From the course: Elearning Tips

How to conduct a learning needs analysis for elearning

From the course: Elearning Tips

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How to conduct a learning needs analysis for elearning

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- When you're starting a new e-learning project, it's so important that you take a step back and decide whether or not an e-learning course or any learning for that matter will actually address the issues you're trying to solve. And this is where a needs analysis comes into play. So how do you conduct one? Well, a needs analysis is simply a matter of answering three basic questions. First, what are people currently doing? You need to answer this question to uncover the current level of performance by your learners. And how you answer this depends on the behaviors or tasks that you're evaluating. It might require you spending some time observing your learners on the job or analyzing any available data. Either way, your goal is to create a snapshot of what it is your learners are doing right now. Second, what do you want people to be doing? And the reason you need to answer this question is to determine the desired level of performance. Usually, you can answer this question by spending some time with your stakeholders and subject matter experts as they're the ones who are seeking a desired level of performance in the first place. So after you've determined what people are doing and what you want them to be doing, the third and final question is, well, why aren't they doing it? And you need to answer this question to determine the cause of the performance gap if one exists at all. You do this by evaluating the information you've collected and determining whether there's really a lack of knowledge or skill or if there are other issues that might be causing the performance gap. So the next time you're asked to build some training, take the time to pause and conduct a proper needs analysis. By answering these three basic questions, you'll be able to uncover the cause of the performance gaps that exist within your organization and determine whether or not learning will help you address them.

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