From a decision to the evidence
Name the decision a team needs to make. Work out what we know and what we still need to learn before recommending a next step.
The question
What would make us reconsider?
Ideas Lab
A place to try things.
Small tools and working ideas about learning, research, and responsible AI. Try a method, examine an assumption, or bring a question of your own.
Try the training decision aidAn exploration / The Art of Evidence
What happens after
the learning?
The interesting part is what people can do with it. Follow the question from the learning experience into the work.
The strands are a visual metaphor for the paths between learning and practice. These sculptures were created with generative tools and do not depict study findings. The measurement begins with a question we can investigate.
What should someone be able to do differently?
Start with something people need to do.
I begin with the work itself. A clear task gives the team something useful to design for and a behavior we can look for afterward.
A worked example
In this example, a team member uses a job aid to complete a handoff accurately.
An illustrative handoff, used to show the measurement approach.
Try a working method · 2 minutes
Does this need training?
Think of a task people are finding difficult. These four questions can help you decide what to investigate before choosing the support.
For example: a team keeps submitting incomplete handoffs, even after a reminder.
This is an illustrative decision aid. It has not been validated as an assessment. Your answers stay on this page and reset when you reload.
Question 1 of 4
Is the expected task or behavior clear to the people doing the work?
On the drawing board
Questions worth working through.
These ideas are still being explored. The concepts have not been tested as completed studies, and the images are editorial illustrations.
Checking synthetic-user assumptions
Compare simulated responses with what real participants tell us. Record where they agree, where they differ, and what still needs checking.
The question
Which claims still need real people?
When the work outgrows the course
Look at how changing tools and tasks affect learning materials. Work out what a team should review and when.
The question
What has changed since people learned this?
Where work gets difficult
Look at what employees say about a difficult task alongside observations of the work and the effect on customers.
The question
What is making a simple task difficult?
A second pass for disagreement
Explore a review step that looks for contradictions and overlooked accounts in a research summary, then checks them against the original material.
The question
What does the main story leave out?
Keeping judgment in the loop
Explore which skills people need to practice as automation takes on more routine work, and how teams can notice when those skills weaken.
The question
What do we still need to know how to do?
Compare notes
Working on a related question?
I’d be glad to hear what you’re working on and compare notes.
Email Dennis