Conducting a needs analysis for training is much like planning a road trip. The purpose of the assessment isn’t just about budget and timelines, but instead to map out the best direction in which to develop the training. Just as we wouldn’t set off on a road trip without a map, we shouldn’t approach a needs analysis without a solid system in place. A needs analysis is a system that can be used to determine the best direction for the learning design with key markers along the way.

While building a needs analysis system is challenging, it doesn’t have to be complicated. This article will review the six essentials of needs analysis with a straightforward and effective roadmap for planning any learning initiative. So, let’s buckle up and hit the road — but before we begin our road trip, let’s go through a pre-trip checklist. Below are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind as you start.

Pre-Trip Checklist

1. Not every essential will require the same amount of time and effort.

On a road trip, you won’t spend the same amount of time at each stop. In a learning needs analysis, if your team has already spent a lot of time defining the learners in a previous project and you’re simply creating more learning resources, you may only need to verify that the size of the group has not significantly changed. If you’re building a new module that fits into a current roadmap you’ve already created, a quick review of the map may be all that is required.

2.  The essentials often overlap.

A review of these essentials makes it obvious that they’re not always distinct steps; they bleed into one another and are interrelated, not independent of each other.

3. Use the essentials in the order that fits your project.

While all six essentials are needed, they will not always come in the same order. Depending on the learning needs of your organization, you may need to begin at a different location.

6 Essentials for a Successful Learning Needs Analysis

Join us on this road trip as we discuss six essentials for a successful learning needs analysis. After discussing each essential, we’ll review some questions for you and your team to think about as you develop or revise your own learning needs analysis.

1. Where’s the destination? Creating the roadmap to needs analysis.

Just like mapping out vacation stops, creating a roadmap provides a learning team with a strong sense of where they are, where they are going and what comes next. It’s all about giving visibility so that a team can “see” what to expect. A good roadmap ensures alignment with company goals and provides a 50,000-foot view. It’s most often long-range planning and provides structure.

Here are six questions to help your learning team see the big picture:

1. How would you describe your current learning status?
2. What goals, key performance indicators (KPIs) or metrics does your company have?
3. What are the main focus areas for creating learning modules?
4. Where do you need to improve your learning or remove redundancy?
5. What are the internal objectives for your learning team?
6. How will you know if you have succeeded?

2. What do you want to experience? Defining knowledge, skills and values for a successful outcome.

Defining the knowledge, skills and values that are a priority can help learning teams categorize what they want learners to gain from their learning experience. These are the three categories that help the team classify objectives. They can be helpful in determining how learning components fit together and, in some cases, what the priority is. There will inevitably be crossover between the categories. Some learning materials will focus only on one whereas others will incorporate all three. These classifications are a critical component to a solid needs analysis process, helping you determine what’s most needed. Below are three basic but clarifying questions to ask.

1. What knowledge should learners possess?
2. What skills do you want learners to have?
3. What attitudes or values do you want learners to hold?

3. Who will be joining you on the journey? Understanding the learner.

Deep understanding of a group of learners is a key to the success of a learning program. In small organizations, it might be possible to design a learning path for distinct individuals. In larger organizations, such specificity is unlikely, but it’s still possible to understand your learners. This will be essential to clarify their learning needs. Not all questions can be answered in the detail you might desire, but the idea is to get a picture of the learners, and then do your best to personalize learning opportunities to meet your learners’ needs. Developing a learner persona can be a deep dive, but here are a few questions to ask to get you started.

1. What is the average age range of your learners?
2. What are the educational qualifications of your learners?
3. What is their primary language?
4. What are the goals of your learners?
5. What is their prior involvement with your organization’s learning initiatives?
6. What resources do learners require to enhance their success?
7. What communication methods will be used to engage with each group of stakeholders?

Tip: If you have time, take a step back from any one project and develop some learner personas for various groups within your organization. These will be helpful to inform every project.

4. How big is your trip? Scoping the project.

Scoping means to determine the steps required to produce the material needed to achieve the objectives. Scoping often involves the largest number of questions because it determines the overall breadth of a project.

Like scoping, a road trip requires some planning and organization of a lot of little details to be successful. One of the most important aspects is making sure to pack the right things. Any parent who has allowed their younger children to pack their own suitcase understands the “joy” of discovering toys and games packed rather than a jacket or toothbrush. The questions below probably look familiar, and I’m sure you could add more. These are baseline questions to ask as you start scoping the project.

1. What’s the project start date and completion date?
2. What is the budget for this project?
3. Do we need 508/Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance? To what level?
4. What media and graphics are already available? Where are they stored?
5. Do we have existing source material for this module? Is it organized? Where is the source material stored?
6. What will be the desired seat time?
7. What will be the format at the final delivery of a module?
8. How will the module be field tested before release?
9. How will subject matter experts (SMEs) and stakeholders give feedback to the learning team? What is their availability to turn around feedback?
10. How often will the team meet?
11. What learning management system (LMS) will the material be delivered on? Does that require testing?

5. Who can help make this trip successful? Building the team.

If you’ve ever shared your trip planning with friends, you know that you will get help from all kinds of experts who’re familiar with your trip location. In the same way, you should carefully choose a team of experts who will build the learning materials. You need to know who will do which tasks. The purpose of a needs analysis is to determine what training is needed to fill company skills gaps. A less often considered dynamic is that of stakeholders. For some projects, specifically those that are large, complex and expensive, there will be many people with an interest in its success. It is important to know all stakeholders and consider how you will communicate with them through the lifecycle of the project.

A successful vacation often hinges on great travel partners and each one knowing their role. Make sure to choose your team wisely and consider the questions below.

1. What tasks need to be completed?
2. What roles are needed to complete the tasks?
3. Who is currently filling those roles for you? Will they be helpful contributors to this project? Do they have the experience needed?
4. What additional people might be needed?
5. What about contingencies? Who can you pull in if the project creeps in scope or the timeline goes long?
6. Who are all your stakeholders? Is there anyone you haven’t yet considered?

6. Sharing the experience. Establishing roll-out and communication plans.

Sharing a trip and posting pictures on social media is a fun part of the post-trip glow. However, when it comes to a learning needs analysis, it’s most important to think through the “posting” or marketing of the learning project before your team starts developing the learning.

The marketing or advertising discussion is important early in the needs analysis stage because it’s vital to the success of the learning program once it’s launched. Unfortunately, it’s often thought about too late. Smart branding early in the needs analysis process can build excitement, set expectations and foster motivation.

Use these questions to guide your thoughts on marketing your learning program.

1. Is this a larger program that needs its own brand and logo?
2. How will we communicate with the learners to build engagement?  (e.g., email, company communication, posters, social media, etc.)
3. How can we build excitement? (e.g., contests, videos, etc.)

With all of this in mind, you can successfully navigate your road trip to conducting a needs analysis that uncovers skills gaps, identifies what roles and capabilities the business needs filled, and evaluates training that should be done to meet these business demands.