Association for Behavior Analysis International

Since the late 1980s, a methodology that has come to be called Performance Thinking® has evolved among practitioners in the ISPI (International Society for Performance Improvement) and Applied Behavior Analysis communities. Evolving from Tom Gilbert's concepts described in his book, Human Competence, this methodology makes those concepts actionable with two simple visual models plus 21 plain English user-tested words for communicating about the models. Performance Thinking programs and methods have been licensed and applied in large corporations including Amgen, FedEx, Insperity, Anthem, and others, as well as in a growing number of ABA organizations. This symposium brings together users who have applied Performance Thinking in diverse ways and contexts within the ABA community. In juvenile justice facilities, ABAI editorial processes, a university, and an ABA program, presenters will describe both formal projects and informal, ad hoc applications of accomplishment-based performance analysis and performance improvement using the models and logic of Performance Thinking. The Discussant, a seasoned executive and BCBA, who has led growth of two of the larger ABA companies, will reflect on those applications from the perspective of a senior leader, focused on improving productivity, service quality, and culture in a growing enterprise.

Those who will benefit most from this symposium have worked in organizations, either as an individual contributor, a manager/leader, or a talent management/development staffer to appreciate how clear definition and documentation of processes and roles can make a difference in day-to-day performance. While students and newly graduated professionals will gain benefit, until they've encountered the "real world" of organizational performance, the session might be a bit "academic."

The potential for applying ABA outside the autism and disabilities communities is enormous, including work with youth involved in the Juvenile Justice system. Working with facilities that serve juvenile offenders involves both direct service to them, as well as re-designing systems and processes in a positive and transformative manner.  At Adapt and Transform Behavior, LLC (ATBx), we have brought accomplishment-based performance improvement to both formal projects and ad hoc performance problem-solving to streamline and improve processes and re-define roles and management practices for treatment of clients. At The OBSI Project (Outcome Based Science Informed), a newly formed not-for-profit organization, we have begun to apply performance improvement to juvenile justice facilities, implementing evidence-based educational approaches (e.g., The Morningside Model) and best practices management strategies based on the models and logic of Performance Thinking. This presentation outlines a project aimed at defining and improving our initial consultation and assessment processes. It details how our consultants will conduct initial assessments to inform our strategic implementation blueprint. We emphasize the importance of gathering necessary information during these assessments to ensure successful implementation planning and high customer satisfaction.

In most organizations, whether corporate, academic, or in ABA services, job descriptions are mostly marketing documents to attract and set high level expectations for job applicants. Typical job descriptions list strengths, competencies, accountabilities, and so forth, at a relatively high level of abstraction. This presentation illustrates how we can use accomplishments at the level of an Individual Performance Map to fully define jobs by listing the valuable work outputs they produce. With such an accomplishment-based job profile, it is possible to recruit and hire with greater precision -- focused on the specific contributions expected from the role. And by identifying the behavior needed to produce those contributions (AKA work outputs), we can better develop and support the performance of people in the role. An Associate Dean, responsible in both the College of Arts and Sciences, and for the operation of an ABA service affiliated with a major University, has approached job definition and support with a focus on accomplishments. She and her clinical director will share an example, discussing the implications and applications, as well as next steps.

In organizations of all kinds, including those that deliver Applied Behavior Analysis services, most value is delivered to clients or customers by means of processes, to which multiple people contribute. If those processes are efficient and effective, the return on investment for those processes is positive. However, in so many organizations both business and clinical educational processes are not even identified, let alone documented or improved. This presentation describes how an accomplishment-based approach to performance analysis can help to clarify process descriptions and documents, because it explicitly identifies the accomplishments (AKA work outputs) produced by each contributor at each step of the process. In addition to work done to define and support processes in the organization, this presentation will mention other ad hoc applications where the elements of accomplishment-based performance improvement are making an impact. Overall, the presentation should make obvious how identifying what Gilbert called the “valuable accomplishments” produced and passed on by each step in a process can improve our ability to diagnose and suggest improvements, as well as to measure performance and identify where things went wrong.