Post on 22-May-2015
description
Developing Customized Training
Brown Bag Presentation
Allstate Change Agent Network (CAN)
Feb. 2005
Patricia S. Lewis
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 2
Change Agent Network Brown Bag Breakfast
Developing Customized Training
Presented by Patty Lewis Billing Applications
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 3
Outline
Best Practices
How we’re supposed to do it
How we’ve been doing it
Where to begin?
Evaluate the need for training
Training sponsor
Getting buy-in
Comments about costs
Who's gonna own it?
Now what?
“Quick hit” or pilot module
Planning & needs assessment
Function / process inventory
Collect existing materials &
map them to processes
Gap assessment / priorities
How to develop & deliver training
“Blended” learning
How should training be delivered?
Who should deliver the training?
Know your audience
Developing new modules
Taking notes during presentation
Updating training modules & plan
Keeping records
Evaluating your training program
Handouts, References, Resources
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 4
Training Best Practices
Characteristics
Defined training process (e.g., Level 3 KPA – see next slide)
Formal needs analysis activity
Availability of wide variety of courses from different sources
Training by a local, respected organization
Enablers
Continuous improvement of training process / quality
Management involvement and support
Employee involvement
Delivery timing (“Just-In-Time”)
Availability / accessibility of training
Entry Criteria
Management support (policies)
Assignment of resources
Consensus on scope
Results of needs analysis
Source: “Best Training Practices Within the Software Engineering Industry” (CMU/SEI-96-TR-034)
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 5
…or, How we’re supposed to do it
Formal Training Program – CMM Level 3 KPA
Goals:
1. Training activities are planned.
2. Training is provided.
3. People get the training they need to perform their roles.
Activities:
1. Develop and maintain a training plan specifying the organization’s training needs.
2. Training plan is developed and revised according to a documented procedure.
3. Training is performed according to the plan.
4. Training material is developed and maintained according to organization standards.
5. Waiver procedure to excuse people from required training.
6. Records of training are maintained.
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 6
How we’ve been doing it
Billing’s training program has been driven by:
Increasing complexity of system and organization
Need to establish common, consistent understanding of basic system functions
Need to be able to move people around, have “agile” response to new processes, increases in workload, etc.
Corporate direction away from use of contingent workers
Need to transfer knowledge quickly and efficiently
Need to get new people “up to speed” quickly
Result: We hyper-focus on content and flexibility
We need it now
We need to make changes quickly and frequently
Each module is reviewed / updated before being presented
We deliver our 13-session training series twice a year
Vanilla format, no bells and whistles [see next slide…]
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 7
Pure vanilla… better than nothin’!
Where to begin?
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 9
Evaluate the need for training
Training is not always the answer to business and performance problems. If an employee does not perform the way we would like them to, we frequently conclude that they don't know how. That is not necessarily the case. Employees may be prevented from optimal performance because of outdated or inefficient business practices, policies, or standards.
“
From “Training Not Always the Answer to Every Business Problem.”
Dana Skiff, Corporate Training Consultants http://www.enhancedtraining.com/articles2.html
”
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 10
Evaluate the need for training
Before jumping to conclusions about the need for training, ask the following types of questions:
Could employees really do "X" if their lives depended on it? Do they really know how to do "X" but choose not to do so for some reason?
Could using a job aid solve the problem?
Do individuals have the appropriate resources such as work stations, work space, software, supplies, etc.?
Is the problem the result of an existing policy or procedure?
Are existing standards reasonable?
Would improved communications and/or coordination solve the problem?
Are the right people in the right jobs?
Dumb question: Is training already available?
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 11
Training sponsor
Recruit a sponsor for your training program
It should be AT LEAST one manager who:
Is respected / influential within the organization
Helps you get cooperation from other managers and SMEs
Can push back when something (e.g., change in management) threatens to derail the training program
Has historical perspective and long-range vision
Has experience supporting or driving a training and / or mentoring program; can tell you what’s been tried before, what’s worked, what hasn’t, etc.
Willing to support the program for at least two years, or until it becomes “institutionalized” and part of the culture
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 12
Getting buy-in
Work with your sponsor to strategize the next steps to get buy-in
Determine stakeholders (who to get buy-in from)
Are they already convinced, or is more research needed?
Do you need to write a proposal or a business case?
Do you need to create and present a “pilot” module?
Anticipate and prepare for discussions about who will be responsible for creating, updating, reviewing, approving, managing, and controlling the training plan
Be prepared to answer questions or address concerns about time commitment, costs, etc.
See next slide…
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 13
Comments about costs
Direct costs:
IBM algorithm: 50 hours of development time per hour of presentation by course developer
Computer-aided training may add up to 50% additional effort; complex media requires 100-200 hours of development per hour of material
Instructors’ time, facilities costs, etc. Source: “Training Guidelines: Creating a Training Plan for a Software Organization” (CMU/SEI-95-TR-007)
Typical Billing training module developed in <6 hours
1-2 hours with SME
2-4 additional hours of my time on follow-up, diagrams…
Indirect costs probably greater than direct costs
Time trainees and SMEs spend away from other duties
Costs should be offset by benefits
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 14
Who’s gonna own it?
There is a difference between “owning” the content…
Content might be owned by a team (e.g., Billing Update Team owns “Update: Premium” and “Update: Cash”)
SMEs might be responsible for specific modules
… and driving the updates, delivery, and development of new training materials
A successful training plan requires centralized ownership of the training plan and materials
Ideally owned by a process-oriented team, function, or person; e.g., your area’s…
CMM/SQC/SQA team, Technical Writer, Process Analyst, Documentation Manager, Education Coordinator, etc.
You’ve got a need, a sponsor, and
a mandate… now what?
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 16
Do a “quick hit” or pilot module
Quick hit training – a.k.a. “low-hanging fruit”
Critical function or process that needs to be trained
Functional or area overview can be a good place to start
Walk-through of teams and what they do
“Sit & Spew” module development technique
A SME sits in my cube and “spews” about a business process or system function while I input info to slides
Best to start with outline developed prior to meeting, then use meeting time to flesh out content
Trouble getting access to a SME?
Ask how many times in the last two years they’ve had to deliver the same lecture to a new employee
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 17
Planning & needs assessment
Start outlining a formal training plan
See references at end of this presentation
Leverage discussions during buy-in and planning process to start developing list of training needs
Perform survey or schedule discussion / brainstorming
“Requirements gathering” process may also reveal opportunities for further “quick hits”
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 18
Function / process inventory
Create inventory of what your area does
Refer to your functional / area / teams overview
Brainstorm with managers & SMEs
Use spreadsheet so you can sort and filter results
Business process or system function inventory
Business process… team organization is often based on relationships between business processes
System functions that support the business processes
See next slide…
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 19
Example: Business process inventory
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 20
Example: System function inventory
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 21
Collect & map existing materials
Functional overviews, diagrams, or other material that team members might have put together for another area, a new manager, participants on a big project, etc.
Manuals or handbooks of business rules or procedures
System documentation – copybooks, module inventories, system diagrams, table and field descriptions, etc., make great handouts
Map existing materials to your business process or system function inventory
See next slide…
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 22
Example: Mapping materials to processes
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 23
Gap assessment / training priorities
Assess team members’ knowledge
Could be done informally by team managers
Develop assessment / rating criteria
Use business process inventory, system function inventory or both
Leverage work you’re doing for Competency Model (i.e., make terminology consistent, etc.)
Drill down to detail that Competency Model can’t provide
Rank results according to highest incidence of gaps, business criticality (refer to your area’s Business Resumption Plan), or other criteria
Goal is to determine:
Training priorities for the area as a whole
Who needs what training
How do we develop and deliver
the training?
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 25
“Blended” learning
Mix of training types and delivery methods
See SkillSoft white paper: “Blended Learning Strategies: Selecting the Best Instructional Method”
Unfortunately, there’s no “best method” when you need to do frequent updates, your content is highly detailed and complex, and you don’t have the resources to maintain a web site, the time to go through the LRN process, or the budget to outsource all your training to a vendor
Examples
Group learning in classroom setting
Job shadowing and mentoring
”Floating” (trainee “floats around,” attending meetings, absorbing info “by osmosis,” bringing questions to mentor)
Routine tasks and simple projects
Self-directed learning (studying training materials – written or on-line [LRN] – and system documentation)
Creating system documentation (define this bunch of codes)
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 26
How should training be delivered?
Evaluate the knowledge to be presented
Is it best presented in a group situation, or one-on-one?
Does it focus on business processes, system functions, or both? (e.g., business rules, transactions, cause-and-effect relationships, interdependencies, feedback loops)
Is it best communicated by using “pictures” (a diagram or a process flow)?
Is it a task or procedure (a 1-2-3 series of steps)?
Does it call for a training module, a job aid, or a checklist?
Should it be demonstrated?
…So, would you prefer PowerPoint, or PowerPoint?
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 27
Who should deliver the training?
SMEs
Pros: Most in-depth knowledge of the subject
Cons: Lack of time, inclination, buy-in, presentation skills
Non-SMEs
Pros: Development opportunity for up-and-comers; relieves SMEs of demands on their time
Cons: May have difficulty answering questions or clarifying material; may need to do some research to develop comfort level and familiarity with subject; must be willing to do whatever it takes to “own” the material
Talented generalist
Pros: Same as non-SMEs, plus potentially unique perspective; may be able to relate to non-specialists
Cons: Same as non-SMEs; may end up “parroting,” or relying too much on slides and not on own knowledge
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 28
Who is the audience?
What are their roles?
Will there be a mix of Developers and non-Developers?
What common knowledge will they have?
More variety of background/experience = less detail.
Consider preparing “Overview” and “Drill-down” modules.
How many people will there be?
More people = less detail.
What are their needs? How will they use the information you provide?
Will they be working directly with the system or function you are explaining, or do they just need to understand what people mean when they refer to your topic?
What level of technical detail is appropriate?
See next slide…
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 29
Know your audience
“too technical for majority of audience”
“too technical”
“too high level, your audience are technical people therefore they would benefit from a more technical presentation.”
“I would like to see the diagrams a little more technical.”
“We need … more detail of specific logic of components.”
“Much of it was useful, however a lot of it was far too technical. Should have been more business oriented.”
“Didn’t get bogged down in details”
“I thought it would provide more detailed information. But I guess time is limited.”
“The material was presented without getting into the nuts & bolts … which allows us non-programmers to understand [it].”
“we need to know more about the technical interfac[es]; table definitions could have been included.”
“Could be more extensive. I don’t think all the info is there.”
“Te
ch
ie
s”
“F
uzzie
s”
“Not too much accounting detail, or other detail the audience did not need.”
“I need clearly worded definitions, data layouts w/highlighted key-fields, clearly worded business rules, system limitations and requirements in association with named batch and online processes.”
“Right amount of detail for an intro to the subject of accounting, GL, and billing interconnections.”
“Easy to understand. Nothing technical.”
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 30
Developing new modules
Where does your module idea “fit” in relation to other modules that exist or are in development?
Gather documentation, references, notes, specs, etc.; ask managers and other SMEs for input.
How does your material relate to the existing materials? Are you expanding? Drilling down? What’s the scope?
Determine organizational scheme. Hints:
Chronological (following policy life cycle; transaction flow)
Spatial (outside to inside) or hierarchical (whole to parts)
Start outlining. Hints:
Make a list of business rules and then fill in what the system does in response to business events / triggers
“Walk through” a diagram or process flow, noting each step, including interfaces / hand-offs, etc.
Work from documents such as module inventories or code printouts to create system process descriptions
Fill in details and iteratively refine.
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 31
Take notes during the presentation
Have an observer (not a learner, not the trainer) take notes on:
Who presented, who attended, start / end times, other milestone times, time spent on Q&A
Content issues
Corrections and follow-ups to be communicated later
Presentation issues
Organization and detail level of the material
Where digressions happened, and whether they were useful or not; did questions need to be taken off-line, etc.
Awkward transitions (directionals needed? reorganize?)
Develop a diagram, move details to a hand-out, etc.
Save notes to use during training module updates
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 32
Updating training modules & plan
Update individual modules before each scheduled presentation
E.g., during weekly series, update each module during the week prior to its presentation
Update handouts, integrate new content, etc.
Make note of improvements for future releases, ideas for new modules, etc.
Update training plan on pre-determined schedule
E.g., semi-annually or annually to coincide with AMP update, or prior to planned series of training sessions
Determine need for new modules – to address high-level gaps or to provide more detail / drill-down
Determine need to reorganize / redistribute content
Determine need to change order in which presented
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 33
Keeping records
Area level (part of / addendum to training plan):
Who needs, who receives, and who requests training
Enrollment (meeting acceptance) vs. course completion (actual attendance)
Waivers for required training
Module level:
Who presented the module
Who attended presentation
Start and end times, times at other milestones, average total time for presentation, time per slide, etc.
Keep Revision History in “Notes” field on title slide
Track versioning, releases, SMEs, etc.
Record the dates module was presented
See next slide…
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 34
Phase: APT Best Practices Series
Module No.: 01
Module Title: Developing Customized Training
Version: 1.0
Date Developed: Feb. 25, 2005
Last Updated: Feb. 25, 2005
Date Released: Feb. 25, 2005
SMEs: Patty Lewis
Allstate Insurance Company
Billing Applications | Div. 2424
Training Module
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 35
Evaluating your training program
Results can be difficult to measure
Has performance of specific job tasks improved?
If so, is that improvement attributable to the training?
Objective measures
Most common: pre-tests and post-tests
Subjective measures
Interviews
Informal surveys / one-on-one feedback
Employee satisfaction / morale
Employees appreciate having the training available to them even if they don’t always take advantage of it
SMEs like having something to hand to new employees
Fri., Feb. 25, 2005 Change Agent Network Brown Bag 36
References & Resources
SEI references:
CMM Practices, Level 3 KPA: Training Program
CMU/SEI-93-TR-25 | http://www.sei.cmu.edu/pub/documents/93.reports/pdf/tr25.93.pdf
Training Guidelines: Creating a Training Plan
CMU/SEI-95-TR-007 | http://www.sei.cmu.edu/pub/documents/95.reports/pdf/tr007.95.pdf
Best Training Practices Within the Software Engineering Industry
CMU/SEI-96-TR-034 | http://www.sei.cmu.edu/pub/documents/96.reports/pdf/tr034.96.pdf
Other resources:
SkillSoft white papers index: http://www.skillsoft.com/news/white_papers.asp
Blended Learning Strategies: Selecting the Best Instructional Method http://www.skillsoft.com/news/documents/Blended%20Learning%20Strategies%20WP.pdf
Eight Key Steps of Blended Learning http://www.skillsoft.com/news/white.papers.view.asp?link=/news/whitepapers/documents/
EightSteps_Paper.pdf
End