In their critique of our research, Sanderson and Benda (1998, this issue) s
uggest several concerns with our characterization and utilization of the Ex
ploratory Sequential Data Analysis (ESDA) approach. In this response, we co
nsider each of the concerns in the context of training needs analysis. We c
onclude that the ESDA framework appears to hold promise as a training needs
analysis tool. However further dialogue between the experts in the ESDA ap
proach and those in training is required to realize this potential.