“I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.” Abraham Maslow. Maslow’s hammer is a cognitive bias that I bring up because instructional designers can sometimes see every problem as an opportunity for training. Instructional designers are also often quick to please and when someone (especially a paying client) specifically asks for training or eLearning to be developed it is easy to simply say YES.

It is tempting, when you make great learning experiences, to treat everything as if it were an opportunity to make a great learning experience.

This is why one of the most important tasks an instructional designer has is the task of a needs analysis. Specifically, what is the gap in performance? What is the specific cause of that gap? And in the case of instructional designers, is this a need for training or something else?

What is a Needs Analysis?

A needs assessment is used to identify the priorities, define the desired results, establish evaluation criteria, and drive the decision-making process. So what exactly is a needs analysis? A needs assessment is a systematic process to collect information and make justifiable decisions. They can come in various sizes and complexities but those two elements are key, systematic and justifiable. Throughout all of the tools and techniques, it comes down to evidence and data.

Informal Needs Assessment

For simple decisions, a formal needs assessment may not be needed.  In order to be effective, a needs assessment needs to be flexible part of that is adapting the needs and complexity of the project.  If you can point to evidence regarding the performance gap and point to evidence regarding the cause of that performance gap you are on the right track.

Your needs assessment should have three basic steps.  First is the assessment should focus on results before any solutions are decided.  The first step is to identify the needs, while it is tempting to mix this step with identifying solutions that should be avoided.  Focus on data, this can be interviews with key players, a formal strategic plan, or external mandates.

Second, you should study the needs themselves before any decisions are made.  Not every need requires an action, and you will also want to look for any causal factors.  At this point, you should try an identify the root cause for what is not working and to prioritize the individual needs.

Third, your decisions should be informed and justified.  Your decision should align with the information gathered and the analysis of those needs.

Informal Results

The results of an informal needs assessment end with just a decision or a choice. The results of an informal needs assessment are often shared through a simple announcement or discussion.

Formal Needs Assessment

A formal needs assessment contains the same basic three steps, identify, analyze, and decide.  They are often referred to as Preassessment, Assessment, and Postassessment.

Within Preassessment the scope of the project is determined, the data to be used in the assessment are decided, and a project plan is developed and approved.

Within the Assessment phase information is collected.  This can be from surveys, operations, documents, focus groups, etc.  The data collected is analyzed and checked against multiple collection techniques.  Needs are identified and priorities are set.  This phase is also when root causes are explored.

Within the post-assessment phase is where recommendations are summarized, the results are communicated, and any post assessment monitoring takes place.

There are a variety of tools that are available to perform the various parts of a needs assessment.  For the preassessment data gathering stage document & data review, guided expert reviews, focus groups, interviews, surveys, SWOT analysis, the Delphi Technique, performance observations, and task analysis are all potential sources of data.

For the analysis and assessment phase root cause analysis, concept mapping, fishbone diagrams, scenarios, and group consensus are all potential methods.

Formal Report

A formal needs assessment typically ends with a report or presentation. The specific form can vary largely depending on the norms of the organization. A typical format can be found in “A Guide to Assessing Needs” by Watkins, Ryan; West Meiers, Maurya; Visser, Yusra. I highly recommend the book as an introduction to needs assessment.

Report Table Of Contents:
Executive summary
Introduction
Purpose, goals, objectives
Needs
Methods for identifying needs
Data identifying needs
Actions considered
Methods for identifying alternatives
Data on alternatives
Criteria for comparing
Conclusions
Decisions or recommendations
Acknowledgments
Annex: supporting data Annex: tools and instruments

Presentation Agenda:
Agenda
Introduction
Purpose, goals, objectives
Executive summary
Needs Methods for identifying needs
Data identifying needs
Actions considered
Methods for identifying alternatives
Data on alternatives
Criteria for comparing
Conclusions
Decisions or recommendations
Acknowledgments
Additional resources

The table of contents and agenda for the final report of a formal needs assessment report help illustrate the different components of a needs assessment well.  For more detail, A Guide to Assessing Needs is only $16 on Kindle http://amzn.to/2j6d8U7