1. What is analysis?

Purpose of analysis. Analysis is what we do in order to figure out what to do. When we are asked for help, such as a request for a class about safety or for the development of web-based program for parents about reading to young children, we have a responsibility to make certain that what we produce will meet their needs. Our purpose is to help our customers achieve their goals, not to suit ourselves by producing a flavor-of-the-month training product.

As good an idea as systematic study prior to action is, we know it doesn’t typically happen. Professionals in our field tend to say, "Sure, I’m for it. I just don’t get to do it. What else do you have for me?" Performance analysis is the answer to that question.

Performance Analysis (PA). Performance Analysis is the front end of the front end. It is a reasonable bite size look at the situation. It matches organizational changes that are now emerging in human resources and training organizations, such as SBC, AT&T, and IBM, where a group of professionals, who might be called relationship, requirements or performance consultants, are serving strategic roles. What they are doing is performance analysis, a precursor to the substantial and developmental planning involved in a needs assessment associated with the production of a particular solution, like a class, a series of job aids, or multimedia program.

Training Needs Assessment (TNA). Only after it is certain that a training, coaching or information solution is appropriate (which we find out through PA) is the investment in more substantial training needs assessment made. Marguerite Foxon of Motorola University represented the concept this way:

Performance analysis guarantees doing the right things. Needs assessment is about doing the things right.