GETTING STARTED WITH ASSESSMENT PROJECT MANAGEMENT & WRITING GOOD QUESTIONS

Jennifer Rutner

Assessment & Marketing Librarian

Columbia University Libraries

assessment = change = scary

What is assessment?

Data-informed decision making

Quality, actionable

data

Information transparency

Culture of Assessment

Culture of assessment

A Culture of Assessment is an organizational environment in which decisions are based on facts, research and analysis, and where services are planned and delivered in ways that maximize positive outcomes and impacts for library clients.

A Culture of Assessment exists in organizations where staff care to know what results they produce and how those results relate to customer expectations.

Amos Lakos: www.usc.edu/.../locations/leavey/news/conference/presentations/presentations_9-16/Assessment/UCLA_Lakos.ppt

PROJECT MANAGEMENT FOR LIBRARY ASSESSMENT

What not to do.

Form a representative

committee

Write survey questions

Get a really low response

rate

Make the same

decisions you would have

anyways

1. Develop a project plan

2. Understand your team

3. Identify your information needs

4. Write good questions

5. Act on the results

What will help!

Project scope

What is the purpose of this project?

What will this project produce (deliverables)?

What will not happen during this project?

Project objectives

Specific Measurable Aggressive

RealisticTime-

sensitive

Identify decision makers

Who needs to use the information produced by this assessment project to make decisions and produce results?

Do you need a team?

Understanding your team

Team

Project manager

Client

Leader

Commun-icator

Expert

Worker

Decider

Understanding your team

Team Member

Role Skills Interests Authority(What you get to decide)

Responsibility(What you have to do)

Jennifer Project manager, Expert

Writing good questionsIRB processFacilitation

Space planning Methodology

Tool development

Implementation

Assign work to team members and sub-teams

Set meeting agendas

Ensure that milestones are met

Michael Worker, Expert Programming, Usability studies

Usability Website layout Build/manage survey tool

Kimberly Client, Decider Managing, Content expertise

Quantitative data analysis

Approve project plan

Attend meetings, general oversight

Project timeline

Assessment project plan

Everyone signs-off on the project plan.

Your team:

• Members

• Roles

• Authority

• Skills & Interests

Project Scope

Project Objectives

Decision Makers

Information Needs

Methodology

Project Timeline

WRITING GOOD QUESTIONS

“I want to do a survey.”

Assessment process

Environmental scan

Available information

(knowns)

Information needs

(unknowns)

Establish priorities

Assign methodology

Develop toolsTest the toolsIRB

Conduct assessment

Analysis ReportingDecision making!

Staff brainstorming session

Getting organized

Good questions…

• are clear

• are easy to answer

• are not biased

• are not leading

• allow the participant to express their perspective

Test the test!

• Is there anything that doesn’t make sense?• Are any of the questions too personal?• Is there terminology that you don’t know?• Are you able to answer each question?• Are you able to give the answers you want to give?

THANK YOU

More information: https://www1.columbia.edu/sec/cu/libraries/bookmarks/