I’ve been developing my staff and my clients’ staff in Instructional Analysis since 1983.

And as I have learned from Rummler & Gilbert – via my manager and co-worker at Wickes Lumber, starting back on August 6th, 1979, I always try to get them to center their Analysis Focus on the Outputs.

Here, from page 408 in my binder of Praxis Workshop materials that I started digging into my first week on the job out of college in August 1979…

As I’ve been saying/writing of late, “People are on the Payroll to produce Outputs. Worthy Outputs.”

Those Outputs lead to Outcomes – when they meet or don’t meet the various Stakeholder Requirements – the balanced Stakeholder Requirements. When Outputs meet Stakeholder Requirements they are “Worthy” and lead to positive Outcomes, no?

Our ISD/LXD issue is that we cannot craete Practice with Feedback for producing Outcomes, but we can on Outputs.

Two Categories of Outputs – Tangible and Intangible

I ask new Analysts to look for and/or ask about the Tangible Outputs first. Those Outputs that are physical, kickable. Such as widgets, reports, data, etc.

But there are Outputs that are harder to find. The Intangible Outputs. Those that are not physical, kickable. Such as discriminations, determinations, and decisions – which could be made Tangible if they were written down. Those that are the Cognitive Results of Cognitive Tasks and therefore cannot be seen.

Yeah Yeah Yeah … Outputs Outputs Outputs.

Outputs Outputs Outputs – is a “Cult of Performance” thing. Join that Cult.

I covered my approach to Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA) in my 2021 book, “The 3 Ds of ThoughtFlow Analysis,” – available here at Amazon.

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