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Chapter 3: Conducting a Needs Analysis--Asking the Right Questions
Chapter Notes and Links to Chapter-Related Resources

Resources Available for this Chapter

• Chapter Summary
• E-Learning in Action (case study)
• Sample Work Products from the Needs Analysis
• Sample Re-Statement of the Request
• Sample Statement of the Business Need
• Sample Statement of the Performance Gap
• Sample Statement of the Tasks in Ideal Performance
• Sample Description of Target Learners
• Sample Description of Constraints on the Project

Chapter Summary

• The seven areas of questioning for a needs analysis.
• The request itself
• The business need underlying the project
• The performance gap
• The tasks
• The learners and the influences on them
• The learning environment
• The constraints on the project
You restate the request exactly as presented by the sponsor to build a trusting relationship. By identifying the business need underlying the project, you show how the learning product will benefit the business. Each learning product should have one business need, either:
• Generating revenue
• Containing expenses
• Conforming to corporate, industry, or government guidelines
• The performance gap actually presents two scenarios:
• The current results of the intended learners, the process in which they currently work, and the environment in which they do work
• The ideal results of the intended learners, the process learners ideally follow, and the environment in which they ideally work

The difference between the two scenarios is called the performance gap.

• Analyze in detail the tasks of expert performance under the ideal scenario.
• For each primary group of learners, provide demographic data; their appetite for, and interest in, the content; influences affecting learners' motivation to learn; and descriptions of three learners -- a typical learner, a low-maintenance learner, and a high-maintenance learner.
• Describe the environment in which learners are most likely to use the online learning product.
• Identify the constraints affecting the projects, including:
• Product constraints (such as editorial and design guidelines)
• Technical constraints (such as the minimum configuration of users' systems, Internet standards within users' organizations, and authoring software already available to you)
• Business constraints (such as the budget, schedule, and staff)
• Corporate culture and project history.

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