Mark McKenna 4 October 2012

Design Document for AWARE 2.0

Front-end Analysis

Table of Contents
Prior Work............................................................................................................................. 2 Needs Assessment .............................................................................................................. 2-3 Learning Goals ...................................................................................................................... 3 Intended Technology .......................................................................................................... 4-5 Audience Analysis .................................................................................................................. 6 Task/Content Analysis ........................................................................................................... 7

Prior Work The AWARE form (Associate Work Awareness and Readiness Evaluation) is a self-assessment tool developed by Deseret Industries to help employees identify behaviors their own behaviors that do not meet industry standard. Many employees in the training program are not familiar with the rules for how to be a great employee, so the intent of the AWARE form is for employees to become aware of how their own work behaviors contribute to either their success or failure in the workplace. AWARE 2.0 will expand upon the paper-based AWARE form by providing learners an interactive electronic format in which to analyze their behaviors. Instead of merely identifying 3-5 strong behaviors and 3-5 weak behaviors, learners will make value judgments for each of the 31 work behaviors by ranking them based on whether they demonstrate the appropriate behavior to a greater extent or to a lesser extent than the others. If learners have any questions regarding a particular behavior they can access a more in-depth description of the behavior, why it is important, and specific examples of the behavior in action. Needs Assessment: Gap Analysis (Desired Performance - Current Performance = Performance Gap) Desired Performance The AWARE tool is a constructivist learning environment that provides learners a chance to reflect on their work behaviors. When learners use the AWARE tool they should be able to compare their own behaviors with the AWARE behaviors and decide the extent to which they conform to certain behaviors in relation to others. They will think deeply about examples from the way they work and whether their performance is at standard or not. They will understand the standards of the AWARE behaviors and why they are important. In the process they will identify several areas of strength as well as 3 specific behaviors that they need to improve in. In essence, using the AWARE tool will develop awareness in learners regarding work behaviors they may need to adjust in order to minimize or extinguish any employee fatal flaws. Learners will recognize the most important behaviors to focus on to become a value-added employee in all critical areas. This desired behavior is based on direction we have received from corporate-level development managers.

Current Performance Most employees do not spend adequate time evaluating their own behaviors while filling out the AWARE form. Because the instructions ask learners to identify 3-5 areas for improvement and 3-5 areas of strength, many times they quickly recognize obvious behaviors that have already been pointed out to them by a coworker or supervisor and do not give enough attention to the other behaviors. Even if the learner can accurately identify critical behaviors to improve, usually they do not sufficiently understand either the standards related to the 2

behaviors or how to achieve those standards. This is mainly due to a lack of adequate information. Deseret Industries provides this information to the learner separate from the AWARE form but the learner typically has never read the provided material, has forgotten it, or fails to make the connection between the information and the behaviors on the AWARE form. The current performance, as I have expressed it, is based on my own experience in administering the AWARE form to dozens of employees and qualitative data from other job coach trainers and managers. Performance Gap AWARE 2.0 will bridge this gap in two ways: 1. Learners will evaluate their own behaviors in relation to other behaviors by ranking them according to the extent to which they conform to standard behaviors. (The paperbased AWARE form asks learners to merely identify 3-5 areas for improvement and 3-5 areas of strength.) 2. Learners will have easy access to information regarding the behavioral standards.

Learning Goals Given a short description (or an extended description) of an ideal work behavior, learners will identify personal examples of behaviors they have exhibited that are related to the category of the ideal work behavior. Given a short description (or an extended description) of an ideal work behavior and a personal example related to the ideal work behavior, learners will compare how well their personal example conforms with the ideal work behavior. Given 31 ideal work behaviors, descriptions of the behaviors, and personal examples related to the ideal work behaviors, learners will rank how well their own behaviors conform to the stated behaviors in relation to the other behaviors based on their own assessment. Given 31 behaviors that have been ranked according to the extent to which personal work behaviors conform to ideal work behaviors in relation to the other behaviors, learners will identify areas of strength along with 3 areas of opportunity to improve based on their own assessment.

Intended Technology Adobe Flash I intend to use Adobe Flash to develop AWARE 2.0. Flash will enable me to create a learning environment in which learners can interact with movable objects that contain descriptions of the work behaviors. As learners go through the process of ranking their behaviors they will be able to sort, arrange, and organize the movable objects before fitting them into containers that correspond to rank groupings. Learners can access a pop-up window with a more detailed description of each behavior by clicking an information link contained on each movable object. After each behavior has been assigned a rank, a button will appear that will allow the learner to print a list of the ranked behaviors. This list will indicate which behaviors the learners should address to conform their behaviors to industry standard. Using Flash will allow me to reasonably achieve this level of interactivity. The relatively easy-to-use and intuitive user interface of Flash will make it more reasonable for me to learn in the course of the semester than if I were required to learn HTML5. I also have access to Flash at home, making it a convenient development tool to use. The layout and resolution size of AWARE 2.0 will diminish the usability on mobile devices, but using Flash will allow for compatibility with all of our workplace computers. Adobe Photoshop Much of the graphics in AWARE 2.0 will be designed using Adobe Photoshop. I will also create concept designs using Photoshop because I am very familiar with it and it has the features I need to achieve the aesthetic quality that I would like to include in AWARE 2.0. Technology Resources I will be learning Flash from screencasts created by Andy Walker. This will take a considerable investment of my time in order to learn this technology, but it will be the most realistic option for me. I will be able to learn Adobe Flash easier than HTML5 and I can develop my project using Adobe Flash at home. Andy Walker also agreed to offer support in using Action Script 3.0, which will be very helpful later on in the development of the project. Justification Adobe Flash is known as a user-friendly development tool. Because of my lack of experience in developing interactive multimedia products I believe Flash will be the most realistic option for me to be able to develop AWARE 2.0 within the constraints of the semester. The level of interactivity that I intend to incorporate in my project also fits well with the features available in Flash.

Here is a screenshot of a drag-and-drop interface developed in Flash.

Here is a prototype version of my project. The drag-and-drop features that will be incorporated in my project are very congruent with the example above. I will also include text boxes linked to the cards that the user arranges. Flash will be a very capable tool for my needs.

Audience Analysis The audience that will be using AWARE 2.0 is associates enrolled in the Deseret Industries training program. Though this audience encompasses individuals from a wide range of demographics, there are some general characteristics that can be applied to a great majority of the individuals: Strengths High level of interest in games Strong desire to become value-added employees Willing to learn and receive feedback Most are fluent in English and like to read books Weaknesses Low ability to articulate general workplace rules and why they are important Poor work behaviors (attendance, arriving to work on time, productivity) Poor employment history (entry-level jobs, not staying at same job very long) Low academic achievement (most have GED or high school diploma but show below average performance on standardized assessments)

Strategies Incorporate game elements: drag-and-drop interface, clear objectives related to completion of task. This will hold learners attention better and will increase their motivation to participate. Learners will understand that the purpose of the learning environment is to evaluate their own work behaviors in a way that will help them improve themselves. Learners are not required to follow complex instructions. The learning environment will be very intuitive. The content of the game comes from pre-designed documents created by Deseret Industries. Some of the vocabulary is complex, but one of the advantages of AWARE 2.0 is that it will include more descriptions and examples than associates have when filling out the original AWARE form.

Task/Content Analysis 1. Employee begins the employee training program at Deseret Industries. 2. Employee encounters opportunities to practice ideal work behaviors, either performing to standard or not. 3. Job Coach Trainer asks employee to complete AWARE 2.0 selfassessment. 4. Employee identifies areas of opportunity to improve. 5. Job Coach Trainer assists employee in setting goals related to areas of opportunity. 6. Employee engages him/herself in achieving meaningful goals related to his/her employability.

7. Job Coach Trainer asks employee to complete AWARE 2.0 again at a later time if needed.

8. Employee identifies other areas of opportunity to improve.

9. Job Coach Trainer continues to assist employee in setting and achieving meaningful goals to become a more valuable employee.

10. Employee continues this process until ready for a new job.

This task analysis is an overview of what an employee will experience at Deseret Industries in the process of becoming job-ready. My project (AWARE 2.0) encompasses steps 3, 4, 7, & 8 (in this color).