Complex Interventions for Complex Problems: Expanded Context for e-Learning Tools

If you’re anything like me, you sometimes get asked to design and develop instruction when you know instruction will be minimally helpful — or even when instruction is desirable, but additional interventions are also needed to prevent or solve a performance problem. That’s because there are many reasons for performance problems, and instruction, as an intervention, is only meant to solve gaps in knowledge and skills.

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Robert Mager and Peter Pipe listed these seven performance problems in Analyzing Performance Problems, 3^rd edition:

• Gap in knowledge or skills
• Knowledge or skills used rarely
• Obstacles to performance
• Expectations not clear
• Inadequate resources
• Inadequate feedback
• Inappropriate consequences

Here’s an example of a performance problem that needed more than an instructional solution. A client asked for online ethics training to be done quickly because they were dealing with PR nightmares. Analysis of the situation showed that many people in the organization didn’t know that certain ethical dilemmas, such as accepting gifts from clients, could cause both real and perceived problems inside and outside the organization. The organization had ambiguous expectations about how to handle these situations. Staff and managers, who acted poorly or even egregiously, were rarely chastised. Training was part of the solution, but training alone would not be sufficient to prevent these problems in the future. Clear expectations, adequate consequences, and system redesign were essential for a real solution.

This situation is actually pretty typical. Clients often bring desired instructional projects, but after analysis it becomes clear that the problem requires more than instructional intervention. Human performance technology (HPT) skills provide a basis for dealing with the natural complexity of people, jobs, and organizations. These skills are invaluable in our work. HPT entails evaluating jobs, processes, and the organization, to see what is impeding performance in any given situation.  HPT guides the design of appropriate interventions, such as instruction, feedback systems, environmental or system redesign, incentives, or a combination of these.

Complex performance problems

Analysis often involves watching how work is done, looking at work inputs and outputs, talking to stakeholders, and asking lots of how and why questions. Data is gathered and then analyzed in order to determine best solutions. Then it’s time to determine how and when to implement them. To be honest, organizations are often somewhat nervous about uncovering these problems. Selling a wider solution is often tricky, involving much negotiation and confidence building. Over time, however, clients usually come to see that it is in their best interest to deal with the real system problems, and that resources spent to prevent and solve the real problems are well applied.

Let’s examine two examples to get a better handle on the complexity of real performance problems.

Performance problem 1: A company greatly needed to solve ongoing data inaccuracies in their complex, mission critical software application. Erroneous data was causing dire outcomes for the organization, and for the organization’s external clients. The company wanted training on how to enter data more accurately. Analysis of the situation showed:

• Most users accurately entered data into the most frequently used screens.
• Many of the screens were used relatively infrequently. As a result, mostusers didn’t know what to enter in these screens.
• All users could change data in all screens.

Because the reasons behind the data entry inaccuracies were complex, simple training would not have been adequate for solving this problem. A number of interventions were needed.

Performance problem 2: A company wanted online training for managers on how to lawfully and consistently apply certain HR policies, such as family leave. The company had faced lawsuits because some managers applied these policies in problematic ways. Analysis of the situation showed:

• Some managers didn’t understand how to apply these policies.
• The policy manual was unclear.
• There were few consequences when policies were applied incorrectly.
• The process was ambiguous and cumbersome.

In this situation, training was needed for some of the managers, but other interventions were also critically needed.

In both of these cases, simple solutions would have been inadequate, because they wouldn’t have addressed the systemic nature of the problems. We often need to look beyond training as a solution when faced with performance problems. Mager and Pipe listed a number of reasons for performance problems, and the typical interventions used to solve them are shown in Table 1.

What were the solutions to the data inaccuracies problem? Users needed performance support (help screens, demos, etc.), especially on screens that were used infrequently. In addition, the application needed revision in order to prevent certain kinds of problems. The HR policies problem called for training, clearer documentation, better process, and appropriate consequences... more about these interventions shortly.

Tools and technologies to support Performance

A large part of HPT work involves analyzing problems like the ones above, and applying existing tools and technologies for the entire range of performance interventions, not just for building courses and other instructional materials. Let’s look again at the list of performance problems and see how tools and technologies have been successfully used in building integrated interventions for these problems.

Technology support for gaps in knowledge and skills

Here’s where instructional solutions make greatest sense. Often that means courses, e-Learning applications, or other instructional or performance support materials. However, other tools and technologies that can support knowledge and skills acquisition include:

• Competency tracking
• Mentoring and coaching

Networked applications can keep lists of job competencies and measures for tracking them. This can feed into courses and other instructional interventions such as on-the-job training and mentoring. Social interaction tools such as discussion forums, email, and listservs can support knowledge sharing and help people assess their learning needs. These are potentially powerful uses of technology for learning that many of us don’t consider, but should.

Technology support for rarely used knowledge and skills

When knowledge or skills are used rarely, as in the complex software application example, the following tools and technologies are often helpful.

• Help files/Context sensitive help
• Job aids
• Demos
• FAQs

For example, Figure 1 is a screenshot of some of the online job aids we developed for medical school instructors who use Blackboard to support their classroom based courses.

FIGURE 1 Blackboard job aids for online use

Technology support for obstacles

There are often obstacles to performing as desired. System redesign, including redesign of technology, job processes, and organizational systems, is needed in these cases, but system redesign takes time. In the meantime, someone needs to be aware of the problem and provide workarounds, whenever possible. The following technologies and tools can inform solutions and provide workarounds.

• Problem tickets
• FAQs
• Communities of practice (CoP)
• Help files
• Context sensitive help

There are numerous communities on the Web that help people deal with the day-to-day challenges of specific types of work. Slashdot.com is a common place for programmers to get help from other programmers. I subscribe to a listserv (World Wide Web Courseware Developers’ Listserv: http://www.unb.ca/wwwdev/) (Editor's Note: As of February 9, 2010, this link appears to have been removed from the Web.) that helps instructional developers deal with problems and dilemmas in using authoring tools.

Figure 2 is a screenshot of an online problem ticket. My Web host provides this one for its customers to use. Recently, one of my clients implemented a new email system. In addition to courseware on how to use it, we worked with them to develop a problem ticket system. These problem tickets let the IT department know about needed fixes. The problem tickets also build content for the Frequently Asked Questions file (FAQ). The solution was much more effective than training alone would have been. And, because users saw that this was a work in progress that they could affect, the implementation had more buy-in. We often forget that lack of buy-in can be another reason for performance problems.

FIGURE 2 Problem ticket for a Web host

Technology support for unclear expectations

When analyzing performance problems, I often find that people don’t know exactly what is expected of them. Sometimes they think they are doing what’s expected... but they aren’t. Tools and technologies that can be used to communicate expectations include:

• Competency listings
• Job descriptions

Figure 3 is a screen shot showing a listing of job descriptions for the Idaho Division of Human Resources. A similar database describing skills and knowledge could be extraordinarily helpful to people doing a job or preparing themselves for other jobs. This intervention often needs to be combined with effective feedback so people know how well they are meeting listed expectations.

FIGURE 3 State of Idaho job descriptions (http://www.dhr.state.id.us/Classifications.asp) (Editor's Note: As of February 9, 2010, this link appears to have been removed from the Web.)

Technology support for lack of resources

People may have a hard time finding resources when they need help, or they may not know how best to solve problems they face. A recent client needed an integrated system to help users determine what resources were available, how to access them, and how to use them. The following tools and technologies can provide resources to help people perform better:

• Documentation
• Knowledge bases/searchable help archives
• Webliography
• Ask the expert

Microsoft’s online Knowledge Base is a good example of easily searchable help files. I occasionally have problems with not being able to see the source code for Web pages in Internet Explorer 6. When I look that problem up in Microsoft’s Knowledge Base, the same fix always appears and the solution always works.

Figure 4 shows an example of a resource webliography we developed so online instructors can add recommended resources and search through ones already added. A client is considering using it for internal mentors and job coaches to share recommended resources.

FIGURE 4 Webliography for online instructors

Technology support for inadequate feedback

Lack of feedback is another very common theme in analysis work. People often don’t know if they are doing things correctly because co-workers and systems don’t provide adequate feedback. The following tools and technologies can provide needed feedback.

• System redesign
• Team work spaces
• Document sharing and revision systems

Human and computer systems can be designed (or redesigned) to provide feedback and to not allow errors. Team workspaces can be used so that teams can provide feedback and help. Figure 5 shows a discussion forum used as a team work space for the board of the International Society for Performance Improvement, Front Range Chapter (ISPIFRC) in Denver. It is used to communicate work done between board meetings and to provide feedback to other board members.

FIGURE 5 Online team workspace for ISPI-FRC board

Technology support for lack of consequences

Incorrect consequences for inadequate performance usually require organizational development work. Systems must be in place for finding problems, and people must be willing and able to provide feedback and manage undesired outcomes. One way that tools and technologies can be used as part of this intervention is to make performance more visible so it can be seen and addressed more easily. Team workspaces such as the one already shown in Figure 5 can be used to document work so it is more visible.

Complex solutions

We’ve discussed how performance problems are often complex. We’ve shown how online learning and other tools and technologies can be used as part and parcel of interventions for preventing or solving them. What happened to the inaccurate data and inconsistent application of HR policies problems that I mentioned at the start?

Table 2 shows the problems that analysis uncovered, the solutions put into place, and the tools and technologies used to implement these solutions. Some of the solutions were technology oriented, some were not.

Both of these situations required a willingness to seek real solutions, to undergo in-depth analysis, and to endure multiple interventions. In my experience, unless we deal with the system as a whole, we are not likely to solve the problem (sometimes we make it worse). Training is often not the only solution needed, and sometimes it is the wrong solution entirely.

Tools and technologies used for online learning, such as Web sites, databases, team workspaces, and discussion forums can be effectively used as part the solution to a wide range of performance problems. Combine these with system redesign and organizational development, and real change is possible.

However, a word of caution! Performance solutions like these should be integrated and then tested for ease of use, so that we aren’t creating new performance problems with a mass of unrelated new tools and technologies! Books on designing electronic performance  support systems can be helpful in learning what’s needed to make these kinds of systems work best.

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