Implementation of Semantic Search to Support Clinical Decision-Making

The current case study is situated within a large, land grant hospital located in the Midwestern region of the United States. Although the physicians had seen an increase in medical related human performance technology (HPTs) within the organization (e.g. computer physician ordered entry) some challenges remained as the hospital sought to improve the productivity of the electronic health record (EHRs). Specifically, physicians had difficulty finding information embedded within the chart due to usability problems and information overload. To overcome the challenges, a semantic search within the chart was implemented as a solution for physicians to retrieve relevant results given the conceptual semantic pattern. The case study will discuss many elements of the implementation based on our experience and feedback from clinicians. The case will specifically highlight the importance of training and change agents within an organization.

A Systematic Evaluation of a Soccer Club's College Advisory Program

The College Advisory Program offered by Total Vision Soccer Club aims at providing young players with the opportunity to learn how to navigate the collegiate recruiting process, market themselves to college coaches, and increase their exposure to potential colleges and universities. A team of external evaluators (authors of this chapter) conducted a formative evaluation to determine what the program needs to do to reach its goal. By following a systemic evaluation process, the evaluation team investigated five dimensions of the program and collected data by reviewing various program materials and conducting surveys and interviews with players and their parents, upstream stakeholders, and downstream impactees. By triangulating the multiple sources of data, the team drew a conclusion that most program dimensions were rated as mediocre although the program had several strengths. The team provided evidence-based recommendations for improving the quality of the program.

Bringing Service Standards to Life

This case study describes the efforts of performance consultants to improve the extent to which staff and volunteers at a nonprofit agency performed according to their customer service standards. After providing background information about the organization and its service standards, the case study describes the existing performance gap regarding the standards and the consultants' response to the client's initial request for training. The case study describes the performance analysis the consultants conducted, including the gap analysis, organizational analysis, environmental analysis, and cause analysis. The case study also describes the task analysis that the consultants conducted using the critical incident technique. The case study concludes with a description of how the consultants created the resulting training, and the effect of the training on the sponsoring organization.

Improving Practice through Non-Instructional Technology Platforms

This case study describes the processes and outcomes of intentional efforts to formalize and enable learning, communication, and collaboration in a network of nonprofit practitioners to enhance the capacity and effectiveness of member organizations. After identifying a need for nonprofits in Central Illinois to have increased awareness of others' efforts and work together to a greater extent, a technology-enabled Community of Practice (CoP) was formed to facilitate positive change. After a short period of implementation, an evaluation found that the virtual CoP was valued by members as an important source of learning, networking, and finding resources. Further, intentional efforts to facilitate nonprofit network activities and productivity led to meaningful outcomes in this community and members' performance. This case study serves as a non-instructional Human Performance Technology (HPT) example for consideration by organizations seeking to support informal learning among nonprofit employees and stakeholders in order to improve and sustain members' performance.

User Design

This case describes how a federal government agency engaged in a user design process to design, develop, and implement a workplace learning curriculum to be implemented throughout several agency offices. While several offices had developed their own training program, there were inconsistencies and a lack of standardization. The authors describe how a user design process was utilized in the development of a standardized curriculum. User design shifts the responsibility of design from expert designers to frontline users and stakeholders. Several user-driven tools are available to organizations that adopt user design processes. Potential advantages of a curriculum developed through user design include better adoption and diffusion of the curriculum and improved engagement of the users in the workplace.

Branding Beyond Logo and Colors

This case study presents FITC's evidence based application of ISPI's 10 Standards of Performance Improvement and theoretical insights from the author's doctoral dissertation to preposition a special purpose not for profit professional services organization in Africa. It describes the FITC mandate, FITC's trajectory and impact on identified stakeholders; reviews the various initiatives taken by FITC from May 2009 to May 2014, with a highlight of results attained. Thus, enabling the reader draw personal connections with interventions articulated in the organization. Consultants, Practitioners and Academics in the field of Performance Improvement, as well as those aspiring to these roles, would find this case study interesting.

Knowledge Management of Medical Information Resources and Tools

This case demonstrates how problem-based learning (PBL) was used as a teaching method to help medical students integrate their knowledge of basic sciences with a clinical application at a medical school. PBL promotes self-directed, problem-solving, and lifelong learning. In the PBL context, students sought out a variety of resources to tackle their learning issues and help them arrive at a solution to a patient problem. The existing strategy for curating resources was not aligned with the type of thinking and activities in the PBL process. Therefore, a knowledge management system was developed to provide an online knowledge base of medical information resources and tools easily accessible at the point of students' needs.

Fostering Student Work-based Experiences through Service-Learning

This case study explains how a complete overhaul to the national high school equivalency test posed a significant organizational challenge to Grace Centers of Hope, a nonprofit based in Pontiac, Michigan in the United States. All adult clients participating in Grace Centers of Hope's one-year drug and alcohol recovery program who are without a high school diploma or equivalent are required to take in-house adult basic education classes to prepare for taking the high school equivalency test. Faced with the need to completely redesign their existing adult basic education program, Grace Centers of Hope reached out to Designers for Learning, an instructional design and performance improvement consultancy that matches nonprofits with instructional design students in service-learning projects. The resulting 100% virtual e-service-learning collaboration among volunteer college students, their faculty sponsors, and other advisors provided Grace Centers of Hope with educational resources to support the organization.

Performance Improvement of a Sales Training Feedback System

This case study examines the analysis, design, development, implementation, and continuous improvement of a training feedback system. In this case, the system captured sales training participant feedback and distributed that data to stakeholders to analyze and to resolve problems within the learning experience. The intervention set presented in the case is intended for practitioners who have limited time and resources but are interested in creating a feedback system that meets ever changing business demands in a sales training environment.

A Competency-Based Performance System in a Health Care IT Setting

DiversiCorp Communications grew extremely fast to support Red Oak Health System's enterprise IT needs. Often promoting strong performers from within, DiversiCorp leadership recognized that their directors and managers needed enhanced support to maintain their expected level of service to their health care client. Two performance consultants were engaged who facilitated DiversiCorp leadership through a systematic organizational development process that culminated in the creation of an organizational “competency operating system.” This competency/behavioral-based system took as key inputs existing relevant company competencies and was developed with stakeholder involvement using a critical incident approach. Additionally, it was the core mechanism that then drove performance improvement through improved hiring practices, behavioral interview training, job tools and performance support, enhanced job descriptions, and aligned performance expectations and appraisals.