Charles McPherson, Ph.D.
Management Systems Program Evaluation Human Performance Technology
Welcome. My research and practice focuses on the science of human performance
support. As a practitioner, my goal is to design, implement, and improve systems
that facilitate human accomplishment within organizations. It is my belief that people
who are willing to work have a desire to do their jobs the right way, and a significant
proportion of these people look for ways to improve their performance. Flawed
systems can obscure exactly what is the right way to do a job. If procedures and
processes are not articulated and made explicit, performance measurement and
evaluation can be difficult to impossible. More often than not, such systems result in
an excessive amount of rework, corrective actions, and discouraged employees.
This is where the science of human support can help by informing the application of
human performance technology to leverage human potential and achieve desired
objectives.
Approach. In his foreword to the first edition of the Handbook of Human Performance
Technology, Thomas Gilbert explained that “If we get the three I’s right —
information, incentives, and instructional design — we will have 95 percent of the
job.” But more than that, I believe that by getting the three I’s right, we as
researchers and practitioners solve performance problems that ultimately, improve
the human condition. With each success, an incremental step is made toward
making the world a better place to live, and that is what makes it all worth while.
Research. As a researcher, I am interested in how web-based interventions such as
knowledge management, instruction, and job aides impact job performance.
Moreover, I am interested in how program evaluators form models for evaluating the
effectiveness of these interventions. I am currently doing research in the area of
program evaluation with colleagues at the University of South Alabama.
Practice. As a practitioner, I am a self-employed management systems consultant
and owner of CLM Enterprise, LLC. I have been an active partner and instructor with
the Auburn University Technical Assistance Center and the Alabama Technology
Network for over twenty-two years. Overall, I have 33 years of experience in
developing and implementing quality management systems in the manufacturing
and service sectors. In accomplishing this work, my primary job focus is program
evaluation and the design, development, and implementation of management
systems, training programs, and human performance support systems for the
realization of products and services in education, business, and industry. In the
provision of standards-based program development and evaluation to learning
service providers and educational organizations, I rely on the Program Evaluation
Standards of the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation, ISO
21001, and ISO 29993. For management systems, my practice has focused on
design, development, and implementation of quality management systems for ISO
9001, ISO 19011 (auditing), ISO 14001 (environmental), IATF-16949 (automotive),
SAE AS9100 and SAE AS9110 (aerospace), FAA-PMA, and FAA FAR Part 145
Subpart B for domestic repair stations. I am licensed as an A&P (Airframe and
Powerplant) mechanic by the FAA. Click here to learn more about standards.
Methods. I employ a variety of tools and techniques in design and development
tasks for management systems and interventions for helping people achieve desired
performance goals. I have provided below a brief sample of some of the tools and
techniques I employ. Click each icon below to open the full document.
Job Task Analysis
The job task analysis is accomplished to identify the
specific activities that people do when accomplishing a
task. I prepare the task analysis by interviewing and
observing people who perform the task. The job task
analysis is a critical part of making informal
undocumented processes explicit. Once I know what
actions are involved in accomplishing a given task, I
document them along with the purpose of the task, the
scope, who is responsible, and the resources needed. To
develop a formal training module for the job task, I
determine what people have to know to do the job.
Using this information, I perform an instructional
content analysis and prepare a learning task map.
Learning Task Map
The learning task map may be prepared from the job
task analysis. The learning task map is a very useful tool
for graphically depicting the identified instructional
content for training. With this tool in hand, I interface
with client subject matter experts and client
management to ensure that goals and objectives meet
expectations and are suitable for achieving the desired
performance. The learning task map is used in
preparing a formal design and development plan for
developing instruction.
Formative Evaluation
I prepare a Formative Evaluation Process Map to depict
the formative evaluation process as it relates to the
phases of design and development activities that I
establish for an instructional design project. In my
practice I want to make sure that formative evaluations
will effectively verify that the outputs of the design and
development process meet the instructional product
design and development inputs. I conduct these
evaluations concurrently with the design and
development process. Data collected will be used to:
verify conformity to specified design requirements
(identified by the client and stakeholders), identify
deficiencies and weaknesses, identify areas needing
corrective actions, and make recommendations for
improvement.
Web-Based Instructional Design
For computer-based and Web-based instruction, I
incorporate multi-media components including, video,
still images, audio narration, and interactivity to make
learning interesting and engaging. Here is a small
portion of a Web-based training module that provides
instruction on how to use an online quality management
system that I developed for Electro National
Corporation. I developed this training application with
Articulate Storyline, my preferred e-learning authoring
software. I build and incorporate interactive multi-media
training applications into all management systems that I
develop and implement for organizations. Click the icon
and try out Lesson 1 to see how I prepared this
introduction to quality management systems.
Qualitative Case Study
I prepared this plan for investigating performance
problems that resulted in a product failure. Traditionally,
in investigating causes of product nonconformities,
quality management systems have called for a root
cause analysis to be performed. In investigating root
cause, quality practitioners generally first employ
statistical tools for process capability analysis and
perform reevaluation of tolerances on assemblies and
parts to ferret out defects in the product realization
process. The qualitative case study approach to
investigating the cause of product nonconformity can
serve two useful purposes, one to determine what
human factors may have caused the problem, and
secondly, when human factors have been ruled out, to
identify areas within the system as a starting point for
quantitative analysis. Case study research methods are
very useful in helping practitioners to prescribe
interventions to achieve desired performances.
Questionnaires
I use questionnaires as a data collection tool for
analyzing and evaluating performance problems and
interventions. They are useful in diagnosing problems
and determining the kind of intervention that may be
necessary to solve a performance problem. For example,
in developing training, they are very useful tools for
evaluating the participant's prior experience, attitudes,
preferences, and feelings. I also use questionnaires as a
formative evaluation tool. The example shown here was
a tool I developed to gather data about learners for a
training program in quality management system
auditing.
Partner to Auburn
Technical Assistance
Center
CLM Enterprise, LLC
Contact Information.
