Job Aids Basics, 2nd Edition

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Evaluating Job Aids

There is a tendency to shortchange evaluation when it comes to job aids and ignore its importance. In some cases, the client is in a hurry and doesn’t have the patience to come back and evaluate the results. In other cases, the consultant or designer believes that evaluation is too difficult or—for some soft-skill issues—impossible to measure. Both perspectives are wrong and shortsighted. Evaluation is important for many reasons.

Evaluating Results

For starters, you need to evaluate the job aid to determine the kinds of improvements required, especially if you have a client who resists evaluating. One approach for dealing with clients who push back when you speak of evaluation is instead to talk in terms of “next steps” ...