Chapter 3: Performance Analysis

Introduction to Performance Analysis

Performance analysis is the first step in the HPT Model (see Figure 3-1). There is no possibility of a chicken-or-egg paradox when it comes to performance analysis. Without first identifying and clarifying the problem or performance gap, it is unsound (and certainly unsystematic) to state the cause and select or design a solution. This chapter will provide the reader with an overview of performance analysis.

Figure 3-1: HPT MODEL ” PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS PHASE

One way to view performance analysis is to picture "the anatomy of performance." ^[1] The anatomy of performance (see Table 3-1) contains nine performance variables ” three levels of performance and three performance needs for each level. The nine variables provide "an organization x-ray that depicts the three critical interdependent Levels of Performance. The overall performance of an organization (how well it meets the expectations of its customers) is the result of goals, structures and management actions at all three Levels of Performance." ^[2]

Table 3-1: ANATOMY OF PERFORMANCE

	Three Performance Needs That Determine Overall Performance at Each Performance Level...
Performance Levels	Goals	Design	Management
Organization Level	Organization Goals	Organization Design	Organization Management
Process Level	Process Goals	Process Design	Process Management
Job/Performer Level	Job/Performer Goals	Job Design	Job/Performer Management

The definition of the three performance needs is as follows :

• Goals ”Specific standards that reflect customers' expectations for product and service quality, quantity, timeliness, and cost.

• Design ”The structure of the organization, process, or job, configured to efficiently meet the goals.

• Management ”Practices that ensure the goals are current and being achieved. ^[3]

The organizational analysis sections of this chapter will focus on the first performance need: organization goals. Organization design and management practices are covered in the environmental analysis section, while goals, design, and management, as they apply to the job and the performer, are covered in the section on gap analysis.

Definition and Scope

"Performance analysis is the process of identifying the organization's performance requirements and comparing them to its objectives and capabilities." ^[4] Performance analysis also examines directions and drivers. "During performance analysis, we seek two broad kinds of information that serve as umbrellas for many concerns and considerations. First, we seek the performance and perspectives that the organization and its leaders are trying to put in place. Let's call them directions.... We also seek information about performance drivers, the factors that are now blocking or aiding performance or those that might do so in the future.... The quest for directions sketches out the scope of the effort, the analysis of drivers determines what needs to be done to successfully develop performance, people and the organization." ^[5]

In the HPT Model, performance analysis focuses on three areas:

• Desired performance state

• Actual performance state

• Gaps between desired and actual performance

Because performance does not occur in a vacuum , the organization and the environment have a considerable impact on both the performance and the performer. This is why a comprehensive performance analysis also focuses on the:

• Vision, mission, values, goals, and strategies of the organization ” directions that particularly impact the desired state of performance.

• Internal and external environment ”organization, competition, work, performer ” drivers that particularly affect the actual performance state.

Organizational directions have a significant impact on the performance standards that are used to determine desired or optimal performance. Environmental drivers significantly affect actual performance.

Purpose

The purpose of a performance analysis is to identify and measure the gap between desired or optimal performance and actual performance. ^[6] In broader terms, the purpose of performance analysis is to establish what should be (desired or optimal performance), to identify what is (actual performance), and to identify the gap between the two.

Performance analysis is the linchpin for the whole performance improvement system. It is "systematic and thorough workplace diagnosis and documentation (that provides) the true basis for improving performance at the organizational, process, and worker levels." ^[7]

Techniques

This segment of the introduction to performance analysis suggests that a complete performance analysis should include the following five techniques: ^[8]

• Extant data analysis

• Needs analysis

• Knowledge task analysis

• Procedural task analysis

• Systems task analysis

Extant Data Analysis

Extant data analysis focuses on accomplishments or performance outcomes that are documented in various company records such as sales reports, customer surveys, safety reports , quality control documentation, etc. Analysis of existing data enables the PT practitioner to make inferences about the actual performance.

Needs Analysis

According to Allison Rossett, needs assessment is "the systematic effort that we make to gather opinions and ideas from a variety of sources on performance problems...." ^[9] The sources may include performers, stakeholders, customers, management, subject matter experts, etc. Needs analysis seeks opinions and ideas about what should be happening, what is happening, how the sources feel about what is or is not happening, and what is causing the problem. The resulting data is always subjective ; however it may illuminate why a desired performance is occurring or not occurring and what needs to happen to reach or to maintain the desired performance.

Knowledge Task Analysis

During knowledge task analysis, the analyst searches for detailed information about what the performer needs to know (the invisible part of performance) to successfully complete a specific job or task. The analyst collects and analyzes information from the literature of the performance field, subject matter experts, and expert performers to uncover the body of knowledge "that, if mastered, would contribute to or enhance work behavior." ^[10]

Identifying and synthesizing the invisible details of optimal performance ensures that the complete performance picture is in place when it comes time to compare desired performance state with actual performance state to determine whether or not there is a performance gap.

Procedural Task Analysis

Procedural task analysis focuses on the visible details of optimal performance, "documenting people-thing workplace expertise in terms of precisely what people are required to know and be able to do to perform the task." ^[11] The term people-thing refers to the interaction between the performer and the object of the performance. An example of documenting people-thing expertise is a task analysis that examines what the performer (people) needs to know and be able to do to fill out a form (thing). The result of procedural analysis is a document containing "cookbook-style, step-by-step procedures." ^[12] The limitation of procedural task analysis is that it frequently focuses on tasks conducted under normal conditions and does not take into account what is required for optimal performance under abnormal conditions.

Systems Task Analysis

The last technique, systems task analysis, picks up where procedural task analysis ends by focusing on the "expertise workers must have to respond effectively to abnormal conditions." ^[13] Systems task analysis provides a series of snapshots that, if taken collectively, provide a composite of the total performance system:

• System overview (description, flow, components , and purpose)

• Process analysis

• Troubleshooting analysis

"Systems analysis can help develop a more accurate picture and understanding of the selected system, the connections among subsystems, and the expertise required of those connections and handoffs from one expert worker to another." ^[14]

When To Use What

Linking analysis techniques to a particular situation is often difficult and requires a knowledge of why the analyst is conducting the analysis (see Table 3-2).

Table 3-2: LINKING ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES TO PURPOSE

Use This Technique...	To Find Out About...
	Desired State	Actual State	Organization	Environment
Extant Data Analysis		X	X	X
Needs Analysis	X	X	X	X
Knowledge Task Analysis	X	X
Procedural Task Analysis	X	X
Systems Task Analysis	X	X

Once purpose and techniques are determined and matched, "It is how the analysis phase is carried out...that determines whether performance improvement efforts support major business processes or are simply a series of activities." ^[15]

Tools

Every PT practitioner should have knowledge of and skill in the following data collection tools: interviews, group processes (brainstorming, focus groups, etc.), observation, and surveys. Plug the tools into Table 3-3 below, and it becomes a virtual performance analysis job aid!

Table 3-3: ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES, PURPOSES, AND TOOLS

	Analysis Techniques
Purposes	Extant Data Analysis	Needs Analysis	Knowledge Task Analysis	Procedural Task Analysis	Systems Task Analysis
Desired State	N/A	Surveys Group Interviews	Interviews Surveys Group	Observation Interviews Group	Interviews Observation Group	Tools
Actual State	Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis Tools	Surveys Group Interviews	Interviews Surveys Group	Observation Interviews Group	Observation Interviews Group
Organization	Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis Tools	Surveys Group Interviews	N/A	N/A	N/A
Environment	Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis Tools	Surveys Group Interviews	N/A	N/A	N/A

Surveys, group processes, and interviews are tools that the PT practitioner can adapt to support all the techniques except extant data analysis, which requires a special set of quantitative and qualitative data analysis tools. Surveys, group processes, and interviews are also well-suited to analyzing the desired and actual performance states, the organization, and the environment. Observation is best suited to procedural analysis and systems analysis. When to use which technique is determined by organizational climate and resource availability (time, money, and skilled personnel).

The tools and techniques for performance analysis will be discussed in greater detail in the following sections.

^[1] Rummler and Brache, 1995, pp. 17 “19

^[2] Rummler and Brache, 1995, p. 17

^[3] Rummler and Brache, 1995, p. 19

^[4] Rosenberg, 1996b, p. 6

^[5] Rossett, 1998, pp. 33 “34

^[6] Rossett, 1998

^[7] Swanson, 1994, p. ix

^[8] Rossett, 1989 and Swanson, 1994

^[9] Rossett, 1989, p. 63

^[10] Swanson, 1994, p. 190

^[11] Swanson, 1994, p. 123

^[12] Swanson, 1994, p. 151

^[13] Swanson 1994, p. 151

^[14] Swanson, 1994, p. 187

^[15] Swanson, 1994, p. ix