Appendix Two: Moving From Theory to Practice: Standards of Performance Technology


The Certified Performance Technologist (CPT) process promotes the systematic and systemic identification and removal of barriers to individual and organizational performance by providing performance improvement practitioners with 10 Standards of Performance Technology and a Code of Ethics. CPT practitioners exercise creativity and flexibility when it comes to applying the Standards. Each workplace situation requires a different approach, using different tools and techniques. Each situation results in different outcomes based on different needs. However, in the end, performance technology (PT) practitioners improve the workplace for individuals, organizations, and society by staying focused on the Standards.

CPT performance and criteria indicators for operationalizing the Standards are summarized in the following matrix. The complete, detailed performance and criteria indicators can be found at www.certifiedpt.org.

Performance Standard 1: FOCUS ON OUTCOMES

Performances

Criteria

You

Determine the outcome or expected result of the assignment. You may ”

  • Help clients specify what they expect to change, or what benefit they expect to gain as a result of the effort or assignment.

  • Help clients come to agreement on what they expect to accomplish.

  • Guide or facilitate clients in focusing on accomplishments in deference to activities or events.

  • Determine what will be measured or accepted as evidence that the business need was met.

  • Explain the importance of focusing on accomplishments.

So that you and the client can

  • Better evaluate if the effort was successful and produced outcomes of worth.

  • Determine in the beginning what information will be collected and how it will be collected to measure accomplishment of the desired outcome.

  • Communicate what the expected outcome is to team members and other stakeholders.

  • Establish goals and performance measures with staff and key clients.

  • Design your fact-finding (analysis) efforts and recommend solutions that are more likely to accomplish the desired outcome.

  • Celebrate and recognize those efforts that accomplished desired outcomes.

So that

  • The results of your work and how you went about producing those results supported the client, the organization, or society's goals.

Performance Standard 2: TAKE A SYSTEMS VIEW

Performances

Criteria

You ”

  1. Identify the current work, workplace, or market environment in terms of how it affects organizational and group performance.

  2. Identify the environment and culture of the work and workplace and how it affects organizational and group performance.

  3. Identify if there is a lack of alignment between or among the following:

    • Goals and objectives

    • Performance measures

    • Rewards and incentives

    • job, work, or process designs

    • Available systems, tools, and equipment

    • Expectations and capacity

  4. Identify barriers and leverage points, both in the workplace and surrounding your project, in terms of how these factors could affect processes; organizational and group performance; and the development, implementation, and outcome of your proposed solutions. You may identify ”

    • Key political players and stakeholders

    • Issues affecting the larger environment

    • Pressures on key players, the business, the audience, managers, etc.

    • Expectations around the project

    • Workplace constraints and surrounding the project

    • Consequences of various solutions or in not pursuing a solution

  5. Drive conversations around the barriers and leverage points that have been identified. Discussions could include the following issues:

    • Constraints or pressures related to:

      • Deadlines

      • Budget

      • Politics

      • Time

      • Regulatory issues

      • Product launch

      • Safety

    • Leverage points, including:

      • Political players

      • Stakeholder support

      • Related initiatives within the workplace that support the goals of the proposed solution

  6. Explain the benefits of taking a systems approach in a conversation, design document, or project plan. You may ”

    • Point out the knowledge gained by looking at the larger picture surrounding a project or performance issue.

    • Show how identified leverage points could be used to positively affect the project.

    • Discuss how identified barriers need to be considered in order to increase the probability of a project's success.

So that you and the client can ”

  • Determine if and how the work, workplace, or industry environment supports or impedes the desired organizational and group performance.

  • Determine if and how the current culture supports or impedes the professed performance.

  • Identify if and where there is a lack of alignment between or among key factors affecting the success of the solution.

  • Determine if and how the barriers and leverage points support or impede the proposed solutions and the desired organizational and group performance.

  • Analyze how the proposed solutions will affect the greater environment of the organization as a whole.

  • Determine whether and how the results of your work and how you plan on producing those results might jeopardize the client, the organization, or society's well-being.

  • Help ensure that the methods of deploying and the results of the project will have a positive impact on the client, the larger environment, and society.

  • Increase awareness throughout the workplace of the benefits of a systems approach.

Performance Standard 3: ADD VALUE

Performances

Criteria

You ”

  1. Identify two or more possible solutions or courses of action.

  2. Identify the worth of the requested solution or those under consideration, by comparing factors such as:

    • Cost to design, develop, implement, and maintain each

    • Likelihood of adoption or use by the target audience

    • Probability of each solution achieving the desired goals

    • Implication or possible impact on the target audience, other employees , consumers, the community, etc.

    • Ability of the organization to support each solution (reward the appropriate behaviors and results; provide the appropriate communication and information systems; tools and equipment; maintain sponsorship; etc.)

    • Risks associated with the success or failure of each solution in terms of threats to safety, health, financial return, customer satisfaction, etc.

  3. Recommend solutions that add value, are feasible , and are more likely to accomplish the goals or aims of the project with minimal risk.

  4. Describe the potential value added and how that value will be measured, such as:

    • Increased safety, utility, or customer or community satisfaction

    • Increased revenues

    • Avoided costs

    • Decreased errors, lost time to accidents, time to market, cycle time, processing time, wait time, etc.

    • Increased on-time delivery

    • Increased customer and employee retention

  5. Point out the risks, tradeoffs, and assumptions on which decisions or choices are based

  6. Document using a contract, memo of understanding, or description in project description ”the expected value added, the costs (materials, resources, time, etc.), and a schedule of deliverables

  7. Explain the importance of doing work that adds value and the importance of demonstrating the value gained

  8. Contribute insights and call out implications throughout the work

  9. Display honesty; push back, challenge assumptions.

  10. Represent yourself honestly, not as having expertise beyond your capabilities

So that you and the client can ”

  • Establish at the start what will be used as evidence of success, accomplishment, or worth and communicate that to all vested parties (stakeholders).

  • Determine that a mechanism exists to establish whether the gain was realized and to track early indicators of success so corrections are made.

  • Determine if the assumptive base and the argument for or against a course of action is documented and communicated.

  • State what tradeoffs were made and what value was gained, and conclude that the value outweighed the cost.

  • State that what you do adds value and how you go about your work adds value.

So that ”

  • The product of the assignment or the goal of the task is sound and beneficial to the organization.

Performance Standard 4: WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CLIENTS AND OTHER SPECIALISTS

Performances

Criteria

You ”

  1. Collaborate with stakeholders, experts, and specialists, making use of their knowledge, capabilities, and influence. You may ”

    • Identify stakeholders.

    • Determine if other content expertise is required.

    • Solicit other content expertise as needed.

    • Incorporate stakeholders, experts, and specialists as part of the team, involving them as required.

    • Establish collaborative relationships.

    • Leverage the expertise and influence of others for the benefit of the client.

  2. Take the initiative to define your expectations, working relationships, roles, responsibilities, etc. You may ”

    • Point out the benefits of collaboration and partnering.

    • Increasingly expect to work in collaboration or in a partnership with each other.

    • Anticipate resistance and respond accordingly .

    • Anticipate issues and barriers.

    • Bring misunderstandings to the surface to reconcile them.

    • Give credit and acknowledge the support, endorsement, and contributions of your partners .

So that you and the client can ”

  • Trust and respect each other's roles, knowledge, and expertise.

  • Leverage expertise and influence of others to the client's benefit.

  • Ensure the voices of all vested parties are sought and integrated into the design of the instructional program.

  • Share responsibility for all decisions concerning goals, next steps to take in the process, and implementation.

  • Make the best choices about accomplishments, priorities, and solutions because you understand your client's needs, challenges, and culture.

  • Support the product of the assignment or the goal of the task.

So that ”

  • All stakeholders are involved in the decision making around every phase of the process, and specialists are involved in their areas of expertise.

Performance Standard 5: BE SYSTEMATIC ”NEEDS OR OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS

Performances

Criteria

You ”

  1. Determine the type of analysis required.

  2. Develop a plan or process for conducting the analysis, including any of the following:

    • Hypotheses

    • Data-collection methods

    • Audiences to be polled

    • Sampling method

    • Statistical treatment

    • Sequence of activities

    • Timeline

    • Resources required

  3. Develop any tools or documents, such as interviews, surveys, or observation forms required to capture the data.

  4. Conduct the analysis.

  5. Analyze the data.

  6. Interpret the results. You may ”

    • Determine the magnitude of the gap in terms of criticality, frequency, cost or exposure, or lost benefit.

  7. Build a business case for action or non-action.

  8. Make recommendations based on the results.

So that you and the client can ”

  • Use analysis methods appropriate to the situation.

  • Determine the question (hypothesis) you want to answer.

  • Carry out the analysis at the appropriate level: individual, group, process, organizational, or societal.

  • Develop recommendations on whether to act on the findings and how.

  • Use data-gathering methods appropriate to the situation.

  • Use sampling methods that follow recommended practices:

    • If a representative sample was used, it lists the criteria for being selected.

    • If a random sample was used, it (1) was of sufficient size to generalize from the results and support the statistical analysis used, (2) lists the criteria for being part of the population, and (3) describes how the sample was chosen .

    • If a stratified sample was used, the strata are listed, the size of the strata is shown, and the size of the sample by strata is shown.

  • Use a survey format that complies with recommended practice, if a survey is used:

    • Consistent use of scales

    • Sufficient number of questions for statistical analysis

    • Clear directions on how to complete the survey

    • Piloted to confirm the questions and directions work as intended

    • Standard method of analysis

    • Documented method of analysis

  • Use an interview format that complies with recommended practice, if interviews or observation are used:

    • Documented format

    • Piloted questions

    • Documented analysis method

    • Accepted analysis method

  • Correctly use documents or work products as a source of data:

    • Documented sampling method

    • Accepted sampling method

    • Documented evaluation or comparison criteria for documentation or work products

  • Identify the physical and technological opportunities and constraints in the work environment.

  • Identify the actual work processes used to accomplish work.

  • Identify the actual and expected outputs of the work.

  • Identify the consequences and who the receivers of those consequences are.

  • Identify what feedback systems are or are not in use and how effective they are.

  • Identify the inputs that the workgroup has available. (Inputs include information, directions, requirements, expectations, etc.)

  • Identify gaps between what is required and what actually occurs.

  • Discriminate causes due to lack of information, knowledge, or skill from those due to inadequacies in the work environment, poor job design, inadequate feedback systems, lack of consequences, or poorly designed processes.

  • Determine the feasibility or probability of eliminating the gap.

So that ”

  • The plan is feasible, given organizational time and resource constraints.

  • The results are useful and valid.

  • The process for conducting the analysis is cost- and time-efficient.

  • Findings serve as guides for future work and provide information for later evaluation.

  • The process for conducting the analysis is administered consistently and includes the voices of all stakeholders.

  • The analysis method is applied to the level of completeness and accuracy required by the problem and its risks, and no more.

Performance Standard 6: BE SYSTEMATIC-CAUSE ANALYSIS

Performances

Criteria

You ”

  1. Use the gap to help determine the worth of determining the cause and establish criteria for measuring the effectiveness of a chosen solution.

  2. Develop a hypothesis for why the gap exists.

  3. Develop a plan or approach to test your hypothesis and identify the cause of the gap.

  4. Implement the plan and identify the cause of the gap, such as:

    • Lack of skills or knowledge

    • Insufficient environmental support

    • Inappropriate rewards or incentives or measures

    • Poorly designed jobs or processes

  5. Report your findings.

So that you and the client can ”

  • Differentiate performance problems that are caused by lack of knowledge and skill from those that are due to environmental, job, or process design; inadequate feed back or performance support systems; insufficient or inappropriate tools and equipment; conflicting objectives; or inappropriate performance measures.

  • Determine how much certainty is required to support a solution.

  • Determine which hypotheses (the cause of turnover , high cost of recruitment, poor morale , customer dissatisfaction, etc.) are supported by the data.

  • Note those instances where a solution is predetermined, such as training done in order to comply with regulations or for new hires who are known to lack the required skills and knowledge.

So that ”

  • Future design and development will address the real need(s) cost effectively.

Performance Standard 7: BE SYSTEMATIC ”DESIGN

Performances

Criteria

You ”

  1. Decide on one or more solution set(s), such as:

    • Process redesign

    • Training

    • Change/benefit

  2. Define the desired performance.

  3. Identify the objectives of the solution and all elements of the solution.

  4. Develop a plan that includes strategy and tactics for accomplishing the objectives and addressing all elements of the solution.

  5. Agree on roles and responsibilities for stakeholders, high performers, and subject matter experts to be involved in the development and implementation of the solution.

  6. Identify key attributes of the proposed solution ”such as learning strategy and tactics, transfer systems, feedback, etc. ”for:

    • Data and communication systems

    • Job or process elements

    • Management practices (feedback, rewards, scheduling, promoting, performance measures, etc.)

  7. Identify how the solution will be produced or actualized.

  8. Identify the resources required.

  9. Identify methods for delivering or deploying the solution.

  10. Identify how the solution will be maintained or reinforced.

  11. Identify methods for evaluating the effectiveness of the solution.

  12. Explain the rationale for the proposed methods, such as:

    • Evaluation

    • Strategy and tactics

So that ”

  • The objectives, conditions, performances, performance elements, and criteria for judging learning, transfer, or adoption are sufficiently detailed.

  • The assumptions, the aims or intent of the solution, the strategy for development and deployment, and the criteria for judging adoption and success are sufficiently detailed and sound.

  • The required terms, concepts, rules, heuristics, principles, and procedures key to performance are present.

  • The sequence of the content and tactics is sufficiently detailed.

  • The materials used to actualize the solution are designed following instructional methods designed to enhance the likelihood of attaining the intended outcomes.

  • The strategy and tactics for accomplishing the objectives (transferring knowledge, building skills, supporting performance, redesigning work processes and feedback systems, and aligning rewards and consequences) are sufficiently detailed.

  • The method for evaluating the accomplishment of the objective and the effectiveness of the solution is feasible and sufficiently detailed.

So that ”

  • The methods for deploying the solution are described.

  • The methods for maintaining or reinforcing the solution over time are described. The client understands the investment in time and resources necessary to develop and implement the solution and can provide the resources to actualize the design.

  • The target audience can participate in testing the solution.

  • The information serves as a guide for future work and provides information for later evaluation.

Performance Standard 8: BE SYSTEMATIC ”DEVELOPMENT

Performances

Criteria

You ”

  1. Ensure that the chosen solution is developed according to design specifications. You may ”

    • Assist in the development of electronic support systems, such as help screens or help desks.

    • Participate in the development of a job, task, or process redesign.

    • Participate in the development of a feedback system, reward and recognition system, communication system, or information system.

    • Participate in the development of a change strategy.

    • Develop materials or methods to improve team processes, job procedures, work practices, or individual or group decision making.

  2. Conduct formative , pilot, and user evaluations of all elements of the chosen solution or product to determine if it performs as expected and accomplishes the desired goal(s). You may ”

    • Engage high performers or experts in reviewing all materials or in creating a new process or system.

    • Design and conduct a formative evaluation of all elements of the solution.

    • Design and conduct pilot and user tests to determine readability, functionality, usability, etc.

    • Compare formative, pilot, and user test results against design standards.

    • Determine if the physical elements of the solution support the objective(s), are usable to the target audience, can be administered in the way intended, and can be maintained over time.

    • Ensure that learnings are fed back into development.

So that you and the client can ”

  • Determine if the physical elements of the solution support the objective(s), are usable to the target audience, can be administered in the way intended, and can be maintained over time.

  • Get timely , relevant data for the pilot or user tests.

  • Provide mechanisms for feedback.

So that ”

  • The solution is effective or performs as expected and accomplishes the desired goal.

Performance Standard 9: BE SYSTEMATIC ”IMPLEMENTATION

Performances

Criteria

You ”

  1. Design a change strategy that includes the following:

    • How the effort (the message) will be communicated and to whom

    • What implementation materials and messages will be required and how they will be produced

    • A schedule of the rollout, including milestones, timelines , etc.

    • How the new behaviors and other evidence of adoption will be recognized and rewarded

    • What to do in case of resistance

    • Who will provide support and reinforcement during deployment

    • Roles and responsibilities of management, the target audience, and other vested parties

  2. Develop tools and procedures to help those involved in the implementation. For example:

    • Train-the-trainer sessions

    • Job aids

    • FAQs

  3. Participate in the implementation or deployment of the solution.

  4. During implementation, solicit feedback related to the utility and relevance of the solution and use the information obtained in the following ways:

    • As a guide for future work and evaluation

    • To look at what worked and feed it back into the solution

    • By sharing it among key players to improve the solution and ongoing rollout

So that you and the client can ”

  • Send a uniform message about the why, what, and how of the solution.

  • Determine what tools and procedures the team responsible for implementation or deployment requires to effectively support implementation.

  • Determine how best to track the speed of the deployment and any resistance.

  • Determine how to identify and best handle resistance.

So that ”

  • The information serves as a guide for future work and provides information for ongoing evaluation.

  • The solution is delivered to the target audience.

  • Change is sustained over time.

Performance Standard 10: BE SYSTEMATIC ”EVALUATION

Performances

Criteria

You ”

  1. State outcomes of the evaluation effort in measurable terms.

  2. Design a measurement strategy or plan based on the program's or project's goals and outcomes. The plan includes the following:

    • The program or project's key success indicators or goals in measurable terms

    • How data will be collected and results validated

    • The standard or goal against which results will be compared

    • How data from others will be incorporated or leveraged

    • If and how evaluation expertise may be required

  3. Develop the tools, instruments, and guidelines for collecting and interpreting data and selecting samples.

  4. Measure the results of the solution or help the client evaluate the impact of the solution.

  5. Identify what can be done in the future to improve the way in which needs and opportunities are identified and solutions selected, valued, developed, and deployed.

  6. Report your findings and recommendations.

  7. Explain the value of evaluating (ethics).

So that you and the client can ”

  • Determine whether the solution fulfilled the goal or satisfied the need

  • Determine whether data are valid and useful.

  • Determine if the measurement methods and metrics are valid and useful.

  • Make timely decisions about the need to change, alter, or intervene to better ensure the effectiveness of the solution.

So that ”

  • Reports are useful and relevant to the reader(s).

  • Your methods and processes for analysis; selection and comparison of alternative solutions; and the design, development, deployment, and maintenance of solutions are improved.

  • The efficacy of the solution is ensured.

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Using the Standards and their associated criteria as a performance support tool, the CPT practitioner can take a proactive approach to continuous performance improvement and apply the Standards to a variety of performance improvement opportunities and challenges.

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Fundamentals of Performance Technology. A Guide to Improving People, Process, and Performance
Fundamentals of Performance Technology: A Guide to Improving People, Process, and Performance
ISBN: 1890289086
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 98

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