Written by Christoffer Andreasson
Head of Content at Promote
A learning program is easier to design, fund, and follow when its logic fits on one page. Who is learning, what they will learn, where they will use it, and why it matters to the business can all be seen in a single view.
The High Performance Learning Journey (HPLJ) methodology, developed by Dr. Robert O. Brinkerhoff and Edward Boon, calls this page the Program Performance Path (or PPP) and describes it as a one-page document that captures the fundamental logic of a learning initiative.
A one-page plan that links skills to job situations to results gives every stakeholder, from sponsor to participant, the same picture of what the program is for.
The page has four columns and tells one story
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Learning outcomes
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Moments-that-Matter
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Performance outcomes
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Business rationale
Learning outcomes are the knowledge, skills and attitudes the program builds. Moments-that-Matter applications are the scenarios where participants most need to use them. Performance outcomes are the immediate results that follow when they do. The business rationale is the higher-level goal those results serve.
Read from left to right, the page tells the operational story, the how: people build these skills, use them in these situations and produce these results. Read from right to left, it tells the strategic story, the why: the business needs this goal, which depends on these results, which come from these situations, which call for these skills.
One page serves both readers. A senior sponsor can start on the right, a participant on the left, and both arrive at the same logic.
Each column has a simple wording formula
The formulas save time in planning meetings. A conversation can easily drift into whether "improved trust" is a learning outcome or a performance outcome. It is a performance outcome. A quick look at the formula settles questions like this.
A recommendation is using your stakeholders' words. If they talk about KPIs, name the column KPIs.
A complete row reads like a sentence
Here is a hypothetical example for a sales program:
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Ability to run a discovery conversation
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Asks open questions about customer priorities in first meetings with new prospects
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Qualified opportunities created
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Improving pipeline conversion
Read it back as one sentence: to improve pipeline conversion, the team needs qualified opportunities, which come from open questions in first meetings, which call for the ability to run a discovery conversation.
This read-back is a practical check. When a row reads smoothly in both directions, the line of sight holds. When a step feels like a leap, that is the place to talk with stakeholders.
The page stays short, and each item earns its place
The one-page plan should hold no more than five to seven items per column. The page lists the key actions with the greatest influence on the performance outcomes. It does not list every task in a job or every competence a role requires. Only what this program contributes belongs there.
A second test keeps the page honest. Each item should be necessary for the item to its right, though it will probably not be sufficient on its own. For example: completing starter homes on schedule is necessary for growth in that market, and sales and marketing results will matter as well.
The same applies to learning itself. Gaining a skill does not guarantee its use. Application also depends on tools, incentives, opportunity, and rewards. A clear page makes it easier to ask early whether those are in place for each Moment-that-Matter.
Start with two filled-in cells and improve from there
A blank four-column template can be a hard way to begin. Start with a conversation about the stakeholder's goals and priorities, then steer toward the right or left of the page as the answers come in.
A first draft can be small. It may contain only the business rationale and one expected performance outcome, confirmed with the sponsor. From there, each round adds detail. The page does not need to be right the first time.
Different people hold different columns:
A good page is one that seems obvious once it is done, even though reaching that point takes effort. The sign of success is stakeholders saying, "Yes, that is exactly what we had in mind." A working version is ready when all stakeholders agree it captures the logic and business case as things stand today.
The finished page does three jobs
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Communicate
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Design
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Track
Six questions test the page before design begins
To evaluate the page itself, confirm that the proposed solution fits the need. The first three questions look at the business side.
The next three look at the people side.
These questions fit well in a short review with the sponsor. Each answer either confirms the plan or points to the next improvement, and both are useful before a program is built.
One row to try this week
Pick a program you are planning, and try to write a single row that reads smoothly from a skill to a business goal. If it comes quickly, you have the start of a page. If it takes several attempts, you have found the conversation to have with your stakeholders.
