Definitions of Terms Related to Group Facilitation

From the Electronic Discussion on Group Facilitation

www.albany.edu/cpr/gf/

 

This is certainly not a complete list nor are they necessary

accurate--they are the ones I have been able to collect to date.

 

360-degree Feedback - Refers to a process in which data is collected

       from multiple sources or multiple raters. Respondents may include

       self, supervisor, reporting employees, peers, and, in some cases

       vendors/clients. Applications include performance appraisal,

       professional development, assessment & succession planning, and

       assessing organizational climate. (from the TRDEV-L FAQ)

 

ASTD - the American Society for Training and Development. (See RESOURCS.FAQ)

 

Business Process Improvement - BPI adds the process approach to this.

 

Business Process Redesign - BPR is top-down, adds the architecture of

       (part of the) processes to this, and is project-based.

 

Business Reengineering - BR is top-down, project-based, working from

       external demands and links to other businesses  toward a totally

       new internal architecture of business processes.

 

CATI - The Corporate Adventure Training Institute, a non-profit

       research center at Brock University (Canada) which investigates

       the efficiency and effectiveness of experiential adventure training.

 

EBTD - The  Experience Based Training and Development professional

       group.  A collection of 550 practitioners committed to the use of

       experiential and adventure training and development methods with

       organizations and businesses.

 

FAST (marketed by M.G. Rush Systems, Inc.) Facilitation Application

       Specification Technique evolved from JAD and other similar

       processes.  FAST draws heavily on JAD for the emphasis on the user

       and on structured analysis--both process and data modeling for

       other approaches.

 

Future Conference - a process designed to get whole systems in a

       room, to focus on the future, to search for common ground and to

       get everybody improving the whole system -- based on the Marvin

       Weisbord model.  For more info, contact SearchNet at 215-951-0300.

 

Graphic facilitation uses words + word formats (grids, matrices,

       etc.) + pictographs, images, icons and simple shapes that

       represent concepts and ideas.  For example, I use a circle to

       represent a whole, a notion, a problem, an organization, an

       event, etc.  The circle's line distinguishes what is internal

       and what is external to the issue; thus the minds of the group

       members begin to perceive the issue conceptually.  And a shared

       understanding of the issue happens.   (from Yvonne Hansen)

 

IAF  -  International Association of Facilitators  (See RESOURCS.FAQ)

 

ISO 9000 - A quality standard set up by the joint European

       community-based on the idea of having a unified economy by 1992.

       ISO now has implications, worldwide, because other countries want

       to export their products to European companies that require

       ISO 9000 certification. The standard involves documenting quality

       efforts and strict controls over the documents that measure those

       efforts. Many experts wonder if the paperwork really adds to the

       quality of the product, but many others do.  (from the TRDEV-L FAQ)

 

JAD (Origin IBM) Joint Application Design (JAD) Teamwork involving

       business and technical people to identify business objectives

       and define design requirements and operations specifications for

       the application of nontechnical and technological solutions to

       business problems.  Also known as, but not to be confused with Joint

       Application Development (JAD) Teamwork involving business and

       technical people to define system requirements and technological

       design for development and implementation of technology. (From

       "Advancing Business Concepts in a JAD Workshop Setting" by

       Anthony Crawford)  The aim of the workshop is to come up with the

       outline design of a system with a limited timeframe and a list of

       questions that will need to be answered on return to the workplace.

       The success of a JAD session is dependent on a good facilitator,

       systems people with an open mind and, perhaps most importantly,

       business people from not only management, but also the people

       who 'do' the  work.  (from Ian@ianj.demon.co.uk (Ian Johnson))

 

JRP (Joint Requirements Planning). This is a specialized workshop,

       very much like a JAD workshop, where the management work to set

       the scope and initial definition of the project. This will set the

       overall framework and boundaries that the full JAD session should

       work within (there will be exceptions of course, but it's a good

       guideline.  (from Ian@ianj.demon.co.uk (Ian Johnson))

 

MBTI - Myer Briggs Type Indicator or Inventory

 

OST - Open Space Technology, a workshop model developed by

       Harrison Owen.

 

PDW - Participative Design Workshop is a structured, democratic

       process that address the question of how groups of concerned and

       active individuals can best organize themselves to realize a shared

       vision.  The model was developed by Fred Emery.

 

RAD (Rapid Application Design)-- is an approach to systems

       development that emphasizes delivery of small "clumps" of function

       quickly. Looking at most systems development methods that have a

       RAD type approach, you'll see that they usually expect you to have

       advanced tools to support some of the techniques used. (by the way

       RAD has been trademarked by James Martin, so many publications

       use different acronyms but mean exactly the same thing).

       (from Ian@ianj.demon.co.uk (Ian Johnson))

 

Re-engineering: The Rapid and radical redesign of strategic,

       value-added business processes -- and the systems, policies, and

       organizational structures that support them -- to optimize the

       work flows and productivity in an organization. (Ray Manganelli,

       from The Reengineering Handbook, AMACOM)

 

Search Conference - a structured and systematically managed

       participatory process by which groups of concerned and active

       individual search through turbulent environments for a desired

       outcome for themselves and generate a strategy for achieving it.

       The process emphasizes collaborative experiential learning and

       community planning--'jigsaw' puzzle solving.  This is achieved

       through the interaction of the the participants who drawn from a

       relevant domain, identify, evaluate, and adapt to trend in their

       environment.

 

SPC: an acronym for Statistical Process Control: A management

       process employing statistical analysis and measurements of the

       operations' continuing outcomes against set objectives OR Ian

       Johnson defines it as SPC: acronym for Statistical Process Control

       (devised by Dr Walter Shewhart): A technique employing statistical

       analysis and measurements of a process to reduce the variation in

       that process.

 

Total Quality Management - TQM is about continuously incremental

       bottom-up quality enhancement.

 

Mary Margaret Palmer