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Performance Improvement, vol. 47, no. 1, January 2008©2008 International Society for Performance Improvement

Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) • DOI: 10.1002/pfi.177

PERFORMANCE SUPPORT THAT ADDS VALUETO EVERYDAY LIVES

Marci Paino Allison Rossett, CPT

At the beginning came the job aid. Now, we incline toward performance support tools (PSTs),

sometimes fondly described as “job aids on steroids.” PSTs that support employee performance

have been studied, but scant attention has been paid to the PSTs that add to people’s everyday

lives beyond work. We studied 30 diverse people, voluntary PST users, to gauge their opinions

and attitudes about such widely available PSTs as MapQuest, VideoJug, eHow, WebMD, and

Turbo Tax.

ROSSETT AND SCHAFER (2007) have defined perfor-mance support as “a helper in life and work, performancesupport is a repository for information, processes, andperspectives that inform, drive, and guide planning and action” (p. 2).

On shelves above desks, in pockets and purses, on airplanes and on dashboard displays, on walls next toequipment and chemicals, in drawers beneath computerkeyboards, and on cell phones and via headphones, per-formance support is intended to help people do whatneeds to get done. It is an information-rich asset thathelps people accomplish tasks and reach goals. Here are afew examples:

• On your way to the orthodontist, a water gusher forces achange in route. The directions printed from the web didnot take the gusher into account. Oh my. What to do?

• The installation of the software happened seven weeksafter the training. Wasn’t supposed to be that way, butwell, things happen. Now, few people can rememberhow the software was supposed to work once available.

• Salespeople are busy. From many possible targets of op-portunity, they must select the most fertile. Which ofmany are most qualified for your products or services?

• At numerous retirement seminars people gather withothers to ponder readiness for retirement. The presen-ter tells everybody all about it. But people in the audi-ence worry: How does that match my situation, myholdings, my obligations, and my dreams?

• Although classes are critical to readying soldiers to sur-vive and perform fluently in the heat of battle, soldiersalso must know what happened 30 minutes ago on atown or village street to decide, “Should we drive downthis street?”

Look at this list. Consider the definition. Performancesupport boosts performance at work, of course, but it alsoinfluences decisions and actions beyond the workplace,such as those made on the street on the way to the dentist.What is known about those applications? Most attention,not surprisingly, has been on performance support thathelps people do their jobs. Is performance support part ofthe mix of resources to which people turn as they goabout their lives away from work?

Consider the decisions people make about vacations,retirement, food, dog breeds, auto types, mountain bikes,paint colors, and programs of study. They can, of course,“go to school” on any of these topics. Or they can turn toperformance support. Are they finding their way to per-formance support that can inform and guide them as theygo about their lives outside of work? We were curiousabout those uses.

Our intention, then, was to look at performance sup-port in everyday life. In this exploratory study weattempted to find out if people like us are using perfor-mance support at home, on vacation, in kitchens, and ongolf courses. And when they use performance support,what happens?

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THE WHAT, WHEN, AND WHERE OFPERFORMANCE SUPPORTElectronic performance support systems (EPSSs) and per-formance support tools (PSTs) are terms used more or lessinterchangeably to describe technological tools that helppeople make decisions, plan for activities, and performtasks. Joe Harless (1986) and Rossett and Gautier-Downes (1991) introduced people to the PST ancestor,job aids, long before the computer boom. Gery signifi-cantly advanced the conversation in 1991, when shefocused attention on performance-centered design forindividuals in organizations.

Many have described how PSTs are used, how they areperceived by employees, and how effective they are inachieving business goals in organizations like the U.S.Coast Guard, Jack in the Box restaurants, and Intel(McManus & Rossett, 2006; Nguyen, 2006; Nguyen,Klein, & Sullivan, 2005; Nguyen & Woll, 2006; Rossett &Mohr, 2004). Much less is known about the more infor-mal environments and purposes.

No one associated with the International Society forPerformance Improvement (ISPI) would be surprisedthat executives are eager for less training and more per-formance. In keeping with that goal, we see governmentalagencies and businesses providing both employees andcustomers with PSTs because, with the advancement oftechnology and the Internet, they seek to deliver informa-tion, guidance, and “lessons” closer to where they areneeded.

No matter the location, the creation of performancesupport raises questions about integration and customiza-tion. Integration is all about immediacy of support (Rossett& Schafer, 2007). Is the performance support inside or out-side the task? Is it like the ATM that provides prompts asyou make your choices, or is it like the computer programthat helps you consider which MP3 player to purchase orhow to get ready to conduct an effective performanceappraisal? ATM support is integrated into the task of usingthe ATM. The purchasing or performance appraisal adviceis close to the task you want to perform, yet stands apart; itnudges you to consider what really matters in your case.You take action afterward on the review or MP3 choice,edified by the prior systematic consideration.

The second dimension of performance support is howmuch customization, or tailoring, it delivers (Rossett &Schafer, 2007). Is the support standard for all users, or is itactively tailored to your situation? A standard PST deliversimportant content, such as the information on a websitedevoted to pediatric diabetes or prenatal nutrition.However, you, not the system, must reach into the resourceto seek and find the information that meets your needs.

When performance support is tailored, it knows youand actively advises you accordingly. Does it respondbased on which mutual funds you hold, how old you are,and how many children you must put through college?After you log in, does it know what products you sell andin which geography, or whether you just bypassed the ver-bal suggestion to turn left at Oak Street because of thewater gushing down that street? Does it reach out andnudge you toward acts and decisions that would be bestfor you according to all that it knows about you?

Rossett and Schafer (2007) parsed these possibilitiesinto planners and sidekicks (acknowledging contribu-tions from Gery, 1991, Cavanagh, 2004, and Raybould,2000). In Rossett and Schafer’s view, planners are toolsavailable to help you think and reflect before and after a task. Thinking ahead to a performance review or re-tirement is a good example. Reflecting on how you didduring the performance review is another. Sidekick per-formance support, in contrast, is there to help you perform during the task. It is the information provided bythe ATM or a help system that pops up to aid you as youfill out a form. How much integration is possible? Howmuch is desirable?

Tailored PSTs are personalized. These tools use technol-ogy to know you and to customize advice for your circum-stances. Are you living in a canyon in an area with greatfire danger? Are you the parent of triplets who are turning18 years old this year? The system tailors advice because it knows your stark realities. For example, monster.comenables you to post your résumé and fill out a job agentform by answering a series of questions about your pre-ferred job, including the geographical area, type of job, jobtitle, salary, and more. It then sends you weekly, biweekly,or monthly emails with lists of available jobs that matchyour personalized job search.

Standard PSTs do not do all that. Instead, all their usersreceive the same message, such as a library of articlesabout job searching or career trends, or even postings inColumbus, Ohio. eHow, a wonderful standard PST, is anexample. Want to clean vinyl records or get the smell offish out of your house? You, not the system, must searchand find useful, standard messages. The step-by-stepguidance offered when you are checking out of an onlinestore is another example, as is advice on how to preparethe windows in your home when a hurricane is bearingdown. You know your needs. You access the resources.

Let’s imagine, for example, that you want to buy a usedcar. How could planner and sidekick performance sup-port help you do that? Figure 1 shows PST possibilitiesand their levels of integration. Do you prefer seekingadvice from Dad before you go to the used car lot, or doyou consult the Kelley Blue Book while you peruse the

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Performance Improvement • Volume 47 • Number 1 • DOI: 10.1002/pfi 39

lot? Figure 2 shows performance support options andhow much they are tailored to you. You could researchused car options in a car magazine, a place that offers thesame advice for all readers. Or you could turn to eBay,which queries you about your preferences and then cre-ates suggestions based on those preferences, plus it offersyou recently viewed cars, consumer reviews, and pre-ferred used car possibilities. As you can see, there are sev-eral PSTs that could help you achieve your goal ofpurchasing a used car. Some help with planning, and oth-ers are by your side, fully integrated into the task. Someare the same for everyone, and others are tailored for you.

Not surprisingly, tailoring costs money. Software mustbe built to enable the computer to recognize the user andhis or her circumstances. Does such an investment makesense? Will it solve problems for customers? Will theinvestment in tailoring earn customers’ affection andappreciation? Will it allow them to self-serve rather thanrely on a customer service representative? Although thecost of personalization makes sense for a salespersonmatching products to customers or a doctor who is wor-rying about drug interactions for a patient, does it alsomake sense in the everyday settings and circumstancesthat are the backdrop for this inquiry?

Our opportunistic study examined performance sup-port from the perspective of voluntary users. Some wereyoung, some old. Many were in the middle of their lives.Their various purposes for turning to PSTs were verydifferent.

In this study, we explored the following questions:

• Who uses PSTs and for what purposes?

• What PST formats (tailored, standard, sidekick, plan-ner) are most frequently used? Which are preferred?

• How do users get up to speed on the PST? What helpfunctions are preferred? Which are particularly effective?

• What motivates users to use their PST of choice?

• What do users want?

THE STUDYOur study required us to educate people about PSTs beforewe could solicit informed views on the subject. Not sur-prisingly, even though respondents turned to these tools,they did not call them anything in particular. We created a website to teach them about performance support:http://marcipaino.com/graduate/performancesupport/study.htm. The site presented:

• An overview of the study

• A video presentation with a brief definition of perfor-mance support tools and examples of innovative andfrequently used PSTs (see Figures 3 and 4)

• A link to the electronic survey, hosted by Zoomerang

A link to the Web site was distributed via email, andfrom there, participants were directed to the survey. Inaddition, we provided face-to-face introductions andguidance to five participants. The introductory email wasalso sent to our friends and family, who then distributedit to their acquaintances. Our opportunistic sample in-cluded health insurance workers, bankers, teachers, a class

FIGURE 1. INTEGRATION OF PLANNER AND SIDEKICKPSTs FOR BUYING A USED CAR

FIGURE 2. STANDARD AND TAILORED PSTs FORBUYING A USED CAR

FIGURE 3. SCREENSHOT OF DISPLAY SEEN BYPARTICIPANTS: FOUR TYPICAL PST FORMATS

Source: Format names and descriptions from Rossett & Shafer, 2007.

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reunion forum, and the eLearning Guild. Ninety percentof the responses were anonymous.

The survey used 18 questions of three types. Open-ended questions allowed responses from each participantabout, for example, the kind of PSTs he or she currentlyused. Multiple-choice questions presented PST technolo-gies and asked participants to identify those on whichthey relied. Likert scale questions assessed the strength ofpeople’s reasons for using a particular PST.

The results represent the opinions of 30 people. Thesample consisted of diverse participants in many loca-tions, including New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., LosAngeles, and San Diego. Respondents were slightly moremale, 53%, than female, 47%. More identified themselvesas under the age of 39; however, those older than 39 werealmost equally represented (see Figure 5). Occupationsranged from retired teacher to office assistant, TV pro-ducer and editor, banker, and full-time student.

PATTERNS OF USE

What Do People Do With PerformanceSupport?We gained insight into the reasons people turn to perfor-mance support tools. At 27%, the most popular PSTs werehealth and sports related, including WebMD and Yahoo!Sports Golf HandicapTracker.

Other popular PSTs offered:

• tax help, such as TurboTax and Quicken (20%)

• driving directions, from tools like MapQuest (10%)

• general computing and search engines (10%)

• financial help (7%)

CARFAX, VideoJug, the digital video receiver (DVR),and Traffic and Criminal Software (TraCS), an automated,

FIGURE 4. SCREENSHOT OF DISPLAY SEEN BY PARTICIPANTS: eHOW AS A PST EXAMPLE

FIGURE 5. AGES OF SURVEY PARTICIPANTS

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Performance Improvement • Volume 47 • Number 1 • DOI: 10.1002/pfi 41

uniform traffic ticket producer and motor vehicle reporterused by police officers, were applications mentioned byrespondents that were surprising to us. As ex-pected, most(60%) rated the tailored PST format as very important orsomewhat important (23%) to them.

We then looked at users’ experiences with PSTs. Howdo they get and stay up to speed on the PST of theirchoice? When asked how they found their PST, most saidthey found it unaided via an Internet search (43%).Others discovered it through a recommendation from afriend, family member, or colleague (27%), or from anInternet or magazine advertisement (17%). Most accessedtheir PST through a computer, but a surprising percent-age got their performance support on the fly, via mobiledevices (17%).

How Did They Learn to Use the PST?Most users were able to use their PST with little or no help(63%). Those who did need help turned to company tech-nical support (31%); their friends, family, or colleagues(23%); or an online tutorial or help function (15%). Themajority of our respondents spent one hour (41%) or less(34%) to learn how to use their PST. Seventy-five percentwere up and functioning in an hour or less.

This speedy, independent progress stands in contrastto corporate or government users. In all six performancesupport cases studied by McManus & Rossett (2006),organizations introduced the performance support toolwithin a blend of training methods. Conversely, when thesupport is being used by people in their nonwork roles,they move forward on their own most of the time.

In the rare cases where participants had problemsusing a PST, they relied on online tutorials and help(25%), and some turned to the standard frequently askedquestions (FAQs) provided with the PST (17%). Ten percent decided to participate in formal, instructor-ledtraining to become better acquainted with their PST.Unexpectedly, only 3% used videos when help wasneeded. We predict that this usage is likely to increase asstreaming Internet video becomes more accessible andeasier to watch (Rossett & Schafer, 2007).

Now That They Know It, How Often Do TheyUse It?Our respondents used PSTs more often than we antici-pated: 20% used their PST two to five times each week,23% used it once daily, and 7% used it two or more timesper day. Some purposes, such as tax preparation, requireless frequent, though intense, PST deployment.

Why Do They Use It?Users were motivated by personal satisfaction (20%), andby the time efficiency and cost effectiveness (20%) offered

by PSTs. Participants were reminded to use their PST viaemail reminders, also known as nagware (14%), incen-tives (10%), mandatory participation (10%), and adver-tisements (7%). One respondent who uses a running andtraining tracker said that he continued to use it because ofthe “personal satisfaction of visually tracking results.”Another liked using Microsoft Web help links to acceler-ate his learning of new software and to satisfy his “per-sonal need to understand.” One woman relied on avacation-planning PST because it saved time. She said,“This is quicker than [using traditional] mail.” A fourthrespondent reported that she is prompted to use her magazine-supported PST, with which she tracks personalfitness and health goals, by a monthly advertisement inthe magazine. Another respondent said that using hisDVR “saved [him] time and [enabled him to] gain flexi-bility in [his] schedule.” A sixth participant spoke of thebenefits she experienced from using WebMD, “[It]answers [my] healthcare questions to take care of my 90year old mother and husband who has skin cancer, highcholesterol and high blood pressure, and for my ownhealth with menopause.”

Which Tools Please Them?We asked participants to point to businesses that are cur-rently providing the best PSTs. Those mentioned by par-ticipants were:

• Technology and software support functions, such asthose offered by Dell, HP, Avid, and Microsoft

• Banking and financial institutions, such as Bank ofAmerica

• Health care, diet, and exercise companies, such as LAFitness, Self.com, and SparkPeople

Google and Apple were also mentioned. Other responseswere organizations such as state tourism offices, theNational Park Service, and hotel chains that offered vacation-planning support tools; companies with tailoredskin care and makeup tools; e-commerce and online shop-ping sites; and the entertainment industry, MapQuest,and online networking communities.

What Other PSTs Might Interest Them?Respondents expressed eagerness for budgeting andmoney management resources, mobile and automobile-based reminder tools, product and electoral comparisonsupport, and programs to manage sports information andvideo-on-demand options. One woman admitted a needfor “a system to keep track of expenses, bills, etc.” Anotherwanted a product search tool: “If I need to find a certainproduct, like an adapter for my TV, I would like a PST, notan Internet search engine, that I could type into and it

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would list by price and location, including maps, where tofind said product.” A third said it would be nice to have atool to “help U.S. soldiers speak the right dialect of Arabicto Iraqis.” A college instructor proposed creating a tool tohelp “develop and deliver college course work.” Anotherinteresting request was for a tool to help foreign students“find apartments, roommates, and neighborhoods inAmerican universities.”

Many respondents couldn’t think of any unmet needs.Thirty percent expressed satisfaction with the market’sexisting responses to their needs for performance sup-port, with comments such as, “There aren’t any that aren’talready available or exist,” and “Everything I need Ialready have on my computer.”

CONCLUSION

Tailor to UsersOur respondents were keen on programs tailored to theirneeds and circumstances. They preferred health and finan-cial support targeted to their circumstances rather thangeneric websites, even when those standard sites providedguidance and support. Many tactics for personalizationwere reported. Some sites use prompting questions: Forexample, the Purina Breed Selector recommends dogbreeds based on answers to questions about preferences forshedding, hair length, activity level, intelligence, and obedi-ence. Others use secure databases, like monster.com.Monster.com enables both employers and job seekers tosign on and save preferences and frequently used searches,in addition to searching for resumes or available jobs.Financial institutions were most appreciated by respon-dents when their websites built recommendations based onindividual holdings and needs. For example, Fidelity’smyPlan asks questions about current needs and risk toler-ance, refers to the individual’s holdings at Fidelity, and thencombines all that information to provide a “sneak peek” atreadiness for and progress toward retirement.

Offer Active ResourcesA majority of respondents preferred PSTs that are activeand engaging, such as TurboTax, WebMD, and CARFAX.Tools that reach out, guide, and interact with users.TurboTax reaches out by asking questions to guide youthrough each step involved in completing a tax return.WebMD uses many methods of engagement, includinginformative videos; a searchable database; and a variety oftools for staying up-to-date on medical news, such asquizzes and asking an expert for advice. CARFAX takesyour input, such as a used-car’s vehicle identificationnumber (VIN), and then guides you through the processof finding this car’s history. You can then use this used-car

report to compare your car of choice to other possibilitieson the market.

Offer Support Rather Than TrainingFew respondents wanted to be schooled on performancesupport. They preferred technical support, online tutori-als, and FAQs. Their top preference, not surprisingly, wasfor a tool that is intuitive and thus needs little support atall. This study revealed that 25% of the respondents reliedon help from friends, family, and colleagues, suggestingthat it might make sense to create an online community,such as a blog or wiki, to wrap around a PST. These socialnetworking sources would allow friends, family, and col-leagues with similar needs to communicate about leverag-ing their PSTs.

Match Needs and They Will ComePerformance technologists must continue to attend tofront-end analysis and design to determine appropriatePST formatting and technology, and to ensure that PSTsmeet the needs of the consumer. Practitioners will need toconsider how users will find their PSTs. In work settingsPSTs are usually formally introduced. That is rarely thecase in home and community settings. The best way toensure frequent and appreciative users is to provide a PSTworthy of their attention. If it adds value to users, theywill turn to it and recommend it to their peers. We heardof many examples, including MapQuest, Google, andSelf.com.

Study the PSTThat brings us to the subject of measurement and contin-uous improvement, which can be accomplished by col-lecting and analyzing data from users. PSTs exist in themarketplace; therefore, it is important to monitor peo-ple’s use of each tool and learn how it could better meetneeds. Users can elect to turn to a PST, or they can call apal, seek out a help desk, leave a plaintive message on a discussion board, read documentation, or skip it. Thereis much to be learned from use patterns. Some patternscan be determined by evaluating database records. Howmany people signed on to use a PST, and how frequentlydid they do so? It makes sense to reach out and solicitfeedback from both one-time and frequent users. Thequestion is obvious: How can this tool better help you dowhat you want to do?

Offer Mobility and PersonalizationMany respondents said they wanted their support to go with them wherever they go. They were eager for automobile-based PSTs and Internet-based on-demandvideo applications. The future looks promising in thisregard. Technology is moving toward integration and

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omnipresence. It is possible to imagine a tailored toolthat relies on a global positioning system (GPS), calendarand contact applications, and radio frequency identifica-tion (RFID), plus databases with resources targetingfavored restaurants, ATMs, and particularly scenicroutes. Bluetooth-enabled GPS systems are already avail-able that allow users to connect their cell phones or per-sonal digital assistants (PDAs) to a car’s touch-screenGPS. Casinos and retailers are using RFID to track pat-terns of consumer purchases and activities in order toprovide people with discounts on the goods and servicesthey purchase most regularly. How can performancetechnologists use these new technologies to further thepersonalization and mobility of those PSTs that everydayusers already value?

The increased popularity of open-source software(OSS) will affect users’ expectations of PSTs, and influ-ence traditional development and implementation. OSS isfree or cheap software code that can be reused and tai-lored to each unique need. Because the community ofprogrammers all around the world work collaborativelyto create and release the code, OSS is not only free, it isoften innovative, easy-to-use, secure, and compatible withthe majority of computers. Ultimately, OSS will enablethose who create PSTs to cut down production and main-tenance costs, and provide consumers with cheaper andmore intuitive tools. It might even enable some compa-nies who would not otherwise be able to afford the tech-nology necessary for mobile PSTs to develop and deploythem at reasonable cost.

PSTs Create Opportunity for HPTsPSTs alter the distinction between work and nonwork set-tings and between the classroom and the job. Manyresearchers and observers have written about the shiftfrom training and instruction to performance and sup-port. Our study shows another reason why the shift isinevitable, as we have heard of the growing need for PSTsamong many different users and in many different con-texts. Some people are now using PDAs loaded with PSTs,like the BlackBerry, for work and many other activities intheir lives.

Traditional training has a role to play, but as peoplegrow more self-sufficient, they will be looking for answersand guidance when and where they need them. The roleof the performance technologist will be to deliver on theserequests, in both work and nonwork contexts andthrough media that can answer questions on the fly. PSTsare the essence of performance centricity and the practi-tioner’s role will “boil down to the creation of supportiveand information-rich environments and more technol-ogy, orchestration, measurement, and responsibility forresults” (Rossett & Schafer, 2007, p. 186).

More Questions RemainOur study raised as many questions as it answered:

• When a supervisor is not involved, and recognitionand rewards are individual and idiosyncratic, how canpeople be encouraged to use performance support forchallenges in life activities beyond work? Among theaudiences that concern you, what are the pressingneeds that will attract PST use and appreciation?

• How will cultural differences affect the design and useof PSTs?

• How can travelers and businesspeople use PSTs to findout about cultural differences and opportunities?

• Why are some PSTs successful and not others? Weelected to query users. Another fertile approach wouldbe to track many users of one or two or three tools, tosee what works and does not work.

• Has instructional design or performance technologybeen considered or applied in the design and develop-ment of specific PSTs? How could these perspectivesadd more value to results and experiences?

• How are PSTs and EPSSs currently being evaluated andimproved?

• Will older adults take advantage of performance sup-port? Our studies suggest that they do and will. Woulda larger study support this positive trend? To whatchallenges might older adults apply PSTs?

Performance support delivers information, guidance, andadvice to the field of activities beyond formal employ-ment, which in this study encompassed people’s behaviorin homes, parks, coffeehouses, and automobiles. In manyways, perhaps ironically, performance support is interest-ing to us because of the training and human coaching thatdo not have to happen when performance support isdeployed.

The role of the performancetechnologist will be to deliveron these requests, in bothwork and nonwork contextsand through media that cananswer questions on the fly.

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References

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Nguyen, F., & Woll, C. A. (2006, October). A practitioner’sguide for designing performance support systems. PerformanceImprovement, 45(9), 37–45. [DOI: 10.1002/pfi.2006.4930450920.]

Raybould, B. (2000). Building performance-centered Web-based systems, information systems, and knowledge manage-ment systems in the 21st century. Performance ImprovementQuarterly, 39(6), 69–79.

Rossett, A., & Gautier-Downes, J. (1991). A handbook for jobaids. San Francisco: Pfeiffer.

Rossett, A., & Mohr, E. (2004, February). Performance supporttools: Where learning, work, and results converge. Training andDevelopment, pp. 35–39.

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MARCI PAINO earned her MA degree in educational technology from San Diego State University inMay 2007, and her BS degree in organizational communication, learning, and design from IthacaCollege in 2005. She is currently an instructional designer supporting sales and marketing at KarlStorz Endoscopy. She is an active member of ISPI, working on the 2009 Conference Committee andpreviously volunteering as a blog ambassador for the 2007 conference blog. She is also a memberof the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) and Phi Kappa Phi honor society. Shemay be reached at [email protected].

ALLISON ROSSETT, CPT, EdD, long-time professor of educational technology at San Diego StateUniversity, works most often on workplace learning, technology-based learning and support, andassessment. She was ISPI vice president for research and development many years ago, and is also amember of the Training magazine HRD Hall of Fame and the CLO advisory board and a recipient of ISPI’s wonderful honor, Member for Life. She recently completed a term on ASTD’s internationalboard of directors. Her new, co-authored book is Job Aids and Performance Support: Moving fromKnowledge in the Classroom to Knowledge Everywhere (http://www.colletandschafer.com/perfsupp).She may be reached at [email protected].