It is generally agreed that the EPSS movement began in 1991 with the arrival of Gloria Gery's book, Electronic Performance Support Systems: How and Why to Remake the Workplace Through the Strategic Application of Technology (Galagan, 1994). Within a few years, EPSS has become a hot topic for organizational development, human resources, performance technology, and training development professionals. The reason is simple. EPSS seeks to solve two of the most significant problems facing business today-- individual job performance and organizational competitiveness.
Definition of EPSS
An EPSS is an electronic system that provides integrated, on-demand access to information, advice, learning experiences, and tools to enable a high level of job performance with a minimum of support from other people (Gery, 1991; Raybould, 1990).
More recent definitions emphasize the importance of supporting knowledge workers:
Raybould has recently expanded his definition of EPSS based on the ideas of systems thinking. "An EPSS is the electronic infrastructure that captures, stores, and distributes individual and corporate knowledge assets throughout an organization, to enable individuals to achieve required levels of performance in the fastest possible time and with a minimum of support from other people" (1995, p.11).
Winslow and Bramer, partners with Anderson Consulting, refer to an EPSS as "Integrated Performance Support (IPS)" (1994). IPS is not just a technology, but a strategy for satisfying the current and future performance needs of an organization.
Laffey extends the idea of an EPSS with the concept of "dynamic" performance support. "Dynamic support systems are characterized by the ability to change with experience, the ability to be updated and adjusted by the performer, and by augmenting other supports found in the performer's community" (1995, p.1). In this view, much of the content is generated by the users themselves.
McGraw also extends the basic EPSS idea by integrating AI concepts, such as design elements of an Intelligent Tutoring System, into the advice and coaching provided by the software (1994). This allows an EPSS to support just-in-time training, on-the-job training with authentic tasks, and user-targeted training that meets the needs of each individual.
Goals of an EPSS
Despite the variations in definitions, general agreement exists on the major goals of an EPSS:
Provide "whatever is necessary to generate performance and learning at the moment of need" (Gery, 1991, p.34). Thus, an EPSS is sometimes referred to as "Just-in-Time Training" (Geber, 1991).
Enable "day-one performance": the idea that novice users should be productive on the very first day they start using a system (Gery, 1995).
Support higher levels of performance for the work being done today, while helping to build the knowledge infrastructure for work to be done in the future (Winslow & Bramer, 1994).
Components of an EPSS
An EPSS is usually accessed through a graphical user interface (GUI), such as the Microsoft Windows operating system on IBM-compatible PCs. An EPSS typically includes the following components (Gery, 1991; Ladd, 1993; Raybould, 1990):
Tools: Productivity software (word processing, spreadsheet, etc.) used with templates and forms, such as a word processing document
Information Base: On-line job aids and reference information (often called an "infobase"), hypertext on-line help facilities, statistic databases, multimedia databases, and case history databases
Advisor: An interactive expert system, case-based reasoning system, or coaching facility that guides a user through performing procedures and making decisions, includes cue cards, wizards, and context-sensitive on-line help
Learning Experiences: Computer-based training (CBT) or web-based training (WBT) such as interactive self-paced tutorials, as well as multimedia training using role playing simulations and scenarios.
The function of these components is best illustrated by looking at an example of how they are used in performing a specific task. Let's consider how an instructional designer would use an EPSS to perform the task of audience analysis.
Tools: The instructional designer could start by opening a template document in a word processing program which contains the key questions to ask during an interview with the client. The document is both a job aid for conducting the interview and a template for preparing the audience analysis report. Thus, the tools and templates embody recommended procedures or best practices that should be employed by the user (Reeves, 1995). Examples of completed audience analysis reports could also be available for viewing.
Information Base: A dynamic EPSS includes an infobase where much of the content is supplied by EPSS users. For example, the infobase might include case histories on work assignments: narrative descriptions of how other users have approached and solved similar problems. This shared base of user experiences grows over time, making the infobase increasingly valuable to the organization (Laffey, 1995). In this example, the infobase could include narratives on how other instructional designers have conducted audience analysis interviews with clients in the same industry, or even in the same company.
Advisor: There are two distinct types of support. The coaching facility represents proactive support by providing guidance such as help in setting goals and monitoring task completion. Context-sensitive On-Line Help is used in a reactive mode when the user has reached an impasse and cannot proceed without overcoming a problem in using the software (Duffy, Palmer, & Mehlenbacker, 1992). The coaching facility might initially provide guidance by suggesting that the audience analysis document must be completed as one of the first steps in doing the instructional design. The Help might be accessed when filling out the audience analysis document to get an explanation of how to rate the prior experience of users.
Learning Experiences: The Learning component typically includes CBT, but not in a traditional form. For example, traditional CBT might employ a four hour course sequence on the instructional design process. Learning experiences within an EPSS must be organized into granules, usually 5 to 15 minutes of instruction, which deal with specific topics that can be accessed while tasks are being performed. This is referred to as training that is "just in time and just enough." Assume the instructional designer starts to review the audience analysis document template about thirty minutes before the first client interview. It has been a couple of months since starting her last ID project, so she decides to get a quick refresher course on the objectives of audience analysis. During the CBT session she can refer to the audience analysis document and prepare notes on specific follow-up questions she should remember to ask. The learning experience occurs while the work is being done, not in a separate context.
The Need for Intelligent Support
Another way to look at the components of an EPSS is to consider the people resources that the EPSS software must supplement or replace. Tools support could be provided by a personal assistant, the information base by a librarian, assistance by a coach or mentor, and learning experiences by a teacher (Carr, 1992, Winslow & Bramer, 1994).
Developing an intelligent advisor or coach is perhaps the most difficult aspect in creating a complete EPSS that supports both performance and learning. A human coach would model the task to perform, help the performer set goals and structure sub-tasks, and proactively provide hints and reminders. The coach would also prompt the performer to articulate problem solving strategy and engage in reflective thinking (Collins, Brown & Newman, 1990). How does one replace a human coach with a computer program?
In order to provide intelligent advice and coaching, artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities can be integrated into the EPSS software (McGraw, 1994). For example, Intelligent Tutoring Systems provide the concept of expert and user models. User performance can be compared to a knowledge base of expert performance to determine the appropriate level of advice to give, diagnose learning problems, and provide customized suggestions for training. The more intelligent the software, the more the software simulates the advice a human coach would provide. Thus, the more intelligent the software,the better an EPSS supports both performance and learning.
References
Carr, C. (1992). PSS! Help when you need it. Training & Development,46(6), 31-38.
Collins, A., Brown, J.S., & Newman, S.E. (1990). Cognitive Apprenticeship: Teaching the crafts of reading, writing, and mathematics. In L. B. Resnick (Ed.), Knowing, learning, and instruction: Essays in honor of Robert Glaser (pp. 453-494). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Duffy, T., Palmer, J., & Mehlenbacher, B. (1992). Online help design and evaluation. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing.
Galagan, P. A. (1994). Think performance. Training & Development,48(3), 47-51.
Geber, B. (1991). Help! The rise of performance support systems. Training,28(12), 23-29.
Gery, G. (1991). Electronic performance support systems: How and why to remake the workplace through the strategic application of technology. Boston, MA: Weingarten Publications.
Gery, G. (1995). Attributes and behavior of performance-centered systems. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 8(1), 47-93.
Ladd, C. (1993). Should performance support be in your computer? Training & Development, 43(8), 23-26.
Laffey, J. (1995). Dynamism in electronic performance support systems. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 8(1), 31-46.
McGraw, K. (1994). Performance support systems: Integrating AI, Hypermedia, and CBT to enhance user performance. Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 5(1), 3-26.
Raybould, B. (1990). Solving human performance problems with computers. Performance & Instruction, 29(11), 4-14.
Raybould, B. (1995). Performance support engineering: An emerging development methodology for enabling organizational learning. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 8(1), 7-22.
Reeves, T. (1995, February 7). What is EPSS and why should instructional designers know about them?. Paper presented at the AECT Annual Conference, Anaheim, CA.
Winslow, C. D., & Bramer, W. L. (1994). FutureWork: Putting knowledge to work in the knowledge economy. New York: The Free Press.
