Developing Principles and Schemata for Intervention Set Selection in Human Performance Technology

Abstract

For profit, non-profit, and government organizations that have an interest in improving performance, intervention set selection is a key component. As a result, consultants seek guidance on how to select intervention sets that create meaningful results for the organizations they serve. In response to the gaps in the literature related to intervention selection, this research adheres to a grounded theory method of inquiry to better understand the process of intervention selection as part of the human performance technology process. The following questions were answered through this research: 1. How do practicing performance improvement professionals select interventions? 2. Are there discernable patterns that practicing performance improvement professionals follow when selecting interventions? 3. Are there principles that guide intervention selection? 4. Are there elements involved in designing interventions that are schematic? 5. Is there an underlying theory or model that can be developed that explains intervention selection, including specific relationships between performance factors? If so, what is the theory and does it inform intervention selection? The 15 principles generated in this study serve as conventions that guide professionals on how to select an intervention set. The principles explain how and why certain actions happen during the intervention set selection phase and they function as a guide for practitioners when selecting intervention sets. The development of this study’s schemata, that consists of composition, directional dependence, mechanism of action, enforcement, transformation, and reverberation adds new knowledge to the field of performance improvement. Identifying these factors explains a practitioner’s behaviors when selecting an intervention set. The schemata also help to illustrate the art and science inherent in intervention set selection. The value of a set is to create the most comprehensive intervention in order to assure successful human performance. The study concludes with a presentation of the substantive theory of intervention set selection.