Applies To:
All KnowledgeSmart customers.
Common Causes/Issues:
There is a need to understand the differences between Skills assessments, Exams, Surveys and Skills audits and when they should be used.
Solution Overview:
Here is a brief summary of the intent and application of Skills assessments, Exams, Surveys and Skills audits.
Skills Assessments
Used to identify individual and team training needs and skills gaps, typically related to software tools in use in the AEC industry.
A Skills assessment, also called a test, is a collection of questions which have specific correct answers. At the end of a Skills assessment all questions are automatically marked and a detailed report is immediately issued.
Each question in the Skills assessment has associated training tags. When a question in a Skills assessment scores less than 100% then the training tags are collected together at the end of each report as a record of the individual's skills gaps. Here is an example of a Skills gap panel from a 'Revit for Architecture' assessment, shown below,
These training tags are used to develop a training curriculum for the individual. When KnowledgeSmart is integrated with Pinnacle Series these training tags are used to automatically create a focused learning path for the individual who has completed the Skills assessment.
Exams
These are Skills assessments which are used as a form of internal certification or proof of competence.
Any KnowledgeSmart Skills assessment may be turned into an Exam by making a copy and then changing the configuration settings. When Exam mode is turned on it is possible to create up to 5 bands for the scores. A certificate will be issued at the completion of an Exam.
How to turn a Skills assessment into an Exam. Edit a test, step 4.
This is the Exam certificate.
Surveys
A Survey gathers opinions from team members. On any subject.
All Survey questions are used to gather opinion type answers. There are no right or wrong answers and there is no score at the end. Within the KnowledgeSmart customer base typical Survey uses are; to establish the levels of use of software within an organization, the challenges of remote working, impressions of quality of training, etc.
This question, shown with responses, is a typical example of a Survey question.
Skills Audits
To be used to gather self and manager ratings of skills, which could be personal, business or technical. Ratings from 1 to 5 capture the knowledge, skills and ability of the individual.
The collection of these ratings forms a valuable database for the organization, to be used when resourcing projects, looking for experts and mentors, identifying strategic resources or reviewing opportunities for staff development. The outcome of the skills auditing process is a searchable database, called the 'People Finder', and a visual Skills Matrix (Heat Map).
Here are three typical questions from a skills audit.
The searchable skills database - the 'People Finder'.
A searchable Skills Matrix, also known as a Heat Map.
Want to know more?
If you would like to learn more about any of the above functions and applications of KnowledgeSmart for your organization then please log a Support ticket, requesting a meeting. One of our specialists will be happy to meet with you and answer your questions.
Related Article(s):
What is the difference between a Skills assessment and a skills audit?
What is the difference between a Skills assessment and a quiz?
Use cases for Skills assessments