Overview of Performance Analysis

Performance analysis is the first step in the Performance Improvement/HPT Model (see Figure 4.1). There is no possibility of a chicken-or-egg syndrome when it comes to performance analysis. Without first identifying and clarifying the problem or performance gap it is unsound and certainly unsystematic to state the cause and select or design a solution.

Definition and Scope

Performance analysis is “the process of identifying the organization's performance requirements and comparing them to its objectives and capabilities.”¹ According to Rossett, performance analysis “involves partnering with clients and customers to help them define and achieve their goals … reaching out for several perspectives on a problem or opportunity … determining any and all drivers toward or barriers to successful performance … [and] proposing a solution system based on what is learned, not on what is typically done.”² Table 4.1 explores the scope of Rossett's definition in more detail, and introduces the concept that performance analysis examines performance directions and drivers.

Directions and Drivers. During performance analysis, performance improvement practitioners seek two broad kinds of information. First, they seek directions—the performance and perspectives that the organization and its leaders are trying to put in place, such as vision, mission, values, goals, strategies, and critical business issues of the organization that particularly impact the desired state of performance. They also seek information about performance drivers, the factors that are now blocking or aiding performance or those that might do so in the future, such as organization, competition, work, performer, and social responsibility factors from the internal and external environment that particularly affect the performance state. The quest for directions maps the scope of the effort; the analysis of drivers determines what needs to be done to successfully develop performance, people, and the organization.³

Focus for Analysis. In the Performance Improvement/HPT Model, performance analysis focuses on these four areas:

• Desired performance state
• Actual performance state
• The gap between desired and actual performance
• Causes of gaps in performance

FIGURE 4.1. Performance Improvement/HPT Model: Performance Analysis Phase

TABLE 4.1. Defining Performance Analysis

Essential Components	Elements
Partnering	Additional resources, expertise, markets Fresh perspectives Buy-in
Goals	Targeted Achievable, specific, worthwhile Set deadlines Evaluate progress
Several Perspectives	Multiple views and visions Data from many sources
Problems and Opportunities	Glitches in job functions, costly errors, waste New business channels, new product development Enhanced customer service
Drivers and Barriers	Triggers that encourage, sustain, impede performance
Solution Systems	Deliberate, conscious attempts to change behavior in an integrated, synergistic manner

Adapted from A. Rossett (2009). First things fast: A handbook for performance analysis (2nd ed.), pp. 20–34. Copyright John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Used with permission.

Since performance does not occur in isolation, the organization and the environment have a considerable impact on both the performance and the performer. Organizational directions have a significant impact on the performance standards that are used to determine desired or optimal performance, while environmental drivers significantly affect actual performance.

Anatomy of Performance Analysis

One way to view performance analysis is to picture “the anatomy of performance”⁴ (see Chapter 2). Although organizations vary in purpose, function, size, and scope, they all have a common anatomy. In order for them to remain high-performing and function strategically in an ever-changing competitive environment, they have to “plan, design, and manage performance at three levels: organization, process, and job.”⁵

The anatomy of performance (see Table 4.2) contains nine performance variables—three levels of performance and three performance needs for each level. The nine variables provide “three critical interdependent levels of performance. The overall performance of an organization (how well it meets the expectations of its customers) is the result of goals, structures and management actions at all three levels of performance”⁶

• Goals—Specific standards that reflect customers' expectations for product and service quality, quantity, timeliness and cost
• Structures—The design of the organization, process, or job to efficiently meet the goals
• Management—Practices that ensure that goals are current and are being achieved⁷

TABLE 4.2. Anatomy of Performance

Adapted from G.A. Rummler and A.P. Brache (1990), p.19. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Copyright ISPI. Used with permission.

TABLE 4.3. Principles of Performance Analysis

Guiding Principles…	Reflective Points…
1. Preparation before action improves quality	Provide clear answers that make sense to client Use data-driven approaches Clarify responses
2. Employ several sources	Triangulate data Use multiple perspectives to tailor solutions Include involvement from those familiar with need/opportunity
3. Gather data from sources	Collect formal and informal data View data as pieces of a jigsaw puzzle Use data to provide clear pictures of the situation
4. Employ a systematic approach to analysis	Focus on purpose, components, data, input, transactions, outputs Use a consistent approach to determine informed decisions for action
5. Employ a systemic approach to	Envision the performance system Conduct systematic analysis Follow systemic approaches to resolve client issues

Adapted from A. Rossett (2009). First things fast: A handbook for performance analysis (2nd ed.), pp. 36–47. Copyright John Wiley.& Sons, Inc. Used with permission.

Purpose

The purpose of performance analysis is to establish what the desired or optimal performance should be, identify what the actual performance is, and identify the gap between the two. Performance analysis is the root of the whole performance improvement system because it focuses on “systematic and thorough workplace diagnosis and documentation … the true basis for improving performance at the organizational, process, and worker levels”⁸

Principles

Five pivotal principles guide a thorough and meaningful performance analysis. They are noted in Table 4.3 with brief points of reflection.

Analysis Techniques and Tools

Performance analysis utilizes techniques from industrial and organizational psychology, industrial engineering, and organizational behavior.⁹ A complete performance analysis should include the following five techniques:

• Extant data analysis
• Needs analysis
• Knowledge task analysis
• Procedural task analysis
• Systems task analysis

Extant Data Analysis

Extant data analysis focuses on analyzing accomplishments or performance inputs, processes, outputs, and outcomes that are documented in various company records such as sales reports, customer surveys, safety reports, quality control documentation, and so forth. Analysis of existing data makes it possible to make inferences about the actual performance.

Needs Analysis

Needs analysis is “the systematic effort that we make to gather opinions and ideas from a variety of sources on performance problems.”¹⁰ The sources may include performers, stakeholders, customers, management, subject-matter experts, etc. Needs analysis seeks opinions and ideas about what should be happening, what is happening, how the sources feel about what is or is not happening, and what is causing the problem. The resulting data are always subjective; however, they may illuminate why a desired performance is occurring or not occurring and what needs to happen in order to reach or maintain the desired performance.

Knowledge Task Analysis

Knowledge task analysis searches for detailed information about what the performer needs to know—the invisible part of performance—in order to successfully complete a specific job or task. The analyst collects and analyzes information from the performance field, subject matter experts, and expert performers to uncover the body of knowledge “which, if mastered, would contribute to or enhance work behavior.”¹¹ Identifying and synthesizing the invisible details of optimal performance insures that the complete performance picture is in place when it comes time to compare the desired performance state with the actual performance state in order to determine whether or not there is a performance gap.

Procedural Task Analysis

Procedural task analysis focuses on the visible details of optimal performance by “documenting people-thing workplace expertise in terms of precisely what people are required to know and be able to do to perform the task.”¹² The term “people-thing” refers to the interaction between the performer and the object of the performance. An example of documenting people-thing expertise is a task analysis that examines what performers or people need to know and be able to do to fill out a form or thing. The result of procedural analysis is a document containing “cookbook-style, step-by-step procedures.”¹³ The limitation of procedural task analysis is that it frequently focuses on tasks conducted under normal conditions and does not take into account what is required for optimal performance under abnormal conditions.

Systems Task Analysis

Systems task analysis picks up where procedural task analysis ends by focusing on the “expertise workers must have to respond effectively to abnormal conditions.”¹⁴ Systems task analysis provides a series of snapshots, which, if viewed collectively, provide a composite of the total performance system:

• System overview—description, flow, components, and purpose,
• Process analysis, and
• Troubleshooting analysis.

When to Use What

Linking analysis techniques to a particular situation is often difficult and requires knowledge of why the analyst is conducting the analysis. The basic analysis techniques and when to use them are illustrated in Table 4.4. Once purpose and techniques are determined and matched, “It is how the analysis phase is carried out … that determines whether performance improvement efforts support major business processes or are simply a series of activities.”¹⁶

TABLE 4.4. Linking Basic Analysis Techniques to Purpose

Analysis Tools

Every performance improvement specialist should have knowledge of and skill in the use of familiar data collection tools: interviews, group processes (brainstorming, focus groups, etc.), observation, and surveys. Plugging the tools into Table 4.5 below turns it into a performance analysis job aid.

Surveys, group processes, and interviews are tools that the performance practitioner can adapt to support all the techniques except extant data analysis, which requires a special set of quantitative and qualitative data analysis tools. Surveys, group processes, and interviews are also well suited to analyzing the desired and actual performance states, the organization and the environment. Observation is best suited to procedural analysis and systems analysis. When to use which tool is determined by organizational climate and the availability of resources such as time, money, and skilled personnel. Specific techniques and tools for organizational, environmental, gap, and causes will be discussed in greater detail in the following chapters.

Typical Performance Analysis Questions

There are numerous questions performance improvement practitioners can conceivably ask a client in order to conduct a thorough performance analysis. The questions may be used for surveys or interviews or even group activities. The reality is, however, that it is impossible to ask questions about everything. Basic questions guide the practitioner in collecting relevant information:

• Who is affected by the performance gap?
• What is the desired situation? The actual situation?
• When and where did the performance first occur?
• How has the gap been affecting the organization?
• How much has the gap been costing the organization?¹⁷

In addition to these questions, the practitioner asks questions about gap dimensions, focusing on magnitude, value, and urgency.¹⁸ For example, gap-focused questions might include: To what degree does the gap affect organizational goals? To what extent do the stakeholders support closing the gap? Does the gap require immediate action?

TABLE 4.5. When to Use Specific Analysis Techniques and Tools

Conclusion

Performance analysis assures that the performance improvement effort is focused on reality and not on opinion. It enables those involved in the effort to understand the complexity of the current situation and see the potential for future outcomes, whether the outcomes may be successes or failures.

Citations

1. Rosenberg, 1996, p. 6

2. Rossett, 2009, p. 20

3. Rossett, 1998, pp. 33–34

4. Rummler & Brache, 1995, pp. 17–19

5. Rummler, Ramais, & Rummler, 2010, p. 11

6. Rummler & Brache, 1995, p. 17

7. Rummler & Brache, 1990, p. 19

8. Rossett, 1998, n.p.

9. Abernathy, 2010, pp. 5–17

10. Rossett, 1989, p. 63

11. Swanson, 1994, p. 190

12. Swanson, 1994, p. 123

13. Swanson, 1994, p. 151

14. Swanson, 1994, p. 151

15. Swanson, 1994, p. 187

16. Swanson, 1994, p. ix

17. Rothwell & Dubois, 1998, pp. 2–4

18. Stolovitch & Keeps, 2004, pp. 53–54

References

Abernathy, W.B. (2010, May/June). A comprehensive performance analysis and improvement method. Performance Improvement, 49(5), 5–17.

Rosenberg, M.J. (1996). Human performance technology: Foundations for human performance improvement. In W.J. Rothwell, ASTD models for human performance improvement: Roles, competencies and outputs (pp. 5–10). Alexandria, VA: American Society for Training & Development.

Rossett, A. (1989). Training needs assessment. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications.

Rossett, A. (1998). Responding to customers, experts, personnel. Retrieved from www.josseybass.com/rossett/respond.

Rossett, A. (2009). First things fast: A handbook for performance analysis (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Pfeiffer.

Rothwell, W.J., & Dubois, D.D. (Eds.). (1998). In action: Improving performance in organizations. Alexandria, VA: American Society for Training & Development.

Rummler, G.A., & Brache, A.P. (1990). Improving performance: Managing the white space on the organization chart. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Rummler, G.A., & Brache, A.P. (1995). Improving performance: Managing the white space on the organization chart (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Rummler, G.A., Ramais, A.J., & Rummler, R.A. (2010). White space revisited: Creating value through process. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Stolovitch, H.D., & Keeps, E.J. (2004). Training ain't performance. Alexandria, VA: American Society for Training & Development.

Swanson, R.A. (1994). Analysis for improving performance: Tools for diagnosing organizations and documenting workplace expertise. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.