Skilled performance improvement professionals will likely cite a specific model that they developed or use to guide them through a Systematic Approach to a particular performance improvement opportunity. Established experts like Harold Stolovitch, Don Tosti, Geary Rummler, Judith Hale, and Margo Murray have their individual views of what constitutes a Systematic Approach to performance improvement. However, all the models are reproducible and have these elements in common: diagnosis, prescription, and evaluation. A representative example is the Performance Consulting Systems Approach model shown in Table 6.2 (ISPI, 2004). The approach shown is not linear, even though it appears so in this model.

TABLE 6.2. Performance Consulting Systems Approach.

Source: ^©2004 International Society for Performance Improvement. Used with permission.

TABLE 6.3. Systematic Approach.

Source: ^©2004 International Society for Performance Improvement. Used with permission.

Most performance improvement opportunities are identified because someone in management specifies a need, problem, or opportunity and looks for a solution. For the issue to have credence, the manager must be able to articulate how addressing it will benefit the organization. Frequently, this is described as the familiar “business case,” which many organizations require be documented before any resources are allocated.

TABLE 6.4. Business Case.

Source: ^©2004 Geary Rummler and the Performance Design Lab. Used with permission.

Project Management for Issue Identification—Initiating. With the business case developed, we’re ready to get management’s sign-off and begin. In project management terms, this is often referred to as “initiating.” This is where the requisite information is provided to the client and the project is authorized (Greer, 1996, p. 13). The consultant is likely to be involved in budget discussions, negotiations, presentations, and other preliminary communications to launch the project.

This is a further refinement of issue identification. It calls for the performance improvement specialist to partner with managers and appropriate stakeholders to define the desired result in terms of a tangible outcome or a desired state. The work done here includes specifying requirements for the anticipated outcome and identifying the organizational requirements that must be met. Ultimately, the expected results must be measurable.

Project Management for Defining Results—Planning. As we’ve seen, the most effective way to begin improving performance is to start at the end. Sometimes we get lucky, and the client can clearly and accurately specify the results of a successful project. From there, it is a brief excursion to identifying the measurements that will show the degree of the project’s success. When we know the destination, we can plan the journey.

This step looks deceptively simple in the Systematic Approach table (Table 6.3). In reality, it is usually the most layered activity in the Performance Improvement Process. Performance Analysis involves:

FIGURE 6.1. Total Performance System.

Expect Surprises. Performance Analysis is rather like home repair—it is rarely as simple as we assume when we begin removing the first layer of wallpaper. It helps to be prepared for surprises such as the SME who is suddenly unavailable or uncovering evidence of issues more complicated than anticipated. In such situations, remember that when the findings start to repeat, your data gathering is probably complete.

Making Recommendations. When an analysis results in a long list of recommendations, be nice to your client, and prioritize them, placing those with the most impact first. You will probably find that the first two or three have an obvious priority order, that one or two belong at the very end of the list, and that the remaining recommendations carry equal weight and can appear anywhere in-between.

Presenting Analysis Data. Performance Analysis results in a detailed description of the performance issue and the drivers or causes responsible. Quite possibly the analysis will raise several related concerns, and it may identify a broader opportunity for improvement than originally described. Chapter 4, The Workplace: Organization Level, presents guidance for organizing analysis data and presenting it to senior leaders. It is a good practice to apply the same rigor to all presentations of analysis data to clients at any level of the organization. Here are some reporting techniques for presenting analysis data to clients at any organizational level, both in written reports and in visual-driven presentations. Choose one or more that suit your project:

Project Management for Conducting Performance Analysis—Executing. In project management terms, we are now in the Executing phase. A detailed analysis blueprint with action items, dates, resources, sites, and specific activities laid out will help immeasurably and allow you to accurately track multiple streams of information. As circumstances change—the key subject-matter expert you spent weeks trying to schedule has suddenly gone on leave—your detailed plan will help you find other information sources.

This is where the performance consultant determines what can be done to resolve the performance issue(s). In many such situations, the possible solution may be composed of several actions that are best addressed in sequence. A colleague refers to this as the “basket of solutions” (In conversation with Lane, 2008). In other cases, there are clear-cut choices the client must make about what to do. Certainly there are time and budget considerations that may eliminate some possible solutions. And critically, there are cultural norms that must be factored in so that the chosen solution will be implemented and accepted.

Consider Cultural Norms. Sometimes, significant cultural norms don’t make themselves known until solution development is well underway. One of us did a project with a public relations department in a large organization. The manager wanted a way to quickly orient his new hires, mostly transfers from within the company, to their new roles in his department and in their communities so that they could be productive right away. The consultant designed a do-it-yourself orientation program that the new hire drove with the help of a mentor and the local administrative assistant. There were written guides for each role. All the materials were housed online for easy retrieval. A few weeks after implementation, the client phoned to say that the administrative assistants had requested a class on the program because they were uncomfortable without one. “We always have a class,” they said, stating a company norm. If your performance improvement solution breaches one of these, you must either address it or find a different solution.

Project Management for Actions to Take—Executing and Controlling. Since the project is still in process during this stage of the Systematic Approach, we continue in the Execution phase of project management. During Execution, consultants typically encounter challenges as they move the project forward. This is called Controlling because aspects of the project can shift or cause difficulties during Execution and require plan changes. For example, your analysis may have uncovered some issues to investigate further. These may affect several project plan components and can ultimately change the schedule and the project’s scope. In such circumstances, it is helpful to consult checklists or other tools to help clarify what has occurred and how you might proceed (Greer, 1996, pp. 119-121).

With the solution selected, the work of designing and developing it begins. Considerations include:

This step results in a complete package of plans and materials approved by the client that meet the original project requirements for performance improvement and that specify how the project will be evaluated.

Project Management for Planning the Solution—Closing. The performance consultant may be responsible for analysis only, so the project ends with solution recommendations. Or the project might end at this phase in the Systematic Approach with the delivery of all completed materials. In either case, the comparable project management phase is Closing and calls for the formal completion and shutting down of the project, with team members returning to their regular responsibilities and the project materials stored and maintained as planned at project inception. Closing includes the client’s formal sign-off on the project (Greer, 1996, pp. 125-127).

There are a number of critical aspects to implementation that differentiate an initiative that is implemented but never fully integrated into the organization, from one that is carefully orchestrated to become part of its fiber. As project manager and implementer, the performance improvement professional has much to do, including:

Project Management for Implementation—Closing. The performance improvement professional is uniquely qualified to design and support a project implementation that fully integrates it into the organization. We encourage you to do all you can to continue with projects through this critical step in the Systematic Approach rather than turning them back to your client. From a project management perspective, at the conclusion of implementation, you execute the Closing activities described earlier in Project Management for Planning the Solution.

In many HPT models, the evaluation step appears at the end. In the Systematic Approach, it is in this position because something has to be last. In reality, the seasoned performance consultant ensures that a well-designed and managed performance improvement project has evaluation built into every step. This will allow adjustments and modifications as needs arise, saving time and expense throughout the life of the project.

TABLE 6.5. Balanced Scorecard Metrics Menu.

Source: ^©2007 International Society for Performance Improvement. Used with permission.

Using project management skills and performance improvement tools and techniques to successfully navigate through the Systematic Approach is part art and part science. We share with you two lists of what to do and what not to do: