DoView for Mac and DoView 3.0 out – Phew! June 10, 2011
Posted by admin in : DoView , add a commentSince my last post on our work-life balance, things have continued to run at a hectic pace! We’ve been developing resources for use by clients and others, been involved in building models, training in the use of DoView and our approach and we’ve also been involved in getting DoView for Mac and DoView 3.0 out. They have now been released so that is fantastic. A quick alert is that for the next four days both of them are available for the old price before the new price kicks in. So if you’ve been waiting, as many people have, for DoView for Mac or for DoView 3.0 to appear, then get in now (http://www.doview.com). I’ll be blogging about some of the new features over coming weeks and will also start to get out the new resources and materials we have been working on.
Paul Duignan, PhD. (Follow me on my OutcomesBlog.org; Twitter; or via my E-Newsletter; many resources at OutcomesCentral.org
The importance of ‘looking behind the numbers’ in performance management systems May 30, 2010
Posted by Paul Duignan in : Communicating outcomes models, DoView, Easy Outcomes, Evaluation debates, Measurement, Performance management, Reporting systems, Using the approach , 1 comment so farA colleague Stan Capela recently highlighted the importance of ‘looking behind the numbers’ in performance management systems. Pointing out that, if this is not done, false conclusions can be drawn from such systems. I think that most people would agree with this sentiment. The key issue for me is what is the most effective way of us ‘looking behind the numbers’ when measuring people’s, project’s or organization’s performance. (more…)
New How-To Guides on DoView Site – What’s and outcomes (results) model April 15, 2010
Posted by Paul Duignan in : Communicating outcomes models, DoView, Easy Outcomes, Outcomes models, Using the approach , 2commentsI have not been blogging for a while as I’ve been caught up in preparing multiple resources on outcomes models and also actually developing many outcomes models for clients. I now have many great examples which I want to share with you in the coming months. It’s only now that a number of these projects are coming to a conclusion and clients are becoming willing to share them with others. So watch this space.
In the meantime, on the DoView site some new How-To Guides are starting to be put up. The first is on What’s a DoView Outcomes (Results) Model and Why Should I Use One? This is in response to requests from DoView enthusiasts who want to be able to refer people to a quick article about what an outcomes model is and why people should use one for all of their project and organizational planning. (more…)
The evolution of the logic model January 13, 2010
Posted by Paul Duignan in : Communicating outcomes models, Doing evaluation more efficiently, DoView, Outcomes models, Standards, Using the approach , 4commentsI’ve just posted an article on the evolution of the logic model within evaluation. Over the last couple of decades, increasing numbers of evaluators have started using logic models. For those not familiar with what logic models are – they are simply tabular or visual representations of all of the lower-level steps needed to achieve high-level outcomes for a program, organization or other intervention. They go by different names, for instance: program logics, intervention logics, results maps, theories of change, program theories, results hierarchies, strategy maps, end-means diagrams etc.). A traditional way of drawing logic models has evolved (known as the inputs, outputs, intermediate outcomes, final outcomes structured logic model) which often attempts to restrict logic models to a single page. However, many evaluators are now breaking away from the constraints of this traditional format and exploring various alternative ways of representing logic models. (more…)
Developing an M&E plan using a visual approach January 8, 2010
Posted by Paul Duignan in : Doing evaluation more efficiently, DoView, Easy Outcomes, Evaluation planning, Using the approach , add a commentOn various lists I am on I often see requests by people wanting to develop what is called an M&E plan. This terminology is often used in the international development area. It refers to a Monitoring and Evaluation Plan. The way these requests are made makes me think that the way you should monitor and evaluate different projects varies a great deal. (more…)
Christmas is over – back to blogging January 7, 2010
Posted by Paul Duignan in : DoView, Outcomes models , 1 comment so farI’ve been quiet for some time on the blogging front as I’ve been developing a number of resources on outcomes modeling (logic modeling), evaluation and related topics. Now Christmas is over and I’m back to work I’ll be blogging in the next few weeks about these resources. I’ll also be blogging about DoView 2.0 which has just been released. It’s full of new features suggested by users and I’ve been building a range of really cool outcomes models with clients using the beta version and using that for input into its development. (more…)
Getting outcomes creds and saving time! September 25, 2009
Posted by Paul Duignan in : Accountability, Doing evaluation more efficiently, DoView, Easy Outcomes, Outcomes models, Outcomes systems architecture, Philanthropy, Standards, Strategic planning, Using the approach , add a commentPublic sector organizations these days have two important imperatives: establishing that they are truly ‘results and outcomes-focused’ while also becoming more efficient in their internal organizational activity. The really good news in the outcomes area is that using a central tool of outcomes work – outcomes models (a particular type of visual model of all of the high-level outcomes the organization is seeking to achieve and the steps it is taking to do so) is that organizations and programs can do both at the same time. (more…)
Mapping indicators onto a logic model is obvious – but why haven’t we always done it? August 18, 2009
Posted by Paul Duignan in : Doing evaluation more efficiently, DoView, Easy Outcomes, Indicators, Measurement, Outcomes models, Outcomes theory, Reporting systems, Using the approach , add a commentI was running a workshop today teaching policy analysts the basics of my approach to program evaluation (Easy Outcomes). One of the participants, when I talked about the importance of always mapping indicators back onto a visual model, commented that when you do it, it’s so obviously the right approach that you can’t understand why we’ve not been doing it for years.
The idea behind this approach is that the way we almost always approach indicator work is to eye-ball a list or table of indicators and ask the question of a group of busy people sitting around a table – ‘does this list of indicators look any good?’
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Flow of causality in outcomes models and feedback loops August 14, 2009
Posted by Paul Duignan in : Communicating outcomes models, DoView, Measurement, Outcomes models, Outcomes theory, Using the approach , 4commentsA quick technical blog here. Fellow evaluator Rick Davies pointed out in a post on one of my outcomes theory articles (on how to best represent causal models), that strictly visualizing causality as flowing in one direction within an outcomes model (logic model, results map, logframe, theory of change etc.) could be seen as preventing the representation of feedback loops. This is because if you are, as I usually do, representing causality as flowing from bottom to top within a model (others do it left to right) then when you want to represent a feedback loop it will, of necessity, have to flow back down the logic model against the direction in which causality is being represented. (more…)
The good old ‘one pager’ contraint again July 9, 2009
Posted by Paul Duignan in : Communicating outcomes models, Doing evaluation more efficiently, DoView, Easy Outcomes, Outcomes models, Outcomes systems architecture, Using the approach , add a commentI’ve been up against the good old ‘one pager’ constraint again in a couple of contexts recently. This is where there is the demand that the outcomes for an organization or program be ‘put on one page’. It comes in various forms and is often a demand from senior management or a perceived demand from them to ‘keep things simple’. Now, there’s nothing wrong with the idea of summarizing things and paper overviews play a role in that. But such things should be seen as one of a range of different types of summaries and products which are produced by an underlying outcomes system, not the beginning and end of an outcomes effort. (more…)