Examining the Practice of Human Performance Technology

Despite the fact that Human Performance Technology (HPT) has proved itself as a systemic, systematic process for increasing performance and profitability in organizations, it has not yet been widely adopted. There are several reasons for this. The conditions that must exist for organizations to benefit from all HPT can offer them are lacking. First, few individuals have the knowledge and skill necessary to implement the methods, measures, and models of HPT, and second, those who do seldom have the opportunity and authority to apply HPT where it will most benefit the organization. This article takes a look at such barriers to successful HPT practice, and how they can be overcome. It reports the findings of a survey of academics, internal practitioners, and external consultants who are members of NSPI who were asked to report on what opportunities exist for learning about HPT, where it is practiced in organizations and by whom, and what role management plays in implementing HPT within organizations. The article also suggests ways of addressing the barriers identified.     

An Optimization of Human Performance Technology Intervention Selection Model: A 360‐Degree Approach to Support Performance

The human performance technology (HPT) model suggests various interventions to meet organizational challenges. While the original model includes a matrix to match an intervention according to a performance analysis, accumulated experience and recent research show that there are several parameters that will influence the validity and effectiveness of the solution. This article offers a 360‐degree approach to support the use of a performance model that helps practitioners to select the proper HPT intervention according to key attributes that influence the solution. Successful implementation, such as target audience characteristics and work processes that are at the heart of organizational needs, are examples of the benefits provided by this approach. The model is based on research conducted by Gal and Nachmias (2011, 2012) concerning performance support solutions success factors in corporate settings. In addition, experiences gained by both authors as they implemented HPT solutions in large organizations are considered.     

Human Performance Technology Blooms in the High Desert

As our first presentation in a series of academic program profiles, we are pleased to present the Organization, Information, and Learning Science (OILS) program at the University of New Mexico (UMN). The OILS program began in the 1980s as a vocational education program and has evolved into a program that focuses on human performance technology (HPT), instructional design (ID), and learning sciences. The OILS program is organizationally a part of the College of University Libraries and Learning Science. The library faculty brings positive synergy to OILS in terms of data management and information technology, research, education, and applied practices. The program offers an undergraduate degree as well as masters and doctoral degrees. It is very rare to provide an undergraduate degree in the HPT and ID fields, and the OILS program is proud of these pioneering efforts. OILS has a pragmatic tradition. The faculty members of OILS and its graduate students have conducted scholastic and practical research projects in HPT, ID, and learning sciences. Coursework emphasis is on cultivating students’ capabilities for excellent performance in the workplace. The program has a strong network within the local community with local employers as well as with local chapters of professional societies. The present demographics in the State of New Mexico in terms of the majority‐minority status are similar to the overall demographics that the United States as a whole will face within the next 30 years. OILS is an innovative program. – Sung “Pil” Kang, PhD and Yeol Huh, PhD, column editors     

美国绩效技术:定位、现状与人才培养——访美国绩效技术领域七学者

绩效技术诞生于20世纪60-70年代美国的教育技术领域,由于其提高组织绩效的独特视角与成效,近年来备受关注。在我国,绩效技术一直是教育技术领域的研究热点。我们引入了一些相关理论,也开始在实践中探索理论的应用,以期将有关理论与方法本土化,从而适合我国实际。为此,深刻理解绩效技术,追踪其在美国的发展现状与趋势对在我国发展绩效技术有着重要的意义。就美国绩效技术领域的现状、发展以及人才培养的有关问题,我们陆续对大洋彼岸的美国绩效技术领域的学者与实践人员,包括托马斯.M.树文、罗杰.考夫曼等七位学者进行了访谈,以期从不同专家的观点中获得对绩效技术更为全面的认识。     

Research and Theory as Necessary Tools for Organizational Training and Performance Improvement Practitioners

Human Performance Technology (HPT) is the applied study and practice of improving organizational performance through training and non-training interventions. For practitioners working in this area that identify themselves as an HPT practitioner, organizational training and performance (OTP) specialist, or instructional designer—offering the right intervention set requires understanding of how humans work and function internally and within organizations that are bounded by environmental, societal, and economic realities. The HPT field is rooted in a multi-disciplinary knowledge base and has its own models and theories, which are generally developed by practitioners to guide their practice. Because HPT follows a systematic, data-driven process akin to action research, HPT practitioners are applied researchers even if they do not see themselves as such. What we need is more collaboration between scholars, practitioners, professional associations, and businesses to create a culture of engagement and involve everybody in the validation of applied research and theory development.     

Changing Roles and Professional Challenges for Human Performance Technology

From its roots in behavioral science and instructional systems design, the field of human performance technology has broadened significantly during the past three decades in terms of its interventions and the backgrounds and skills areas of its practitioners. This development brings with it many questions as to the field's definition, theoretical underpinnings, and future developments in research and practice. A brief review of the history of HPT, a survey of some of its leaders, and a model of the roots and branches of the field are presented.     

A Framework for New Scholarship in Human Performance Technology

This article introduces a strategic argument and examples, in subsequent articles in this special issue, about sociocultural research opportunities for HPT practitioners and scholars. The authors take the view that recent criticisms of Instructional Systems Design have merit when considered from an organizational performance point of view. We see the problem as historic overuse of one theoretical perspective at a microlevel of theory and application. We argue that adding recent sociocultural perspectives and expanding the levels of theory to include groups and complex organizational structures will offer an opportunity for more rigorous and diverse research agenda and create new insights for problem solving in practice.     

Skill Sets for the Human Performance Technologist

Demand for human performance technology (HPT) practitioners is growing at the same time as their numbers are increasing. Yet no standard repertoire of professional skills exists, nor is there any agency with authority to define required skill sets. A number of sources do, however, offer guidelines. These are observation of current practice, a rich and expanding literature, professional societies, recognized practitioners and knowledgeable clients. These sources provide us with strong indicators as to what constitute skill sets for both current and future practice. This article presents suggested basic and advanced skill sets, identifies future skill needs, and concludes with suggestions for maintaining and enhancing proficiency as a human performance technologist.     

Specifying a Human Performance Technology Knowledgebase

The mission of human performance technologists, to assure high levels of human performance in organizations, is well established, and usually accomplished through design and implementation of two major products: performance systems and instructional systems. The speed of change in the environments in which HPT is practiced, however, requires frequent analysis of what knowledge and skills are required of HP technologists in pursuit of this goal. This article works backward from results and the products that obtained them, to identify the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that form the critical human performance technology knowledgebase. The author uses an example from our “universal” neighborhood to illustrate seven basic categories of variables influencing organizational performance, and provides examples and non examples of five essential principles of psychology that can help guide HPT practitioners' efforts to design and implement effective systems.     

绩效技术在组织实施中的成败关键:变革管理

该文通过对绩效技术领域中的变革管理的论述,提出变革管理是绩效技术在组织实施中的成败关键的这个命题,然后对绩效改进中变革管理的四个基本因素展开分析,最后从变革的视角解构了绩效技术模型,并在此基础上提出了"绩效技术变革观"。     

Human Performance Technology and Knowledge Management: A Case Study

ABSTRACT As organizations respond to competitive environments and strive to enhance performance, knowledge management (KM) has increasingly become a strategic activity. A KM strategy entails consciously helping people share and put knowledge into action. A key challenge is how to develop and implement KM solutions that provide performance support to knowledge workers and seamlessly integrate KM into business processes. We propose that human performance technology (HPT) provides a systematic framework to help guide KM initiatives. Specifically, HPT provides a holistic view of a knowledge worker's performance environment by considering the complex interdependencies between the organizational context, business processes, and individual performers. Via a case study, we describe and illustrate how HPT guided one organization in its journey to identify the content and structure to best support performance and manage knowledge in a core business process. Based on the case study, we offer lessons for other firms on how HPT can be used to guide KM initiatives.     

Certified Performance Technology in Practice: A View from the Inside

In this article, two internal consultants discuss their adherence to the Human Performance Technology (HPT) principles and standards as they launched a large cross‐functional project in partnership with a business unit and a team of external consultants. As new colleagues in a large telecom company, their reliance on HPT to provide a common framework and language was critical. It also allowed for a rapid onboarding for one of the consultants and a successful partnership for both. They discuss how they leveraged the established structure to align future work to their specific capabilities and expertise.     

A Treatise on the Field of Human Performance Technology: The Need for a Scholars’ Guild*

In this treatise, three scholars join together to present what they believe to be voids and needs for the field of human performance technology (HPT). They present arguments that support the idea that HPT is an intellectual endeavor. They proceed to present a set of propositions that raise questions about trends and issues that they believe are challenges to HPT's future as a viable field of study. They conclude by presenting a set of recommendations and action plans to form a Scholar's Guild as a means to preserve, guide, and grow the field of HPT.     

Skill Sets for the Human Performance Technologist Originally published in 1995, PIQ 8.2

Demand for human performance technology (HPT) practitioners is growing at the same time as their numbers are increasing. Yet no standard repertoire of professional skills exists, nor is thei:e any agency with authority to define required skill sets. A number of sources do, however, offer guidelines. These are observation of current practice, a rich and expanding literature, professional societies, recognized practitioners and knowledgeable clients. These sources provide us with strong indicators as to what constitute skill sets for both current and future practice. This article presents suggested basic and advanced skill sets, identifies future skill needs, and concludes with suggestions for maintaining and enhancing proficiency as a human performance technologist.     

Human Performance Technology: An Examination of Definitions through Dependent and Independent Variables

This definitional paper provides a chronological perspective of human performance technology (HPT) definitions and an evaluation of them in terms of independent and dependent variables. The intent is to compare the definitions with the goals that have been articulated for HPT over the years and to provide one source for past definitions as researchers move forward to continue their study of HPT. The search for definitions extended back to Gilbert in the late 1970s, who provided a foundation; the search revealed an evolution of definitions from the late 1970s to the present day, with the definition currently on the Website of the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI). The analysis depicts a brief chronology of the field, the breadth of HPT through the definitions, and how the definitions changed as the field matured (with the increased knowledge and applications of several theory disciplines).     

Specifying a Human Performance Technology Knowledgebase Originally published in 1995, PIQ 8.2

The mission of human performance technologists, to assure high levels of human performance in organizations, is well established, and usually accomplished through design and implementation of two major products: performance systems and instructional systems. The speed of change in the environments in which HPT is practiced, however, requires frequent analysis of what knowledge and skills are required of HP technologists in pursuit of this goal. This article works backward from results and the products that obtained them, to identify the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that form the critical human performance technology knowledgebase. The author uses an example from our “universal” neighborhood to illustrate seven basic categories of variables influencing organizational performance, and provides examples and non examples of five essential principles of psychology that can help guide HPT practitioners' efforts to design and implement effective systems.     

Applying Case‐based Reasoning in Knowledge Management to Support Organizational Performance

Research and practice in human performance technology (HPT) has recently accelerated the search for innovative approaches to supplement or replace traditional training interventions for improving organizational performance. This article examines a knowledge management framework built upon the theories and techniques of case‐based reasoning (CBR) and Nonaka's (1991, 1994) knowledge conversion model to shed light on how organizational performance can be enhanced by leveraging organizational knowledge represented as cases to support learning, working, and innovation of knowledge workers. This framework offers HPT practitioners new ways of thinking and methods for the design of performance support interventions by which organizational knowledge is stored, codified, delivered, and acted upon in context, on demand, and at the point of need. This paper describes a project, Knowledge Innovation for Technology in Education (KITE), which was designed to support professional development of teachers using CBR and knowledge conversion theories.     

Why Doers Do—Part 1: Internal Elements of Human Performance

The externality‐tangibility (E‐T) model of human performance is a human performance technology (HPT) model that categorizes nine all‐inclusive elements of HPT into families of elements that can be external or internal to a performer and tangible or intangible. This first installment of three looks at the internal factors: talents and skills or knowledge.     

Big Mother: The Internet of Performance Thingies

The Internet of performance thingies, behavioral economics, and social physics are disrupting the field of human performance technology (HPT). By balancing these young Turks with our old standards of behavior engineering, we can make HPT more useful and meaningful to our clients and organizations.