Management/HR efforts and processes and outputs. That was the topic of The Quality Roadmap book (1994) that I co-authored with my partners. Those applications to things other-than Training/Learning is also overviewed in this 11 minute video – on this recent post.

I have always preferred the T&D label to the Learning label – as Training (& Development) that’s focused squarely on the Performance Requirements first and the needs of the Learners/Performers second – had no need to do a name change back in the early-to-mid 1990s.

But as I wrote earlier – we’d call it whatever the client needed to, or wanted to.

A rose is a rose is a rose.

But Wait! There’s More!

There is much more!

General Searching

You can search this site for more about this – by using the search terms: T&D Paths, T&D Path, CAD, Curriculum Architecture, Learning Paths, Learning Path.

Targeted Searching

You can read the Training Magazine article from September 1984 here as a 6 page version – or the original 30 page version here.

And you can read an article published 2 months later on the analysis methods – in NSPI’s PIJ – here.

You can also review my 1985 NSPI Presentation on “Curriculum Architecture Design – via a Group Process” – here.

You can learn how to do this via my 2011 book: Performance-based Curriculum Architecture Design – which is an update of my 1999 book: lean-ISD (written in 1997 and 1998).

A CAD effort – leads to better ADDIE-like efforts – MCD – Modular Curriculum Development/Acquisition. But it can also lead to Performance Improvement Consulting – as the Analysis Phase both identifies ideal performance and the knowledge/skill enablers required – but also the gaps from ideal performance – in the current state by the non-Master Performers.

If the Master Performers in the current state can perform at levels of mastery – why not the others? Think Best Practices – and flexible Best Practices - collected from the Masters/Exemplars!

And that’s often worth its weight in gold.

There are more books in this 2011 series.

Questions?

Need a budgetary quote, or a fixed fee quote about doing a project or training your staff to do these?

Email me or call me!

# # #

I was invited recently by Bill Fox to contribute to his series “5 Minutes to Performance Improvement Success” – and we did the phone interview, edited the transcript – tried to get it close to the 5-10 minutes – and he published this Friday, January 20, 2012. Here is the summary he is using to announce the addition to his growing resource – there are many other authors (22 currently – but more are being added all of the time) – I am just one of the latest to be included.

“I come at this much the same as the whole quality world does. The IT business and the process management world all come in and look at how we improve performance. Everybody comes with their favorite set of methodologies, whether that’s Lean, Six Sigma, Theory of Constraints, et cetera. When you first look at a performance issue, a problem or an opportunity, if you were to stand back and say before you started thinking about applying Lean and Six Sigma to this thing, “Is that really going to uncover the cause of this issue? Is that the right methodology?”

Or is it just that people haven’t been told what the expectations are, and if you only told them what you really wanted in the first place, and gave them corrective and reinforcing feedback, you’d solve all your problems; maybe then you don’t really need to Lean the process, and you don’t need to bring the variability down to Six Sigma levels. The fact is the above approaches might be overkill.”

- Guy Wallace

The PDF is available - here.

Here – is Bill’s web site and home to 5PI – and here is his Blog.

For more about “Performance Modeling” – please search this – my – web site and Blog!

# # #

My 30th in 30 (presentations to ISPI Chapters over the past 3 decades) was held at the JetBlue University training facilities in Orlando on Thursday January 19th, 2012 – on a sunny day – in central Florida – imagine that.

My hosts were the chapter leaders at the new ISPI CFC – Central Florida Chapter – and their hosts were the good folks at JetBlue University.

Beyond the Lobby

I got the nickel tour – very quickly – before going on stage to present on the Processes and Products of CAD – Curriculum Architecture Design – and doing my simple demo on developing a T&D Path (your people may call them Learning Paths) for Sky Caps – which is my standard demo for overview sessions just as in my workshops I do Cabin Attendants (your people may call the Stewards and Stewardesses).

Both are for one of my Case Companies: AAA (Triple A) for Always Airborne Airlines – “we never bring you down” – a little joke of mine from having to fly in and out of Chicago’s O’Hare Airport for over 25 years. Yeah yeah – very little.

In my tour I met some Pilots-in-Training, their Trainers, and the guys on the evening shift at the controls of the Flight Simulators.

Think giant machines on hydraulic stilt-legs from any Star Wars movie – and you’ll get the right visual. Only they didn’t walk around blasting all of the enemy. They stood there and swooped and tilted – slowly.

I saw one Simulator in decent – a nice, easy decent – so I have none of those AAA jokes to offer you here – that followed that Demo Case Company “head of the parade of jokes” typical of my deliveries on CAD and MCD (the ADDIE-like level in my PACT Processes for T&D/ Learning and Knowledge Management. Such as “But when we do bring you back to earth…. (don’t want to give away all of my materials here).

You’re welcome.

If you travel a lot as many of us consultants in the Learning/Training biz – you have your own travel jokes – and not all are really very funny. Gallows humor is a term that comes to mid to categorize them. I appreciate that – sense of humor.

And if you have been traveling long enough you’ll recall white table cloths (OK, napkins) and real silverware (or is it flatware?) – in Coach!

Ah, deregulation – and the laws of unintended consequences.

But I digress.

One of the things I preach about Training and Learning (the means and the ends) is authenticity.

Doing Real Work is the best application exercise – but sometimes it is just not prudent. Too risky and/or too costly.

It was explained to me – and shown to me – that the Pilots practice before and after the Simulator time – on laminated boards and pretend to push buttons and pretend to turn the wheel (aircraft depending) in response to their trainers set up of the situation. Which makes a lot of business sense. Which was something that I also talk about in my sessions on Instruction and Instructional processes.

Note: All photos liberated from the Internet.

Decisions - Decisions

There are a whole lot of Business Decisions in every Instructional design project.

Yes, there are Instructional Decisions too. But there are decisions that Training/Learning folk have no business making but they do – and too often that is the case – that the Instructional-types are asked to make the Business decisions – for which they can only lose – if they make them without collaborating with their clients.

And – any manager that challenges a Training Person about the ROI for a past initiative – is typically providing me a clue that their process is broken/poorly designed or adhered to. For that’s the wrong role to be making those decisions – the decisions to do a project or not – or this one versus that one, etc. They shown a light on that “issue” for me.

Those ROI decisions are Business Decisions.

Some of the many.

What’s in your process?  Look at it in the light of a sunny day.

Does it simulate good business practices and allocate decisions to the right party? 

Best Wishes ISPI CFC!

Next up for ISPI CFC – my good buddy Judy Hale, the current president of ISPI International – and someone I met at the then NSPI Chicago Chapter back in 1981 – when I moved back to Chicago.  And then I served on the Board when she was President-Elect the first time back in 2000-2001. And we’ve been on Committees together – including the Kitchen Cabinet that created the CPT professional designation.

# # #

Ryan Watkins, who I know from ISPI – has a new book out with his colleagues, Maurya West Meiers and Yusra Visser – published by The World Bank.

From Ryan in an email to me and others – on Wednesday

The World Bank recently published my newest book, “A Guide to Assessing Needs”, and as part of their open knowledge initiative electronic copies are available for FREE.  You can read it online or download a PDF copy at www.GapsInResults.com, or you can always buy a paper copy.

The book focuses on using needs assessments to inform the earliest stages of project conceptualization and design, with particular focus on international development programs. In the book we tried to blend rigorous methods and realistic tools that can help you make informed and reasoned decisions. We feature, for example, tools for conducting focus groups, developing surveys, prioritizing needs, and leading group decision-making; creating what we believe to be a comprehensive, yet realistic, approach to identifying needs and selecting among alternative ways forward.

As a FREE online resource we hope that it will be a valuable guide for professionals around the world. Hopefully you will also find it useful, and share the link with your colleagues.

Thanks

Ryan

Ryan Watkins, Ph.D.

George Washington University

www.ryanrwatkins.com

See Ryan at the ISPI 50th Anniversary Conference – this April – in Toronto.

See more about that conference here.

Get your free PDF copy of this book – here. I’ve already uploaded this to my Kindle!

Thanks Ryan,  Maurya and Yusra!

# # #