methodology 002 action mapping · kirkpatrick
chapter i · approach

I observe
before I design.

Most training fails because it's built on assumptions. At Caboodle, I study what people actually do, then design learning experiences that bridge the gap between current and desired behavior.

how every engagement unfolds

five phases.
one outcome.

The same arc runs through every project. What changes is the depth of each phase depending on the scale of the behavior we're trying to move.

The engagement arc: five phases — discover, analyze, design, build, measure — each laddering to the next.
Fig. 01 · The engagement arc. Each phase ladders to the next. No phase can be skipped without cost.
01 discover
Stakeholder research, contextual inquiry, artifact analysis. What is the real business problem, who is the real audience, what do they actually do today?
02 analyze
Map the critical actions required to move the outcome. Separate what people need to do from what they need to know. Cut the rest.
03 design
Practice-first experiences, not slide decks. Every activity maps back to a decision the learner has to make on the job.
04 build
Develop and iterate with rapid prototyping. Custom HTML, Rise, Storyline, video, 3D — whatever the behavior and the audience demand.
05 measure
Kirkpatrick-Phillips from the start. Instrument the behavior change before launch, not after.
design meets measurement

design with action mapping.
measure with kirkpatrick.

Cathy Moore's Action Mapping and Don Kirkpatrick's four levels are usually taught separately. They fit together as a single ladder, rung for rung. Read from the top.

Action Mapping × Kirkpatrick ladder: four rungs pairing business goal with results, critical actions with behavior, practice activities with learning, and essential info with reaction.
  1. 01 · action mapping business goal what outcome must change?
    proves
    L4 · kirkpatrick results did it matter?
  2. 02 · action mapping critical actions what must people do differently?
    tracks
    L3 · kirkpatrick behavior are they doing it?
  3. 03 · action mapping practice activities how do they rehearse it?
    reveals
    L2 · kirkpatrick learning did they learn it?
  4. 04 · action mapping essential info what's the minimum to act?
    drives
    L1 · kirkpatrick reaction did they like it?
  5. more rigorless fluff
each rung has a client proof

every row. a real number.

  1. 01 · L4 · results Apple 95%

    Completion across 251 suppliers in 31 countries. The business goal lined up with the learning goal and the measure.

  2. 02 · L3 · behavior Intuit 3x

    Increase in internal mobility applications. Five manager behaviors predicted mobility. The training rehearsed only those.

  3. 03 · L2 · learning T-Mobile 100%

    Completion on Legal Affairs compliance. Real scenarios in branching simulations. It felt relevant, so it got finished.

  4. 04 · L1 · reaction PPFA / Bayer 180M

    Women reached. Complex medical guidance distilled into the minimum essential information patients needed to act.

the thesis line
most training measures completion.
I measure change.
caboodle design · the approach
methodology references

the shoulders this stands on.

next field note

see the approach
in the field.

The client case studies show this methodology applied at scale. Apple, GitLab, Intuit, T-Mobile, Trust20.

go to the work