Performance Diagnostic Assessment

Performance diagnostic assessment, or performance analysis, is the assessment component of organizational behavior management. Its purpose is to identify the environmental stimuli and events that contribute to performance concerns. Performance analysis includes historical, informant, descriptive, and experimental methods of assessment. This chapter describes performance analysis in the context of organizations serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including safety concerns when implementing clinical services. The focus is on the Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Human Services (PDC-HS), an informant-based assessment tool that has been used to evaluate a variety of staff performance problems. Interventions to improve staff performance based on PDC-HS results are also described. The chapter concludes with some suggestions for improving and expanding performance analysis.