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Learning Environment Design Framework
Instructional Design Toolkit

ISD Concept Map
ISD Concept Map

People, Data, & Things

People, Data, and Things Checklist

Jobs are often characterized by the proportions of time spent on people, data, and things. Although most jobs entail that the jobholder work with all three, there is usually one of the three that the job most extensively focuses on. Listing all job responsibilities under one of the three categories will provide the information as to what major role an employee will be expected to fulfill — a people person, a data person, or a thing person.

The following verbs will help you to properly place a responsibility into a category:

 

People

advising
briefing
communicating
consulting
coaching
facilitating
following through
giving feedback
guiding discussions
influencing
initiating
instructing
interviewing
managing
mentoring
motivating
negotiating
persuading
public speaking
selling
sponsoring
supervising
teaching
training
tutoring

Data

accounting
analyzing
balancing
budgeting
collecting
comparing
compiling
computing
creating
designing
estimating
evaluating
forecasting
idea generating
imagining
interviewing
organizing
planning
problem solving
researching
retrieving info
surveying
sorting
synthesizing
systematizing

Things

agility & speed
assembling
calibrating
constructing
cooking
crafting
growing things
hammering
hand & eye coordination
handling & packaging
have finger dexterity
inspecting
maintaining
maneuvering
manufacturing
molding
motor skills
operating
painting
precision with hands
preparing
repairing
setting up
using my hands
weaving