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Front-end Analysis: Blueprint for Success (Part 1)
Front-endanalysis (FEA) is the “blueprint” for creating instruction. AFEA, conducted early in the process, will save time and money. A FEAdefines project requirements, describes the ideal performance orinstruction to meet the project requirements, and identifiesacceptable alternatives.
2-parts article on Front End Analysis
- Part 1
- Part 2
Well-definedrequirements at the beginning of a project usually produce anexcellent product. Subject-matter experts (SMEs), instructionalsystems designers (ISDs), workers, and instructors are some of thepotential participants in a FEA. FEA is a process that determineswhether a problem may be amenable to solution by training, or whetheryou need a different solution.
Inthis two-part presentation of Front-end Analysis, I will show you:
The FEA process and its rationale, outcomes, and benefits (Part 1)
An explanation of the many elements that may be part of an FEA (Part 1)
Methods for gathering information (Part 2)
How to conduct an FEA (Part 2)
Producing the FEA Report (Part 2)
[Note from theEditor: This is a bit different from tutorials we have run in thepast. You might consider this article and the next as checklists, oras a summary of items to consider in the design process, after youhave determined that instruction is the appropriate course of action,rather than or in addition to task redesign, a job aid, referencematerials, or other interventions. Although we have many more ways tosupport learning, top-down design is still effective for manyrequirements, and in fact front-end analysis may help the designerdetermine the optimum blend of learning pathways. If you are new toeLearning design, look on what you find here as more tools in yourkit, not as an obstacle course.]
The FEA process, rationale, outcomes, and benefits
Usethe following processes to identify the current learning orperformance status of your students or trainees:
Define the learning or job as it exists now
Define the best possible learning or job outcome after training or other solutions
Rank the new goals in order of importance
Identify discrepancies between “what is” and “what should be”
Determine positive areas of learning or job performance
Set priorities for actions
List all possible solutions along with the impact of not providing any solution
Define the impact of each solution with regard to time, money, and customer satisfaction
Make recommendations, based upon learning or performance goals, desired results, financial resources, and other relevant factors
Rationale
TheFEA process provides the who, what, when, why, and how ofinstruction:
Who – Identify your real client (decision-maker rather than an intermediary.)
What – Determine the reason for this instructional or training request.
Mandated training
Orientation training for new hires
Instruction or training based upon the need to fix performance deficiencies
Other
When – Examine training requirements and identify alternative approaches to training job tasks.
Why – Provide the client with enough information to meet training needs within budget, time, and personnel constraints. The FEA offers options with different training potentials and cost estimates.
How – Determine methodologies to gather your data – questionnaires, interviews, and job observation.
Outcomes
Theoutcome or results of FEAs include:
Improves ability to produce “on-target” courses effectively
Facilitates the design and development of instruction to satisfy the needs, goals, and objectives of the target audience
Enables students to enroll in appropriate content rather than the total instructional package
Benefits
Benefitsof an FEA include:
Improving cost estimates
Collaborating to identify and quantify project requirements
Developing, evaluating, and cost estimating “alternatives to instruction”
Identifying and mitigating risks at an early stage of the project when revisions are easier and less costly.
What is Front-End Analysis?
FEAinvolves a series of separate analyses. There are a number of suchanalyses; I have described a dozen of them below.
[Editor’sNote:It is not always necessary or advisable to pursue all 12 in depth fora given project, but a designer should consider whether each one isneeded or not. It is as much a mistake to default to doing all ofthem as it is to default to doing none of them. Experience is yourbest guide, together with time and budget available. (There is nopoint in spending more on analysis than the solution to a problem isworth.)]
Problem analysis
Byidentifying where specific problems exist in your instruction or workplace, you can narrow your training to specific parts of theinstruction or training. Reducing training time should reduce yourtraining cost. FEA focuses on specific tasks rather than training foryour entire program.
Firstidentify the business or instructional need. Identify the performancerequirements. What external forces, for example, the politicalenvironment, may influence the problem?
Next,define the problem. The client, including the necessary stakeholders,should define the business or instructional problem. Prepare allquestionnaires and complete all prior readings before meeting withyour clients. Client time is extremely valuable.
Lastly,determine the solution to the problem. If training solutions willsolve this problem, which ones best fit the client’s needs? Iftraining cannot solve this problem, possible solutions may includeelectronic bulletin boards or newsletters.
Job description
Ajob description explains how a person performs the job. You write jobdescriptions in general terms.
First,check to see if a job description exists for the task that you areanalyzing. If the job description is current, use it as an early stepto draft your task analysis. If the job description is outdated,modify it by editing the main tasks. If a job description does notexist, describe the main tasks that make up the job performance tosatisfy the instructional need.
Ajob description may include special circumstances such as hazards orsafety warnings. At a minimum, the completed job description shouldcontain the:
Position title,
Generic position description,
Specific knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for a successful project completion, and
A list and explanation of performance measures used for the job tasks
Task analysis (measurable behavior)
Taskanalysis provides the analyst with all the tasks necessary to solve aproblem. Use a task analysis to determine the status and the businessprocess of your problem. Use the define/identify/identify/identify(DI3)process to:
Define the performance need this task analysis will satisfy
Identify all job related duties. Generally, describe the tasks necessary to complete the job
Identify, sequence, and describe the individual tasks
Identify all sub-tasks (knowledge, skills, and attitudes) that support the identified tasks. What are the specific responsibilities? For example, performance objectives or learning objectives for completing the job description.
Moredetailed job descriptions usually provide a better starting point forthe task analysis.
Needs analysis
Thenext step is to conduct a needs analysis to determine your businessor instructional needs. These needs should provide the informationnecessary to create the FEA report.
Where are we? (current status)
Where do we want to go? (future status)
What is the best way to get there? (present analysis of alternatives)
Environmental (situational) analysis
Whatare the organizational, physical, socio-cultural, and/or economicfactors that may affect your FEA? Are there any detracting factors orenhancing factors that may affect job performance or instructionalneed? Examples of influencing factors are noise (outside roaddrilling), temperature (80°+indoortemperature when the outdoor temperature is 90°+), or ventilation(inadequate ventilation for classroom activities). If people areworking under poor environmental factors such as poor lighting orinadequate ventilation, it is harder for them to perform their jobswell for an extended period.
Audience analysis
Audienceanalysis determines the learner’s or job performer’scharacteristics, intellectual skills, and subject knowledge levelbefore the instruction or training is developed. Audience analysismay determine who will take the course and how they will use theinformation in the job performance area or instructional setting.What are the background and learning characteristics of the traineesas they relate to the job performance or instructional need? Useaudience analysis to analyze the population of your students ortrainees.
Areasfor audience analysis include:
Skill, knowledge, and attitudes
Experiences
Subject-matter entry errors into the job performance or instructional setting
Demographics – ages, socioeconomic status, and ethnicities
Goals – what do the trainees or students expect to get out of the class?
Uses – how will the trainees or students use the information from the training or instruction?
What are the best methods of instruction for these trainees or students?
Motivation – What motivates them – money, jobs, personal growth, or something else?
Examplesof types of audience analysis information are:
Level of audience expertise
Educational level of audience
Experience level of audience
Ensureyour information is current or recently updated.
Objectives analysis
Whatdomains and levels of the objectives do you need to satisfy the jobperformance or instructional need? What is the goal of this jobperformance or instructional need? Objectives mustclearlycommunicate what you expect the trainees to learn. The objectivesinclude:
Course objectives: clearly state what you expect the trainee to do or learn at the end of the course
Terminal objectives: clearly state what you expect the trainee to do or learn at the end of the unit
Lesson objectives: clearly state the knowledge and skills the trainee will demonstrate at the end of a lesson
Content analysis
Contentanalysis is the detailed approach to task analysis directed towardthe analysis of instructional content rather than job performance.Use content information to decide which information is most critical.Break the information down into individual concepts and consulttaxonomies.
Jobperformance or instructional experts may provide excellent sources ofreference information. Subject matter experts (SMEs) are usually themain resource for this material. Technical documentation may provideexcellent references. The main question that SMEs answer is, “Dothese tasks, and the order in which they are listed, reflect totalsuccessful job performance or instructional needs?”
Foursteps to consider for conducting content analysis are:
Identify key characteristics of the content
Address validity considerations
Develop potential test items
Validate potential test items
Data analysis
Usedata analysis to collect information and compare current data withprevious data.Manysources exist to research information to complete a data analysis,such as periodicals, technical manuals, course materials, andinformation clearinghouses.
Instructional analysis
Whereasa task analysis focuses on job performance, an instructional analysisfocuses on the step-by-step instructions that take learners all theway to achievement of the objectives.
Thecompletion of aninstructionalanalysis provides the analyst with all the tasks necessary to conductthe instruction. Use instructional analysis to determine the statusand instructional need of your problem. Use a define / identify /identify / identify process to:
Define the instructional need that this instructional analysis will satisfy
Identify all steps – describe the information necessary to complete the instruction
Identify, sequence, and describe the individual instructional components
Identify all sub-tasks (knowledge, skills, and attitudes) that support the identified tasks. What are the specific responsibilities? For example, performance objectives or learning objectives for completing the job description.
Mediaand technology analyses
Usea media analysis to select the most effective and cost effectivemedia to fit the instructional or training situation. Media analysis,for the purpose of instructional or training content, is a five-stepprocess. These five steps are:
Identify instructional concepts, course, and lesson strategies
Identify sensory stimulus requirements for each learning objective (LO)
Identify the sensory stimulus for all available media
Match the sensory stimulus requirements with the sensory stimulus feature to identify a candidate list of media
Select the best media format available based on resource constraints, classroom logistics, electronic capabilities of media distribution, and other relevant factors
Usea technology analysis to select the most effective and most costeffective technology to fit communication needs.
Thistechnology analysis should analyze technology available for referenceand/or performance support, testing and assessment, materialdistribution, and delivery of the instruction.
Critical-incident analysis
Usecritical-incident analysis to obtain data on the critical part of jobperformance or instruction. Use the following five steps to conductCritical Incident Analysis:
Select an incident
Review / verify the material
Put material into a timeline
Review the material with the experts
Ask “What if” questions at specific, critical parts of the incident
Afteryour task list is complete, it is important that you determine:
What tasks are critical (must train) to the job performance or instructional need
What tasks are beneficial for the learner to know
What tasks will not need training
Criteriafor task selection, beneficial tasks, and deselection of tasks mayinclude:
Frequency – How often is the task performed?
Difficulty – How hard is it to perform this task?
Criticality – How important is it to perform this task?
Time – Are there time limitations for this task?
Impact – What is the impact if they do not perform this task properly?
Summary
This article has presented theinformation you need to gather during your FEA that will insure theinstructional content you develop (if any is required in order to fixa performance problem) will be effective. In next week’s feature,I’ll discuss some of the methods available to obtain theinformation from stakeholders.
