THE TRAINING EVALUATION PROCESS ENCOMPASSES NINE ESSENTIAL STEPS: (1) INVESTIGATING THE BACKGROUND OF THE TRAINING PROGRAM AND THE NEEDS IT ADDRESSES, (2) DETERMINING RESOURCES AND CONSTRAINTS, (3) SETTING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES, (4) DECIDING THE QUESTIONS THE EVALUATION WILL ANSWER, (5) CHOOSING A RESEARCH DESIGN, (6) CHOOSING EVALUTION INSTRUMENTS, (7) IMPLEMENTING THE EVALUATION, (8) ANALYZING THE DATA GENERATED BY THE EVALUATION, AND (9) REPORTING AND UTILIZING THE EVALUATION'S RESULTS. THE REPORT SHOULD BE TIED DIRECTLY TO THE PROGRAM'S NEEDS AND OBJECTIVES AND BE DETAILED ENOUGH TO BE DIAGNOSTIC YET BRIEF ENOUGH TO BE PRACTICAL. IT SHOULD BE UNDERSTANDABLE TO DECISIONMAKERS HAVING LITTLE EVALUATION EXPERTISE AND DEVELOPED COOPERATIVELY BY ALL THE PARTIES TO THE EVALUATION EFFORT. A CAREFULLY CONCEIVED, EFFECIENTLY EXECUTED, AND WELL-REPORTED EVALUATION IS LIKELY TO IMPROVE AN ORGANIZATION'S TRAINING OPERATIONS. (PRG)