The process of improving organizational performance through designing systemic interventions has remarkable similarities to designing instruction for improving learners' performance. Both processes deal with subjects (learners and organizations correspondingly) with certain capabilities that are exposed to novel information designed for producing…

For over 50 years, "seven plus or minus two" has been a commonly used guideline for gauging how many chunks of new information should be presented at one time in learning and performance situations. Often cited as the limit of working memory, this guideline was created as a result of misinterpreting an article by Miller (1956). More recent studies…

The purpose of this study is to examine key research themes in human performance technology (HPT) through content analysis of the 20 most influential articles identified in Cho, Jo, Park, Kang, and Chen (2011). Three questions guiding this inquiry are: (1) What are the key themes of the 20 most influential articles in "PIQ", (2) What information…

This naturalistic inquiry investigated how instructional designers engage in complex and ambiguous problem solving across organizational boundaries in two corporations. Participants represented a range of instructional design experience, from novices to experts. Research methods included a participant background survey, observations of…

For over 50 years, "seven plus or minus two" has been a commonly used guideline for gauging how many chunks of new information should be presented at one time in learning and performance situations. Often cited as the limit of working memory, this guideline was created as a result of misinterpreting an article by Miller (1956). More recent studies…

This descriptive study employed a convenience sample drawn from members of a professional organization supporting instructional designers (IDs) to investigate four research questions: What skills do potential employers expect entry-level instructional designers to possess? To what extent have their recently hired entry-level IDs met these…

This article reviews practice variation in the field of instructional design. First, it compares instructional designer practice as reported or observed in several classic research studies. This analysis is framed by the standards established by the International Board for Training, Performance, and Instruction competencies for planning and…

This article develops the motivating opportunities model from its previous conceptual framework to its design, development, and instructional implications. It includes building the utility of the model for implementation around the acronym SUCCESS, representing a systematic approach to analyzing and designing motivation for situational,…

This study conducted a citation network analysis (CNA) of human performance technology (HPT) to examine its current state of the field. Previous reviews of the field have used traditional research methods, such as content analysis, survey, Delphi, and citation analysis. The distinctive features of CNA come from using a social network analysis…

This study investigated whether active learning within computer-based training courses can be measured and whether it serves as a predictor of learner-perceived course quality. A major corporation participated in this research, providing access to internal employee training courses, training representatives, and historical course evaluation data.…

Training transfer is a key concern for organizational stakeholders, training professionals, and researchers. Since Georgenson's (1982) article on transfer, his conversational gambit that only 10% of training transfers to performance on the job has been quoted often. This estimate suggests a low level of success with training programs in general,…

This study seeks to improve the contributions of performance consultants, instructional design consultants, and training consultants by explaining the effect that several variables have on trust as a mediator to relationship commitment within the context of the client-consultant relationship. The participants were 228 college students from two…

Although ethics are commonly regarded as an important characteristic and performance attribute, they are also regarded as a slippery or ill-defined topic leaving practitioners and faculty flat-footed in how to teach and assess ethics. This article reports part of the findings from an investigation on deriving an empirical definition of ethics,…

This exploratory study examined the influence of national and organizational culture on the use of various performance improvement interventions. Data on intervention use were collected from practitioners in the United States and South Asia. Results revealed that orientation programs, organizational communication, instructor-led training, and…

This study examined how instructional design (ID) experts used their prior knowledge and previous experiences to solve an ill-structured instructional design problem. Seven experienced designers used a think-aloud procedure to articulate their problem-solving processes while reading a case narrative. Results, presented in the form of four…