When a Perfect Needs Analysis isn't possible: How to Adapt to Deliver Results
Most learning designers love a good needs analysis. In some cases, it can mean the difference between life or death!
Recently, the New Zealand Herald reported a crazy story from India. According to the story, a 'fake surgeon' attempted to perform surgery after watching a YouTube tutorial, leading to a tragic outcome where the patient died. This unfortunate event highlights just how critical it is to ensure that learning resources match the learner’s skill level and context. Without the right background or supervision, even the most detailed video can’t make someone an expert overnight. On the other hand, for a fully qualified surgeon, a well-crafted instructional video on a procedure like gallstone removal could be the perfect way to refine a skill.
Mostly, however, a needs analysis won’t save lives, but it will help achieve project success.
With some projects, like rolling out a new process to an existing team, needs analyses are relatively straightforward. We can easily compare the old and new processes, pinpoint the tricky parts, and focus our training on those areas.
However, in other projects, conducting a thorough needs analysis upfront isn’t always feasible—especially when time is tight. A great example is a recent project we did for a large company transitioning to a new IT management software. They needed 300 IT staff, including internal teams and vendors, trained before a fast-approaching go-live date.
Ideally for systems training we recommend developing eLearning. It’s incredibly flexible—advanced learners can skip directly to what’s relevant for them, while beginners can rewatch demonstrations and practice at their own pace. So doing a detailed needs analysis is not always required - we can just guide learners to find their way through the learning as best suits them.
But in this case, because the system was still being configured all the way up to go-live, the project team weren't confident we could make eLearning recordings in time. Instead, we were asked to conduct live training with small groups at a time, and 'roll with the punches' a bit. The phrase, “teaching people to drive the car while it’s still being built,” definitely applied here! Thankfully the project team supported us in each session and was able to comment on the parts of the software which were still a work in progress. It was an exercise in professionalism for sure!
Adapting on the Fly
To make sure the training was as fit for purpose as we could make it, we gathered feedback and adapted as we went. Over the course of 14 live training sessions spread across two weeks, we took note of the questions and comments during each session, and constantly refined the content. After every session, we also collected anonymous feedback via a digital survey, reviewed the responses, and made adjustments as needed. Yes, it was a lot of work, but the result was well worth it. Each session got progressively better, and by the end, it was clear from learner feedback that our training was hitting the nail on the head.
Handling Different Learner Needs
We also encountered feedback indicating that some learners had much more—or much less—background knowledge than others. To address this, we took a proactive approach, advising learners at the start of the session how we were pitching it, and how they could work with our training to best effect for them and their team. “If you’re the kind of person who… please have patience with us during section 1…”
Leaving a Lasting Resource
After the intense round of live training, we left the learners with a set of quick reference guides and a video recording of our best session (which happened to be on the second-to-last day, and thankfully didn't include any encounters with bugs!). We added timestamps to the video so learners could easily jump to the sections they needed. This way, they could continue to refer back to the material as they implemented the new system.
In the end, we did achieve the desired result: a well-prepared group of IT professionals, ready to hit the ground running with the new software.
And there's nothing we like more than positive feedback. The project manager thanked us with this fabulous comment
"I wanted to express my thanks an appreciation for what has been an amazing effort and outcome for our ITSM Training.[…] the quality of the training was top notch, the execution was arguably the best I've seen in the projects I've participated in at [company]. The material created are valuable assets for us moving forward. Thank you for your professionalism and enthusiasm. Well done all."
