Overall Instructor Rating: Satisfactory
Ratings explanation:
- Exemplary - A model answer in almost every way (this is given out very rarely).
- Satisfactory - Very well done; you've met the expectations of the assignment. There are some minor problems, so read my feedback well.
- Marginal Pass - You pass, but there are lots of issues to consider. Read my feedback very carefully and be sure you understand the points/issues I raise.
- Not satisfactory, redo and resubmit - The assignment was not completed appropriately. I am concerned that you do not understand the process well enough yet. To get credit for the assignment, you need to redo it, most probably on another topic. Read and consider my feedback very carefully before redoing.
Instructor's Overall Feedback:
Hi Jennifer, your work is outstanding! You really seem to understand the goals, purpose, and outcome of needs assessment. Your description of the needs was correctly written as performance gaps. Your problem statement was expertly written and correctly used the context (system of interest) as the subject of the statement, thereby appropriately identifying the organization or group responsible for solving the problem
I almost gave you a rating of "exemplary," but some of your instructional goals are off target. According to Dr. Rieber's advice, instructional goals should be written in terms of what the learner will be able to know or do *after* the instruction takes place. Only your first goal is an instructional goal. The others refer to instructional methods, treatments or delivery systems. While it is good to be thinking about those issues now, these issues will be addressed in later sections of the instructional design process. For now, focus only on what the learner will be able to know or do.
Nice work!
1. Preliminary: Describe the context within which this potential instructional problem takes place. This will pinpoint where the problem is located. If instruction is deemed necessary, this will be the place where it will be designed and implemented.
a. List the context, also known as the "system of interest".
Your final response:
Maintenance tech department of ABC Property Management Atlanta division(specializing in large distribution centers and warehouses)
b. Describe or show how the context relates to the bigger environment. Show how this context relates to other levels of the system within which it works.
Your final response:
•ABC Property Management for Large Distribution Centers
o Maintenance Tech Department
o Customer Base
• Future Deals
o Customer Service
• Reputation
o Traffic Patterns to and from said Distribution Centers
•Community Traffic patterns
o Distribution of goods
•Various stores that carry these goods
•Consumers
• Families
•Community
o Board of Directors
•Stock exchange
•Individual shareholder
•Families
•Community
The instructor's feedback to step 1:
No specific feedback given on this step.
2. Symptoms of a problem. Write a brief description of some symptoms that make you stop and wonder if something is wrong.
Your final response:
1. Fewer maintenance calls are being answered in the required time set by Property managers’ office and the maintenance tech’s office.
2. Client complaints to customer service center
3. Property Managers comment that maintenance techs aren’t answering the emails sent by them or their Admins.
4. Maintenance techs complain to property managers about new Blackberry/Nextel system they’re required to use to answer client emails and service calls.
Using the evidence cited above, describe why you believe that these symptoms signal a problem. Keeping these questions in mind, describe the reasons for identifying these symptoms as problematic.
Your final response:
If maintenance techs aren't answering calls properly or in a timely fashion the property management company can ultimately lose customers, revenue and status.
The instructor's feedback to step 2:
No specific feedback given on this step.
3. Preliminary Problem Statement. Based on 1 and 2, write a preliminary draft problem statement. Your context should be the subject of the statement. This is just the initial pass -- the statement will be revised in subsequent steps.
Your final response:
The maintenance tech department does not effectively meet the needs of the clients based on standards ABC Property management company has set for their department.
The instructor's feedback to step 3:
No specific feedback given on this step.
4. Verify the problem and determine specific needs. Two things will now happen concurrently. First, you need a systematic procedure to identify and collect data in order to verify that a problem exists. Second, you must identify information that the data sources may help uncover.
Data sources (who, what) |
Information gathered |
What did you find? (Needs)* |
Example: Interview participants in course; administer class survey; administer test of understanding.
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Example: Participant opinions on IDAs and course; Participant score on test. |
Example: Participants believe there is too much jargon (felt need); Participants don't understand ID vocabulary as compared to other classes (comparative need); Participants don't score above national average (comparative need); Participants don't/couldn't see the relation between their work and the ID process) |
| Your final response:
a. Report logs of the maintenance technicians
b. Property Manager's evaluations and scores of individual techs
c. Yearly reports of calls received and answered by techs
d. Customer service center logs from this year and last year
e. Survey of client satisfaction (from this year and last year)
f. standards set by company for maintenance techs at the onset of each year
g. email and Nextel records of specific technicians
h. Other cities with and without Nextel/Blackberry systems performance standards
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Your final response:
a. Data that showed techs are answering fewer calls
b&f. Property managers' evaluation & summation of performance and a score given to each tech based on % of calls met compared to the standard goal
c. Maintenance techs are answering fewer calls based on yearly comparisons
d. 40% increase in calls to Customer Service in which 80% of those were complaints about maintenance techs performance
e. Increase in comments about maintenance techs not meeting their needs in a timely fashion.
g. Records of Cell/email on the new Blackberry/Nextel system shows that the techs have only responded to phone calls,and 70% emails have gone unanswered or unopened.
h. Comparative data with other cities' reviews with and without similar maintenance tech departmental issues
a. average travel time to a client is 45 minutes, average time spent at location is 60 minutes.
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Your final response:
a,b,c,d,e,f,g. Maintenance techs need to perform properly and to standards set by the company. (normative need)
c,e,g. Maintenance techs need to change their habits with their Blackberry/Nextel phone. (expressed need)
d,e. Maintenance techs need to meet their goal (set by Property Manager) of responding to calls in a timely manner (felt need)
a, b &f. Maintenance techs need to increase their performance as it has decreased over the last year, since adopting the new Blackberry/Nextel system. (normative need)
h. Atlanta maintenance techs need proper time to travel to and from each client (comparative need)
a,b,c,d,e,f,h. Atlanta maintenance techs need proper training on the use of their Nextel/Blackberry systems (comparative, anticipated, expressed, and felt needs)
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*Note: You are not required to gather data; you can draw on your experience or imagination to list the data you might gather.
The instructor's feedback to step 4:
No specific feedback given on this step.
5. Prioritize your list of needs.Which are most important? Why are they most important?
Prioritized needs |
Reasons/evidence for priority |
Your final response:
c,e,g. Maintenance techs need to change their habits with their Blackberry/Nextel phone. (felt and expressed need)
a,b,c,d,e,f,g. Maintenance techs need to perform properly and to standards set by the company. (normative need)
a, b &f. Maintenance techs need to increase their peformance as it has decreased over the last year, since adopting the new Blackberry/Nextel system. (normative need)
d,e. Maintenance techs need to meet their goal (set by Property Manager) of responding to calls in a timely manner (felt need)
a,b,c,d,e,f,h. Atlanta maintenance techs need proper training on the use of their Nextel/Blackberry systems (comparative, anticipated, expressed, and felt needs)
h. Atlanta maintenance techs need proper time to travel to and from each client (comparative need)
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Your final response:
The first is a symptom of the real problem (productivity). Based on comments made by the maintenance techs to the property managers it is evident that there is a dislike of this new communications system.
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The instructor's feedback to step 5:
No specific feedback given on this step.
6. Rewrite your problem statement. Take a moment to look carefully at the initial problem statement that you wrote. Revisit your prioritized needs and check if your problem statement is still accurate and appropriate.
Rewrite the problem statement here:
Your final response:
The maintenance tech department does not answer calls in a timely fashion, thus not effectively meeting the needs of the clients, based on standards ABC Property management company has set for their department.
The instructor's feedback to step 6:
No specific feedback given on this step.
7. Identify the instructional goals. The last step in Needs Assessment is to list a few goals of instruction. Remember, not all goals can be solved through instruction. The instructional goals you identify will be the starting information for the next steps in the instructional design process. List the instructional goals in order of priority.
Instructional goals by priority |
Reasons for importance |
Your final response:
1. Atlanta maintenance techs will answer all email and text communications in addition to telephony communications on their new Blackberry/Nextel system in the time constraints set forth by their department.
2. Atlanta maintenance techs will be given access to a quick reference sheet for their new Blackberry/Nextel to carry with them should they need it.
3. Atlanta area maintenance tech department heads will have training manuals and DVDs in their offices available for check out by individual techs.
4. Review will be performed on a quarterly basis for any techs not meeting the specified goals withing 3 months of new materials being made available.
5. New hires and anyone not meeting their goal after the first quarter, will receive a required 30 minute computer training DVD (given to the company by Nextel/Blackberry) This will cover the three items the techs will use most often, emailing; texting; phone use on the new hand-helds. This DVD will be available to any tech wishing to view it as well.
6.
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Your final response:
My reasons for prioritizing the goals in this manner is that the techs probably have the skills and know-how to deal with this technology, but are under time constraints and old habits. Providing the technicians with the reference card allows them to have the material at their disposal when traveling to clients buildings. It would have only the most important and key information on it, allowing them to have access to exactly what they need to meet their standards.
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The instructor's feedback to step 7:
No specific feedback given on this step.
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