Developing Customized Training - Change Agent Brown Bag - Feb 2005

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


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


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)


…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.


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…]


Pure vanilla… better than nothin’!

Where to begin?



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

”

http://www.enhancedtraining.com/articles2.html



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?


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


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…


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


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?


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


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”


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…


Example: Business process inventory


Example: System function inventory


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…


Example: Mapping materials to processes


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?


“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)


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?


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


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…


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.”


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.


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


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


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…


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


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


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


Best Training Practices Within the Software Engineering Industry


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

http://www.sei.cmu.edu/pub/documents/93.reports/pdf/tr25.93.pdf



http://www.skillsoft.com/news/white_papers.asp

http://www.skillsoft.com/news/documents/Blended Learning Strategies WP.pdf

http://www.skillsoft.com/news/white.papers.view.asp?link=/news/whitepapers/documents/EightSteps_Paper.pdf

http://www.skillsoft.com/news/white.papers.view.asp?link=/news/whitepapers/documents/EightSteps_Paper.pdf

Developing Customized Training - Change Agent Brown Bag - Feb 2005

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Transcript of Developing Customized Training - Change Agent Brown Bag - Feb 2005