# Training Needs Survey — Debrief

> A needs survey is only worth its ink if it changes what you build. Here is how to read it.
> Use with `training-needs-survey-guide.md`. The sort at minutes 12–15 is the compressed version; this sheet is the full one.

## How to run this debrief

- Group the free-text answers by theme first, then count; the biggest theme becomes the spine of the session.
- Pair every spine item with its cost line — "need to do X" plus "costs me Y" is a lesson; X alone is a topic.
- Send one line back to the room before the course: "here is what we built because of your answers." It is what makes the next survey honest.

## Read the six items

1. **"What can you already do today?"** — the starting line. Sets what you cut, not what you teach.
2. **"What do you need to be able to do?"** — the target. Every session should land at least one answer from this box.
3. **"Where does not being able to do it cost you?"** — the consequence. This is your opening hook, in the room's own words.
4. **"How soon do you need it?"** — the priority signal. Soon-and-painful items go in the spine; someday items go in the optional track.
5. **"What would actually help — a demo, a template, or practice?"** — the format. It tells you whether to teach, hand out, or run.
6. **Control: "What did you enjoy about the last training you took?"** — a palate-cleanser. It keeps the survey from reading like an interrogation and flags what the room already trusts.

## The four debrief questions

- Which cluster is big enough to be the spine — and what comes out of the draft to make room for it?
- Which asks are "someday"? They go to the optional track; they do not get syllabus time.
- What does the demo / template / practice split say about how this room wants to learn — did you draft it that way?
- What did the control card flag as already trusted — what can you inherit instead of invent?

## Failure modes of the debrief

| Failure mode | Why it happens | The rescue |
|---|---|---|
| Designing to the loudest voice | One confident complainer reads as the cohort | Group by theme, then count; cluster size beats volume |
| Leading items | Every question presumes the course | Rewrite them to allow "I don't need this"; keep the control card |
| Answers that cannot move anything | The survey went out after the design locked | Run it before enrollment closes, or stop calling it a needs survey |
| Satisfaction read as need | Familiar and easy to tabulate | Only the three signals set the spine: can do now / need to do / gap that hurts |

## What this is not

It is a design input, not a certified skills audit, and not a way to rank people before they start. It tells you what to build; it does not judge who is already good.