NEEDS ASSESSMENT
Opportunities for Graduate Program Development
Based on feedback and request from program alumni, an online graduate department request assessment of current program offerings to understand where they may not be meeting the needs of current students.
GOAL
The primary purpose was to conduct a solution set analysis focused on providing a list of possible interventions for future implementation that align with the department’s vision: “Improving workplace performance in ways that organizations value” through continuous process improvement and commitment to student service and practice principles.
MY ROLE
Co-Researcher
METHODS USED
User Research
Gap Analysis
TEAM
A team of myself and three other graduate students worked with the client to conduct the assessment.
PROCESS
Discovery
The first step in this project was to identify the true opportunity to be assessed. Stakeholder interviews revealed that alumni had contact that department after graduation to seek additional skills, which indicated the program potentially could offer more robust programming in the future.
An extant data review of current course offerings that were showcased on the department website was also conducted to understand what currently was advertised to potential students.
User Research
After gathering current state data, the next step was to understand the needs of the user. To do so, a survey was sent to program alumni to determine first if a need existed and if so understand what skill or support areas needed improvement. The primary research question addressed by the survey was “Is there a gap in the performance improvement field which the program could fill?”
Survey results indicated a need existed, although provided only a high-level summary of what gap existed. To better understand the cause of the gap and how to close it, semi-structured interviews were conducted with both alumni and faculty.
Analysis
Using survey data and transcripts of the interviews, data was coded using a bottom-up approach and aligned with performance models. Key insights were then derived from the analysis to indicate where the largest opportunities for improvement existed.
Conclusion
Using a collaborative approach, team members developed a set of potential solutions which were then ranked based on feasibility, cost, and resource needs. These results were then shared with the client, include areas for further research.