[savio13]

Development centres often depart from the traditional assessment centre design and practice in several ways; as they often take a more collaborative approach to assessment and decision making, feedback may be given after each exercise, rather than at the end of the centre. They also involve much more self - and peer - assessment than is usually used in selection-oriented assessment centres.
Development centres are workshops, which measure the abilities of participants against the agreed success criteria for a job or a role. The key characteristics of a development centre are as follows:

1. Observations in the centre are based on key dimensions or competences, which differentiate
between successful and less successful performances.
2. Development centres measure the abilities of participants by simulating a job or role situation, which requires them to demonstrate abilities in the relevant competence in them.
3. Rating of performances is undertaken by trained assessors, who have undergone a course of familiarization and skill training.
4. They involve one-to-one feedback interviews with participants, during which the strengths and development that have been highlighted by performances are discussed. Subordinates and line managers may also pool data that have been collected by the trained assessors with those produced prior to the press.
5. Assessors' assessments are collected and distilled into a written report before the one-to-one feedback interview. This often involves a plenary discussion in which assessors who have assessed the same individual in different exercises discuss the overall performance of that individual.
There is often some confusion over the difference between development centres and assessment centres, leading to concern about the use of the former. This is understandable since some of the assessment techniques are common to both activities.
The main similarities are seen in the principles of assessment. Both activities, designed to measure the abilities of those who, take part, use trained people for the assessment.