Resources:
Contains a nice overview of how to start conducting a TNA.
2. Callahan, M.R., ed. (2006). Be a better needs analyst, Infoline Issue Number 8502. Silver Springs, MD: ASTD.
Contains a good description of different data collection methods and tips of designing these instruments.3. Franklin, M. (2006). Performance Gap Analysis, Infoline Issue Number 0603 . Silver Spring, MD: ASTD. (I have a hard copy in Google Docs)
Contains a job aid on pages 14-16 that lists questions to answer when conducting a TNA.
My TNA:
Tips and Best Practices from Class Materials
- Conduct a needs analysis after you have identified a specific skills and knowledge that is needed to close a performance gap. The RCA will help identify this items (Campos, resource #1).
- Only conduct a TNA if the Root Cause Analysis shows a knowledge or skills gap--these are the only elements that can be fixed by learning (Campos, resource #1).
- A TNA looks at the skills and knowledge on a granular level and shows the design team exactly what employees do not know or are not able to do so that they can design instruction that targets these specific skills (Campos, resource #1).
- Make sure you give yourself enough time and follow a timeline to keep on track. Because you are working with human subjects, timelines may get derailed. (Campos, resource #1).
- Keep in mind the organization's climate and culture when choosing data collection methods (Callahan, resource #2).
- Avoid analysis during times of organizational/structural change (Callahan, resource #2).
Tips and Best Practices from my Experience:
- Keep in mind that the TNA will be read by the administrators. For this reason, keep it as succinct as possible. The Findings and Recommendations are most likely what they will read. The rest just supports this information.
- Collect data from a wide group and use several different methods. Interviews will give you more personal information and will allow you to ask follow-up questions. Surveys will allow you to collect information from a wide group of people in a standardized way.
- It is important to make sure any instrument you use presents questions in a neutral fashion. You are the detective, not the interrogator.
- Try not to lead participants to answer the way you expect them to answer. Be prepared for unexpected answers.
- As you are collecting data, you are also building buy-in for training that will take place.
- The FEA uncovers if there is a training need, but the TNA takes this one step further and prepares you for the design plan stage. A lot of the information regarding the participants that is gathered from this step can be used directly in the Design Plan.
Questionnaires and Interviews (Callahan, resource #2)
General Recommendations: Design instruments that can be easily and quickly administered and scored without training or disrupting the workplace. Choose the most important issues to focus on.
Questionnaires: Use for factual information and opinions
Pros:
- They can easily be used to collect from a large group of individuals
- Can reach people not physically located in front of you
- Can be anonymous
- There are many standardized questionnaires that already exist
- Hard to follow-up on comments made by respondents
- Hard to get at the initial causes and possible solutions through a questionnaire
- Low return rates
Tips:
- Make sure wording is simple and easy to understand
- Avoid open-ended questions for large groups because it can be hard to analyze answers
- Reassure participants that the information is confidential
- Always use questionnaires in conjunction with other methods. They can be followed up with interviews
- When possible, share results with respondents
Interviews: Can be in-person or over the phone. Use for gathering background data and generating solutions to the problem or identifying causes.
Pros:
- Allow participants to become comfortable with the analyst team
- Can collect non-verbal responses to a question (participant's gestures, facial expressions, etc.)
- Build buy-in
Cons:
- Interviewers' bias can affect data
- It is hard to analyze data from an interview
- Inexperienced interviewers can make participants feel uncomfortable
- Interviews are not anonymous
Tips:
- Plan out ahead of time what you want to accomplish in the interview
- Conduct interviews somewhere neutral--a meeting room rather than the supervisor's office
- Four to six interviews are enough when studying a homogeneous group
- Explain the purpose of the interview to participants to put interviewees at ease
- Keep questions broad and neutral so not to lead the participants' responses
- Keep the interview from turning into a counseling session
Steps for Conducting a Needs Analysis (Callahan, resource #2):
Step 1: Define your objectives--for a TNA this is most likely related to pinpointing the exact skills and knowledge lacking and seeing what specific skills need to be taught to remedy the gap
Step 2: Identify necessary data-- identify information about the need, the solution, the population requiring training, and strategies for delivering training
Step 3: Select Data Collection method(s)-- methods include focus groups, interviews, surveys, questionnaires, observations, work samples, records & reports
Step 4: Collect Data
Step 5: Analyze and confirm the data
Step 6: Prepare the report
TNA Timeline:
From our EDU603 Blackboard Course Materials created by Jeannette Campos (accessed Fall 2012), here is a sample timeline to follow when conducting the TNA:| During Week Number | Perform These Tasks |
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