If we formally assess all our work all the time we will run out of time and energy to do our work. The purpose of this phase is to select or target a task or process in our work that appears to make an important contribution to the mission and goals of the library and college, or has the potential to do so with improvement.
1A. Goals. How does your work align with goals, mission, vision and values of the college, library, or your library unit?
1B. Criteria. Who are the internal or external "customers" for your work? What needs or expectations do they have for what you deliver to them? Are any professional or institutional standards relevant to your work?
1C. Assessment Target. What process, task, or other part of your work do you want to assess?
Do we meet expectations?
2A. Assessment Question. Does [blank] make the desired difference? How can [blank] work better?
2B. Evidence. A wide range of measurements and observations can be suitable: qualitative, quantitative, mixed, and triangulated. Remember assessment is not science but can use scientific rigor when appropriate.
2C. Analysis. Use the evidence to answer the assessment question. Avoid reporting just raw numbers unless they truly speak for themselves.
Can we do better?
3A. Reflection. What does this assessment tell us about the strengths and shortcomings of the work we assessed? Is there anything we can tweak or redesign in our work or our assessment in order to provide higher quality outcomes or information about those outcomes?
3B. Improvement.
3C. Insights. What have you learned from doing this assessment? About your work? About assessment? About the library?
3D. Sharing. Report, discuss, and communicate what you are doing.