Observations give Sibme Accounts a structured way to formally and informally observe and evaluate teachers and staff. An Observation can bring together the tools your team already uses in Sibme — Forms, Video and Audio, Resources, Frameworks, and AI — into a single, repeatable routine.
The key thing that sets Observations apart from Goals is who the work is about. In most of Sibme, a User does something for themselves, and the platform tracks that activity for that same person. In Observations, one User — the Observer — does the work, but it is about someone else — the Observee. The data and reporting follow the Observee, the person being observed.
Who Is This Article For?
This article explains how the Observations module fits together. It is written for anyone who will set up, manage, or take part in Observations.
Some features described here depend on your User level. If you do not see an option mentioned in this article, ask your administrator about your access. Observations involves these User levels:
Users
Admin
Super Admin
Account Owner
This overview is most useful for Account Owners and Super Admins setting Observations up, and for the Process Managers, Assignment Managers, Observers, and Observees who use it day to day.
How Observations Work: The Four Parts
The Observations module is made up of four parts. The first three are available at launch; reporting follows in a later release.
Building a Process. A Process is the template for an Observation — a set of data-collection and discussion Steps that lay out what should happen and in what order. Process Managers build and maintain Processes so they can be reused year over year.
Assigning a Process. Assignment happens in two stages. A Process Manager assigns a Process to one or more Assignment Managers, who then assign the Observers and Observees who will carry it out. Splitting assignment this way lets a district or school hand off the work to the people who know the right pairings.
Conducting the Observation. Observers work through the Process Steps to observe an Observee — completing Forms, recording Video or Audio, reviewing Resources, and collecting other Evidence along the way.
Reporting and Tracking. Reporting follows progress and trends across Processes, Observers, and Observees, with the data centered on the people being observed.
Note: Reporting arrives in a later release and is not part of the initial launch. This article will be updated when it is available.
Key Roles
Observations introduces several roles. A single person can hold more than one role depending on how your Account is set up.
Process Manager — Creates, updates, and manages Processes and their structure over time. Usually the person who assigns a Process to the Assignment Managers.
Assignment Manager — Assigns Processes to Observers and Observees. This is often handled at the school or district level, but it can be any User with permission to manage Processes.
Observer — The User performing the observation. The Observer is the main "doer" in an Observation and is tracked on how many Observations they have completed and how many remain.
Observee — The User being observed. The Observee may contribute to the Observation, and the resulting data is about them.
Supervisor — Provides high-level oversight of the Observations being made. A Supervisor can see what has been done, along with trends and overall data.
Viewer — Can watch what happens in an Observation but does not contribute to it. For example, a principal might be a Viewer for an Observation that an assistant principal (the Observer) conducts with a teacher (the Observee).
Processes and Steps
Every Observation is built from a Process, and every Process is built from Steps.
A Step is a single action within a Process — filling out a Form, recording a Video, reviewing a Resource, or simply marking something complete. Steps come in two forms:
A Main-Step can stand on its own as a single action, or it can act as a container for a group of Sub-Steps.
A Sub-Step is one action grouped under a Main-Step. When a Main-Step holds Sub-Steps, the Sub-Steps are where the actual work happens.
This structure lets a Process Manager keep a Process as simple or as detailed as the observation requires.
Terminology
The role and feature names in this article — Observer, Observee, Supervisor, Process, Step, and the rest — are Sibme's default terms. Your Account can rename them to match the language your organization already uses through the Terminology tab in Account Settings > Observations. Sibme Help articles always use the default terms, so if your Account uses custom names, match them to the defaults as you read.
What's Next
Observations Settings | Sibme Help Center
How to Create an Observation Process | Sibme Help Center