Reference no: EM132180989
Measuring ROI for e-Learning: A Case Study
In 1995, General Electric started a corporate wide quality initiative, Six Sigma Quality. The company developed two company specific Six Sigma quality processes to improve or design products/services. The quality processes are sophisticated statistical-driven business roadmaps and knowledge systems that require extensive training and coaching to apply to specific job functions. The quality processes have proved to be highly effective in identifying areas critical to quality (CTQs) and to exceed customer expectations. A company-wide project tracking database that records all project information has demonstrated the cost savings and revenue generating impact.
To assist employee job performance using the Six Sigma tool, in 1998, the company invested $3+ million on an online EPSS, Six Sigma Quality Coach (SSQC), which allows all employees worldwide to access the business and quality process at any time. The rationale for building an online EPSS stemmed from the need to more efficiently support the quality processes. The existing system of one-on-one coaching was overburdened, created information bottlenecks. In this system, employees had to contact designated quality leaders, Black Belts or Master Black Belts for individualized coaching, waiting for a reply that could take up to four weeks. As a result, project cycle times were adversely affected. The SSQC is a personalized, intranet-based, performance support and knowledge management system. Employees can search information needed by job functions and by business division.
An ROI project was conducted in 1999, one year after the deployment, to measure the effectiveness of the online EPSS.
Suppose you are conducting such a project, how would you do the following?
Based on your understanding of the ROI system and the functions of SSQC, which type of control group would you use to start the ROI project?
What data sources would you be looking into? Explain.
What key measures would you choose to measure the ROI, and why?
What analyses would you be conducting on the data you collect?