DFE was developed by Calvin Smith, an educational researcher in Australia, to address the fact that most evaluation systems involve a focus on either inputs (the quality of the teaching, the quality of the resources, etc.) or outputs/outcomes (e.g. learning outcomes). Where both inputs and outcomes are included in an approach the items are separate (e.g. The Course Experience Questionnaire (Ramsden 1991) which has scales on inputs and a scale on generic skill development as outcomes). There was at the time no approach that focused on the alignment of the learning activities and the learning objectives.