Analysing problems and preparing decision making

1. Tool D5Skill needs analysis and planning
The tool facilitates the analysis and planning of human resources for
joint projects or other joint activities.
It was adapted from a training needs analysis tool which is part of a
tool kit called Sustainable Personnel and Organisation Development
in organisations*
.
Skill Needs Analysis Project ...................................................................................................
Activities
Person
A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 A9 A10 A11 A12
P 1
P 2
P 3
P 4
P 5
P 6
P 7
P 8
P 9
P 10
P 11
P 12
The procedure is as simple as the tool’s matrix structure lets as-
sume. The columns represent Activities belonging to the project; the
lines represent people or people you are looking for. Always start
with the whole team. It is most important to identify the specific
mix of competences you need. If you want to do an individual analy-
sis, say for the co-ordinator, do it in the second round.
• Step 1: Define the project; distinguish well between current ac-
tivities of the people implied and those needed for the project.
Focus on the project needs.
• Step 2: The tool can be used in two ways; you can apply it first
for a mapping the presently available people and then extend it
focusing on the target composition of the team. Such a proceed-
ing helps to concentrate on the possible differences and eventual
*
Franz, Hans-Werner 2003, „Nachhaltige Personal- und Organisationsentwicklung“, in:
Ralf Kopp, Georg Langenhoff, Antonius Schröder (Hg.), Methodenhandbuch, Angewand-
te empirische Methoden. Erfahrungen aus der Praxis, Münster: LIT
Analytic matrix
2nd
step:
decide, one or two
steps
1st
step:
define the project
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training needs. Or you start at once with the target team. Take a
decision on whether to proceed in one or two steps.
3rd
step:
identify activities
• Step 3: Identify the major activities belonging to the project.
The focus is on activities, on what people have to do. So if part
of the project is a survey you would not enter “social scientist”
but “carry out a survey”. And if the success of the project de-
pends on the good organisation and facilitation of meetings,
make it a separate A heading: “organise and facilitate result-
oriented meetings”. If you also want to map specific attitudes
add them among the last A columns.
• Step 4: The line headings are for people who are there and for
people you will have to find. Enter their names and, if needed,
their formal or informal competence in few words, always with
respect to the project.
4th
step:
identify people
• Step 5: Assess the competence of people regarding each activity.
There is ample experience that people doing such an assessment
respectively self-assessment in a group tend to be fair. So don’t
hesitate, don’t be afraid.
Use a simple labelling for this assessment, e.g. the following
one:
= can do it well and train/familiarise others
= can do it well
= has done it but needs training
= can easily learn it
5th
step:
assess competence
• Step 6: Analyse the result. One of the aims of the analysis is to
find out whether there are any bottlenecks for relevant activi-
ties. For example, if there is only one person in your project who
can use a mind mapping software or construct an EXCEL calcula-
tion sheet for important parts of the project planning, then have
to look for somebody to learn it, in order to achieve a higher de-
gree of flexibility.
6th
step:
analyse results
• Step 7: Develop a plan for recruiting the people you need or for
training the skills you want to build up in your project.
7th
step:
plan recruiting or
training