Harless Front-End Analysis Model

Joe Harless first promoted the important concept of front-end analysis in 1970. His belief that the understanding of the cause of a problem should drive the solution has remained prominent in our field. Included within the front-end analysis process is an analysis of the gap between the desired and actual states of performance. Harless contributed another idea that remains crucial to HPT success, the notion of a partnership between the client and the performance analyst. Ideally, this partnership begins during the front-end analysis phase and continues throughout the life of the project. Surprisingly, this important ingredient is missing from many of the models discussed here.

Performance Analysis

Within the HPT model, front-end analysis is made of two types of analyses: performance analysis and cause analysis. The aim of performance analysis is to uncover the gap between current performance and desired performance.

Harless’s first five questions address performance analysis:

1. Do we have a problem? (Based on what evidence can you say you have a problem?)
2. Do we have a performance problem?
3. How will we know when the problem is solved? (When indicators from the first question are the exception.)
4. What is the performance problem?
5. Should we allocate resources to solve it? (Do the benefits of solving the problem outweigh the costs?)