Beyond Learning Objectives: Develop Measurable Objectives That Link to the Bottom Line

A learning objective is a statement that describes expected outcomes of a learning event. A seemingly simple concept, it is extremely important in the process of developing effective learning programs. The classic idea of learning objectives consist of three parts: performance, conditions and criteria. In Developing Learning Objectives, authors, Jack J. Phillips and Patricia Pulliam Phillips, link learning objectives to program return on investment (ROI).

Developing Learning Objectives expands the classic components of learning objectives from three to six parts: project scope, the four levels of learning (training evaluation, reaction, learning, behavior), results, and the Phillips ROI. With this book, readers will be able to write specific and meaningful learning objectives that address all six components. Additionally, the methodology will enable stakeholders in the learning process to design learning programs, facilitate learning events, and make decisions regarding business impact.

About the Authors

Dr. Jack J. Phillips is a world-renowned expert on accountability, measurement, and evaluation. Phillips provides consulting services for Fortune 500 companies and major global organizations. The author or editor of more than 50 books, he conducts workshops and presents at conferences throughout the world.

Phillips has received several awards for his books and work. On two occasions, Meeting News named him one of the 25 Most Influential People in the Meetings and Events Industry, based on his work on ROI. The Society for Human Resource Management presented him an award for one of his books and honored a Phillips ROI study with its highest award for creativity. The American Society for Training & Development gave him its highest award, Distinguished Contribution to Workplace Learning and Development, for his work on ROI.

His expertise in measurement and evaluation is based on more than 27 years of corporate experience in the aerospace, textile, metals, construction materials, and banking industries. Phillips has served as training and development manager at two Fortune 500 firms, as senior human resource officer at two firms, as president of a regional bank, and as management professor at a major state university.

This background led Phillips to develop the ROI Methodology—a revolutionary process that provides bottom-line figures and accountability for all types of learning, performance improvement, human resource, technology, and public policy programs.

Phillips regularly consults with clients in manufacturing, service, and government organizations in 44 countries in North and South America, Europe, Africa, Australia, and Asia.

Books most recently authored by Phillips include Return on Investment in Meetings and Events: Tools and Techniques to Measure the Success of All Types of Meetings and Events (Elsevier, 2008); ROI for Technology Projects: Measuring and Delivering Value (Elsevier, 2007); Show Me the Money: How to Determine ROI in People, Projects, and Programs (Berrett-Koehler, 2007); The Value of Learning (Pfeiffer, 2007); How to Build a Successful Consulting Practice (McGraw-Hill, 2006); Investing in Your Company's Human Capital: Strategies to Avoid Spending Too Much or Too Little (Amacom, 2005); Proving the Value of HR: How and Why to Measure ROI (SHRM, 2005); The Leadership Scorecard (Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, 2004); Managing Employee Retention (Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, 2003); Return on Investment in Training and Performance Improvement Programs, 2nd ed. (Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, 2003); The Project Management Scorecard (Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, 2002); How to Measure Training Results (McGraw-Hill, 2002); The Human Resources Scorecard: Measuring the Return on Investment (Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, 2001); The Consultant's Scorecard (McGraw-Hill, 2000); and Performance Analysis and Consulting (ASTD Press, 2000). Phillips served as series editor for ASTD's In Action casebook series, an ambitious publishing project featuring 30 titles. He currently serves as series editor for Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann's Improving Human Performance series and for Pfeiffer's new series on Measurement and Evaluation.

Phillips has undergraduate degrees in electrical engineering, physics, and mathematics; a master's degree in Decision Sciences from Georgia State University; and a PhD in Human Resource Management from the University of Alabama. He has served on the boards of several private businesses—including two NASDAQ companies—and several nonprofits and associations, including ASTD. He is chairman of the ROI Institute Inc.

Dr. Patricia P. Phillips is president and CEO of the ROI Institute Inc., the leading source of ROI competency building, implementation support, networking, and research. A renowned expert in measurement and evaluation, she helps organizations implement the ROI Methodology in countries around the world, including South Africa, Australia, Chile, Brazil, Romania, Ireland, Canada, and the United States.

Since 1997, following a 13-year career in the electric utility industry, Phillips has embraced the ROI Methodology by committing herself to ongoing research and practice. To this end, Phillips has implemented ROI in private sector and public sector organizations. She has conducted ROI impact studies on programs such as leadership development, sales, new-hire orientation, human performance improvement, K-12 educator development, and educators' National Board Certification mentoring. Her current work includes research and application of the ROI Methodology in workforce development, community development, and social sector programs.

As facilitator of the ROI Certification process and ASTD's ROI and Measuring and Evaluating Learning Workshops and as adjunct professor for graduate-level evaluation courses, Phillips teaches others to implement the ROI Methodology. She serves on numerous doctoral dissertation committees, assisting students as they develop their own research on measurement, evaluation, and ROI.

Phillips speaks on the topic of ROI at conferences such as ASTD's International Conference and Exposition, ISPI's International Conference, KnowledgeAdvisors Metrics Symposium, Training Magazine's annual conference, and the ROI Global Conference held in countries around the world. She is often heard over the Internet as she presents the ROI Methodology to a wide variety of audiences via webcast.

Phillips's academic accomplishments include a PhD in International Development and a master's degree in Public and Private Management. She is certified in ROI evaluation and has been awarded the designations of Certified Professional in Learning and Performance and Certified Performance Technologist. She contributes to a variety of journals and has authored a number of books on the subject of accountability and ROI, including Return on Investment in Meetings and Events: Tools and Techniques to Measure the Success of All Types of Meetings and Events (Elsevier, 2008); Show Me the Money: How to Determine ROI in People, Projects, and Programs (Berrett-Koehler, 2007); The Value of Learning (Pfeiffer, 2007); Return on Investment Basics (ASTD Press, 2005); Proving the Value of HR: How and Why to Measure ROI (SHRM, 2005); ROI at Work (ASTD Press, 2005); Make Training Evaluation Work (ASTD Press, 2004); The Bottom Line on ROI (Center for Effective Performance, 2002), which won the 2003 ISPI Award of Excellence; the ASTD In Action casebooks Measuring ROI in the Public Sector (2002), Retaining Your Best Employees (2002), and Measuring Return on Investment Vol. III (2001); the ASTD Infoline series, including Planning and Using Evaluation Data (2003), Managing Evaluation Shortcuts (2001), and Mastering ROI (1998); and The Human Resources Scorecard: Measuring Return on Investment (Butterworth-Heinemann, 2001).