DoE Standard Table-Top Needs Analysis

3.1 Why Conduct Needs Analysis?

With today's shrinking DOE budget and the emphasis and requirements placed on training programs, needs analysis is essential. The rationale for conducting this important activity is to provide an effective and efficient validation of a request either to develop training or to examine possible solutions to a performance problem. Much of today's training has been developed based on a facility's perceived training need rather than an analytically determined training need. Therefore, the training developed does not always address the training issue, yet training programs are developed at a tremendous cost to DOE. A needs analysis can often not only limit the amount of unnecessary training developed, but also provide possible solutions to performance problems other than training.

3.2 What Is the Purpose of TTNA? What Are the Products?

The purpose for conducting needs analysis is to examine possible training and non-training solutions for problems in an existing or a new training program. When undesirable performance occurs, training is often blamed for that performance. Results of an investigation almost always reveal that training is not adequate. In response to this, training organizations immediately develop training to correct the undesirable performance, yet in many instances, after training has been developed and implemented, the undesirable performance is still present. By using needs analysis to systematically examine what people or programs are expected to do and gathering data to reveal what they are actually doing, we receive a clear picture of the real problem. When the problem is accurately defined, the analysis activity then generates a report detailing the problem, the causes, and the recommended training and non-training solutions.