Introduction

Good ideas (and some say, good biological entities) continue to evolve based on new information, needs, or environmental changes. So it is with Performance DNA?, the new methodology for Human Performance Improvement (HPI) analysis, and the software toolkit that makes it even easier to use, Performance DNA Desktop?.  Both the methodology and the software are firmly grounded in (i.e., genetic descendants of) the ideas and methodologies originally put forth by Thomas Gilbert and Joe Harless and to a lesser extent, Geary Rummler and others contributing to the field of HPI.

The purpose of this white paper is to compare Performance DNA Desktop? with earlier accomplishment-based methodologies, some of which have been mainstays in HPI for many years. Our intent is to demonstrate how Performance DNA Desktop is built on the shoulders of earlier accomplishment-based methodologies ? we are trained in and have used these tools extensively ourselves over the years. We intend to highlight similarities and differences to help someone new to Performance DNA Desktop? put it into perspective. After all, as HPI professionals we understand that having a good ?mental model? with which to approach a new tool makes it easier to use and decreases learning time.

Similarities?a Common Genetic Background

 Performance DNA Desktop? is similar to earlier accomplishment-based methodologies, (e.g., Harless FEA) in the following ways:

1. It is a structured methodology that guides HPI analysts through a project without forcing the analyst to use all available tools
2. It works from the results (accomplishments or outcomes) being produced through the way they are being achieved to the barriers and facilitators of performance
3. It focuses on people who are performing well and the factors that drive their performance?although the terminology is different
4. It is based on a validated methodology and process rooted in the work and analysis of Tom Gilbert, a founder in HPI

Structured Methodology

Performance DNA Desktop is based on a structured methodology.  The Performance DNA?  approach leads the analyst through the HPI journey?from articulating the organization?s business goal, through the entire performance analysis process, leading to the identification of the key influences that affect performance in the workplace. 

Performance DNA approaches performance ?organically? ? as a system made up of interdependent parts (outcomes, task and processes) that are affected by influencing factors. Viewed in this way, Performance DNA ? defines the individual ?parts? first, in order to uncover what influences them. This process has the effect of mapping the performance ? creating the optimum code for producing the desired business outcomes (the DNA of performance) ? enabling that same performance to be reproduced across the organization.

The Performance DNA? hierarchy contains four analysis phases, each of which has an associated toolbox (a collection of guides, templates, tables, and checklists) to assist the analyst in assimilating the various pieces of the performance puzzle and producing the outputs and results:

?         Business Analysis

?         Performance Analysis

?         Key Performer Analysis

?         Influence Analysis

The table that follows compares the Performance DNA and earlier accomplishment-based methodologies.

Finally, while Performance DNA? is a structured methodology with approximately 50 tools and templates?many of which are not available in previous accomplishment-based methodologies, the analyst is not forced to use all tools in order to accomplish project goals. Earlier accomplishment-based methodologies were designed to be followed in exactly the way they were written, which can greatly influence the time and investment it takes to complete the HPI analysis process. Although Performance DNA? does suggest an order in which the core (most critical) tools are used (i.e., one must identify key performers before identifying outcomes), the analyst remains in complete control of which tools are used.  Different projects and their characteristics will determine which supplemental tools the analyst will find useful.  

Results-Oriented

Similar to the accomplishment-based methodologies, Performance DNA Desktop? leads analysts to start with results or outcomes and work from that point to understand how work really gets done.  The top section of the graphic that follows represents the process of how performance unfolds, from left to right. This includes hiring the right person for a job, then training, motivating, and managing them, and finally, providing adequate work environment and tools (each of which is an ?influence?).  Given enough positive influences, the performer completes individual tasks that combine into work processes, which results in the production of valuable outcomes and the achievement of business results. 

The bottom section of the graphic represents how Performance DNA? Analysis unfolds, from right to left. First, the focus is on the articulation of business and project goals and the definition of desired job outcomes.  Given the target job outcomes, analysis determines the cause of exemplary performance, including examining the work processes and tasks the performer completes and the influences that support (or detract from) performance (and ultimately, the achievement of business goals).

Focus on Performers

Just as accomplishment-based methodologies focus on ?Accomplished Performers? (AP), Performance DNA? focuses on ?Key Performers? (KP?s). Performance DNA? examines how key performers?those who consistently (more than 2 quarters) produce above average results?structure, approach, and do their work. Consequently, only the terminology has changed. In addition, Performance DNA? enables analysts to capture data from standard performers for comparison purpose. Similar to earlier accomplishment-based methodologies, Performance DNA? also supports interviews with the managers and stakeholders who often have valuable perspectives on performance and goal attainment for the role.  Performance DNA ? has specific tools and processes for manager/supervisor interviews, where earlier accomplishment-based approaches are not as formal.

Differences?Enhancements that Make a Difference

1.      Perspectives?finding deficiencies vs. finding what?s right to fix what?s wrong

2.      Integration of toolsets for diagnostic, new performance planning, and organizational alignment into one comprehensive
         and easy to use toolset

3.      Work processes and organizational process alignment

4.      New tools to capture technology and personnel selection (i.e., talent acquisition) issues and to help you with project
         admin details

5.      Efficiency issues?project set up and administration, data analysis and consolidation, data management, reporting

6.      Electronic templates and summary sheet

Perspectives

Although previous accomplishment-based methodologies focused on accomplishments and accomplished performers, their purpose was identifying deficiencies and causes of suboptimal performance.  In today?s business environment winning support for projects that examine causes for deficient performance may be a tough sell. On the other hand, helping organizations find what their key or star performers are already doing right?and then identifying how to extend that across the organization?is a more positive approach. After all, simply having a list of what is deficient in a work place and sometimes even fixing what is deficient does not necessarily improve overall job performance.

Performance DNA? examines what key performers are doing right. This includes their approach to the role and its goals, how they structure their work into ?chunks? or work processes, how they perform the tasks that comprise work processes, how they make use of performance facilitators and how they work around barriers to performance. The end result is a clear picture of what they are doing right and how we can help other performers achieve similar results. Finding what is working in the workplace and enabling others to use the same concepts, ideas, processes, etc., improves overall job performance.

Integration of Toolsets in Single System

Previous accomplishment-based methodologies consisted of multiple, separate toolsets. Performance DNA? is a systematic, integrated toolset that provides support for diagnostic analysis, new performance, and project alignment and support.  Using Performance DNA? analysts would simply ask questions of different performers to conduct each of the previously individual activities. For example, when conducting an analysis to help define a new job, analysts would conduct sessions with key performers who are responsible for pieces of the new role, or with whom the new role would interact. From these sources analysts would identify the critical outcomes required in order to meet organizational goals.  When conducting a diagnostic project, analysts would use at least the core Performance DNA? tools to work with key performers.

Work Processes and Organizational Processes

One of the most obvious differences between Performance DNA? and previous accomplishment-based methodologies is the addition of tools that help analysts examine organizational processes and individual work processes.  HPI leaders such as Rummler and others have identified the impact of cross-organizational processes on individual performance.  Many projects have been undertaken to improve the performance of an individual role only to discover that organizational processes are negatively impacting the outcomes that role can produce?even under the best of circumstances. 

In addition, frequent downsizing (and the resulting new responsibilities that have been added to many jobs), combined with the process re-engineering of the 1990s have resulted in jobs that are more complex and interrelated than ever before.  This complexity has created jobs that are rarely thought about as a series of tasks, but instead, as ?chunks? of task or segments of work of varying degrees of importance to the overall job.

Earlier methodologies had no clear way of capturing the relationship of individual work with organizational work processes.  Nor did they enable the analysts to capture how the individual thought about the major chunks of work that were performed. This becomes especially important today, since many HPI projects are conducted with the managerial and executive level where performers manage critical work processes but actually delegate completion of many of the most important tasks within them.

Consequently, Performance DNA? suggests new activities and tools to map organizational processes and align a key performer?s roles with these.  Benefits of this additional activity include identifying organizational process barriers to performance and opportunities to improve cross-organizational processes.  Secondly, Performance DNA? includes a new activity to enable analysts to capture key work processes that comprise the job prior to engaging in task definition or detail analysis.  One benefit of asking performers to identify the 3-5 work processes they use to produce a specific outcome is that it reveals the performer?s ?mental model? for the job?the way they structure and approach it. Another benefit is that after these have been defined the analyst can elicit rating of the importance of each of these work processes on the outcome. This allows the analysts to more surgically target the work processes for which a detailed task definition and analysis is likely to be the most productive for the project.  Analysts can then use available interview time more efficiently.

New Tools

Performance DNA includes a variety of new tools designed to produce a more complete analysis.  These tools and activities include the following not found in previous accomplishment-based methodologies:

• Project Start Up?Including tools to capture Needs, Scope, and Outcomes, People, Roles and Contacts, Project Issues and Requests, and Organizational Performance Strategy
• Organizational Outcome Mapping
• Key Work Process Analysis and Key Work Process Improvement
• Structured Observation
• Information Mapping?Tool/Resource Identification, Information Resource Analysis, Information Maps
• Decision Process Tracing
• Technology tool for mapping technology to individual work processes, and for evaluating technology effectiveness and usability
• New Influence Assessments (Cause Analysis in the Harless methodology) for Workplace/Structural Support, Talent Acquisition (from both an HR and performer perspective), Managerial Support, and Technology

The Knowledge Worker

Many of the new tools in Performance DNA? directly support the knowledge worker in today?s workplace.  Knowledge workers include professionals, upper-middle managers and above, and others who create, modify, and synthesize new knowledge. This would include approximately 20-30% of the U.S. labor market. The Performance DNA tools enable analysts capture decision processes and information mapping process that are critical to the performance of knowledge workers throughout their workday.

Efficiency

Analysts who have conducted many HPI projects using previous accomplishment-based methodologies recall stacks of paper, paper worksheets printed and taped to our walls, and the use of sticky notes and highlighters to attempt to align semantically similar accomplishments and tasks.  Not only was this time consuming, but without careful attentiveness it was prone to error.  And then of course there was the cumbersome task of trying to consolidate findings into reports for use by both analyst and client.

In addition to the 4 major phases discussed previously, Performance DNA includes two supporting functions that greatly improve analyst efficiency:  Analysis Consolidation and Project Administration. 

Analysis Consolidation provides a structure and functionality that enables analysts to find semantically similar outcomes, work processes, and influences and to consolidate the data associated with them. This basically collapses the mound of data into more manageable chunks, making it easier for the analyst to spot similarities, patterns, and trends and make use of them in the eventual reporting of data.

Project Administration and Reporting provides two important functions useful on all projects. First, basic project management tools are included to help the analyst administer the project. These include Project Activity Worksheets which enable effective analyst-project sponsor communication, a Project After-Action Meeting template that enables the analyst to capture lessons learned, best practices, and opportunities for improvement, and a Project Summary Worksheet.  Performance DNA includes 22 standard report templates that present data captured in the toolset in reports that can be output either as PDF for easy transmittal or as an RTF that the analyst can then change and rework in Word to produce a custom report.  Reports include, but are not limited to:

• Project Plan Summary Report
• Needs, Scope, Outcomes Report
• Primary Outcomes Report
• Performer Interview Schedule Report
• Key Performer Report (including work processes and task details)
• Individual Influence Assessment Reports
• Project Administration Reporting.

Closing

The fundamental thinking, extensive research and the thorough testing of the processes rooted in the work of Tom Gilbert are alive and well in the Performance DNA methodology and corresponding software tool, Performance DNA Desktop.  Previous accomplishment-based methodologies produced valuable outcomes for analysts for many years.

Today?s complex, competitive and rapidly changing workplace has demanded an update in the tools and processes used in HPI and the Performance DNA methodology and Performance DNA Desktop addresses these challenges.  The tools have the fundamental and validated thinking of the early masters such at Gilbert, Harless and Rummler, yet support the complex, expanding needs of today?s business environment.