Content by:
   Allison Rossett
Developed by:
   Chris Haddock
   Kendra Sheldon

	About the book	Chapter 1	Tables
	Foreword	Chapter 5	References

Foreword

Marc J. Rosenberg
Senior Consultant
OmniTech Consulting Group

We've all been there. Trying to solve problems we haven't defined. Grabbing at solutions because they seem right or they worked once before. Delivering a product to the field in spite of that nagging sense that you just aren't quite sure why the product was developed in the first place. And then, of course, suffering the consequences when things don't work the way we'd hoped.

It's no wonder training has traditionally gotten a bad rap. We focus on outputs not solutions, they tell us. We embrace glitzy multimedia, sometimes at the expense of learning. We're more concerned with student days than student performance.

In many ways, training became like the U. S. automobile industry of the 1970s and 1980s, pushing lots of product out the back door that ignored the needs of consumers and generally didn't work well or last very long. But the auto industry recently came roaring back by spending more time understanding the requirements of customers and building products that didn't just look good but worked extremely well and provided lasting satisfaction.

In our business, we've also changed. We're putting more emphasis on performance analysis. Why? Because like the car manufacturers of twenty years ago, we want not only to survive, but to grow and prosper. We need to better understand the underlying problems and requirements of those who will use our products. What are their concerns and their reality? What results are they looking for? What do we need to know to assure that what we do will work?

Performance analysis tools and methodologies have proliferated in recent years. Indeed, one of Allison Rossett's previous books, Training Needs Assessment, provides a strong foundation for this new direction. Performance analysis, part of an emerging human performance technology, has also given us a wider field of vision, to see beyond training solutions to a host of other interventions that provide valid and cost-effective ways to improve workplace performance. Performance analysis has been embraced by professional training and human resource societies. It's being taught at most universities. But most important, it's being recognized as an important business tool.

There's just one problem. It takes too long. Or, it's perceived to take too long. In an era of ever-decreasing cycle times and shorter product lifecycles, the ability to make quick decisions regarding performance improvement, including training, becomes paramount. Although performance analysis helps us overcome the Alice in Wonderland effect of not knowing where we are going, it's still regarded as too slow, and, quite frankly, often a pain. There's a great deal of evidence that this is the primary reason why performance analysis is not done.

In First Things Fast: A Handbook for Performance Analysis, Allison Rossett tackles cycle time head-on. Although Rossett maintains her healthy reliance on data-based decision-making, she presents some interesting ways to get there. For me, the book provides a number of keen insights:

First, act like a detective rather than a scientist. Find the big nuggets of information. Deduce possible outcomes. Look for clues and trends in behavior. Accumulate evidence rather than proof, estimates rather than exactness. This will speed things up without significant loss of data integrity.

Second, rely on others. Rossett makes a big case for partnering. Not only does this enable the client to feel part of the effort, and thus take more ownership of the results, but it recognizes a key element of increasing the efficiency of the work: the client knows a lot of stuff. Find information that already exists. Talk to people who are in a position to know what's going on. If you pick the right people and you get consistent responses, you're likely on the right track.

Third, use tools and technology. Improving the productivity of performance analysis is the essence of this book. Don't re-invent the wheel each time you go out. If the tools and technology you have at your disposal aren't perfect, refine them over time. The point here is to build a process and a capability that can be replicated in many situations. This saves time.

Finally, refine as you go. Things change, and they change often. A performance analysis "set in stone," with all the details anyone could possibly want, may be of little value a week from now when the business situation is turned on its head by a new competitor or the budget for the solution you had planned is cut in half. Perfection is costly and may not be all it is cracked up to be. Better to analyze just enough to be comfortable making the next set of decisions and keep revisiting your assumptions and findings throughout the project.

As George Stalk and Thomas Hout note in their 1990 book, Competing Against Time, businesses are driven by three major criteria: cost, quality, and responsiveness, or speed. In the automotive industry in recent years, Chrysler's mantra has been substantially shortened development cycle times and time to market, both responsiveness measures. The result is a resurgent, highly competitive company and a leader in a more competitive industry. Likewise, the performance improvement industry must also look at responsiveness as a critical success factor.

Performance analysis has always sought to help organizations drive down cost and increase quality by assuring that the solutions recommended are, in fact, what is truly needed. The beauty of this book is that it recognizes the critical nature of speed in doing performance analysis work, without sacrificing the other measures. Performance analysis is at the center of a training industry driving toward a fundamental transformation. First Things Fast: A Handbook for Performance Analysis is your road map.