KeelWorks Foundation

Team Aqua: Team-building

Needs Analysis

Role Signer Date

Stakeholder Thomas Garrod

ISD Sign-off Marcus Green
ISD Sign-off Alan Harris
ISD Sign-off Leslee Hammers
ISD Sign -off Patricia Rodriguez
ISD Sign-off Daphnee St.Val

Purpose
This document supports academic needs assessment (reduced) as well as organizational (expanded). You must understand the problem this course
addresses. Organizational learning assessments are more involved because we have responsibility for return on investment (e.g., it increases revenue
or reduces costs). We can know our audience in organizational learning because it addresses a finite audience. Academic learning, with some
exceptions, is open to the universe of learners. If academic learning, the program is responsible for ensuring a reasonable basis for consumption, in
organizational learning, the ISD must assess this. Change issues can affect both class of courses.

Quality Criteria
1. The problem is clearly stated and fully understood by the design team.
2. We have credible data confirming the extent of the problem (applies primarily to organizational not academic needs assessments).
3. We have a reasonable basis to support belief in course consumption (generally numbers of staff required to attend).
4. We have a clear and measurable success statement.
5. We document any concerns our assessment uncovers about the business need or potential for return on investment (this covers you).

Assessment Data (colored rows apply more to organizational learning than academic)
 Item Guidelines Item Data
Stakeholders This is particularly important for organizational learning, Thomas Garrod
but also applies to academic learning. When we have program managers, they
should be listed here as well.
Identify the management person most affected by this
problem. If we are addressing an outcome that involves
more than one department, the director of each department
is a stakeholder; for example if a product is malfunctioning,
the solution might require input from design as well as
manufacturing. If a stakeholder is not involved in the
solution, I will not proceed. You’ll need to have input and
support from each stakeholder to be sure that that solution is
effective. Without this input, your solution may very well
make the problem worse. You do not want to be responsible
for this amount of waste.

It is common for important stakeholders to assign an

administrative person to address a problem, but try to at
least meet with this person and make sure you have their
support for design before starting development. It is better
to meet them before you develop than after (this is an
understatement).
Problem Statement Academic: Knowledge Gap Many learners do not know how to
Organization: Business problem collaborate with others to pursue
Describe what is missing or broken. Explain its affect on common goals.
outcomes. Academic learning addresses knowledge gaps
more than it addresses problems.
Problem Data This applies to organizational learning, not academic Because this is an academic course for an
learning. audience which we cannot collect data
Find evidence of the problem, if you can’t, you may be on, we cannot collect baseline data to
chasing a myth. Evidence of the problem, such as number of reflect the problem.
injuries per man hours, is proof of a problem. It also
 provides a baseline for learning evaluation. In the example
of injuries, if they do not fall, either our learning is
ineffective, or our root cause analysis incorrectly identified
behavior as the problem. Problem data is essential for root-
cause analysis and learning evaluation.
Questions you must address include:
1. Is there a real problem (don’t create a course to solve an
imaginary problem)?
2. What factors drive the problem (don’t train for change
that will not remove the problem)?
3. Will training solve this problem?
Success Statement Describes the conditions of success. For example, “The
learner will be able to safely operate a bicycle in traffic and
on uneven surfaces.” (This will be your terminal learning
objective.)
Audience Definition When your audience is finite, describe it in clear terms: it
could be all fifth graders at Main Prairie Elementary School
or it could be all machinists at Boeing or Airbus.
Possible questions:
1. What job IDs will attend this learning?
2. What are the prerequisites?
3. Is your audience local or distributed?
4. What is the turnover rate?
Audience Needs What, if any, special needs have we uncovered (e.g., high
number of ESL learners or high incidence of low computer
competence)?
Change Issues A change issue is any belief, attitude, value or political
alignment in conflict with the message of this learning.
With awareness, we can craft our message to address these.
In extreme cases (educating women in Afghanistan) we
might attach conditions to our recommendation to proceed.
After completing this course learners are
able to collaborate with others to pursue
common goals.
Audience will be determined by the
program manager.
Any special audience needs will be
identified by admissions.
Since we don’t know our audience we
can only anticipate that the audience
might feel they don’t need this course.
Commented [1]: 1) Learners' mindsets prevent them
from working with others. 2) Learners refuse to work
with others because of prior conflicts. 3) Learners are
unwilling to share knowledge with others who they see
as their competitors.
Commented [2]: From the discussions with group
members, I require guidance from Thomas on this.
Commented [3]: Ameena, I don't know what feedback
you seek. I see your three items above (I prefer
comments like this be placed in the collaboration
discussion), and I presume these speak to "the
problem." I am not sure that the first two are valid.
There is no reason to assume more of our audience
than that this is an essential capability and we wish to
ensure they have it. Some may already be excellent
collaborators, but that doesn't give them a pass.
Observation indicates that less successful people do
not collaborate well ( Collaboration, by the way, is the
essence of teaming). Everyone has to complete this
course.
Commented [4]: Mr. Garrod, this was clarified via
email.
 What beliefs, social values, or attitudes exist in a significant
portion of our audience that might affect learner
receptiveness?
Change issues apply to both academic learning and to
organizational learning. As in the case of union resistance, it
is important to identify these and advise management to
address them BEFORE launching the project.
Technology Issues What technology issues, such as bandwidth, knowledge, or As far as technology goes, in corporate
access to learning might impede participation? setting it is decided by the technical team
In an academic setting, the program will generally give us and the management. In academic setting
the standard we must meet, but you may need to ask. the technology is decided by the faculties
In a corporate setting, we’ll need to explore the environment and also the prerequisites of the learners
of our workers (management may not be informed of real are taken into consideration.
circumstances, so “see” for yourself).
Proof of Consumption If this is an academic course, this concern falls on the Because all participants of the program
program requesting the course, you needn’t worry about it. are required to take the course we can
know that there will be full consumption.
If this is organizational learning, it is up to us to ensure a
return on investment. If no one attends, there is no return.
eLearning design and development is expensive. Count the
number of employees required to take the course.
Project Risks 1. List risk factors discovered. Interns come and go, they are taking a lot
2. Rate them resolved, mitigated (e.g., contingency of time creating the course so that’s one
planning), or unresolved. of the risk.
3. Indicate if this is a go/nogo factor.
4. Indicate resolution requirement.
Scope of the project is ambiguous.
Delivery Strategy When learning can be either classroom, virtual, or blended, Asynchronous, collaborative and
determining the delivery strategy is usually part of needs facilitated, eLearning.
assessment. Many with limited understanding of eLearning
potential will prematurely determine classroom.
Virtually every classroom course will go smoother if learner
 arrive with some eLearning preparation.
When this is an open question. Consider the following
factors to support determination (if they tell you it can’t be
delivered by eLearning, be skeptical).

Situation favoring delivery strategies

ILT eLT Blended
distributed localized audience both conceptual
audience
low-turnover hi-turnover
hand’s-on learning conceptual some of both
Very complex more routine some of both
Moderate resistance little resistance to some of both
to learning learning

Findings End with a clear recommendation. Your recommendation

could be conditional. For example, you could support the
project on the condition that x number of employees are
required to attend or that management first obtains union
support for the change. Outcomes are poor and you did not
recognize a factor, the reflection is on you. Management
may opt to ignore your recommendations, but if you
document your concerns and have evidence stakeholder
awareness, you are covered.