Indiana PERF/TRF

User Productivity Kit (UPK)Tips & Tricks1Hi! Welcome to UPK Tips & Tricks, courtesy of OHUG and CedarCrestone. CedarCrestone delivers a full range of PeopleSoft consulting services, including training and hosting. Were becoming more involved with OHUG, and well be attending the 2012 conference in Las Vegas. I hope to meet many of you in person at that conference!2Your TrainerKent Sipes

Senior ConsultantCommunications & TrainingMA, Strategic CommunicationsBased in S. IndianaWife teaches college algebra

2Ive been a consultant for 4 years now. Prior to becoming a consultant, I taught university staffers, state government workers, tool salespeople, and cable installers. I also write regularly about communications & training. Last December, I earned an MA in Strategic Communications from Mizzou.

This is me with Brindle, a shelter mutt we got when we lived in MO. Hes my jogging buddy.3Your TrainerExperience

Taught UPK authoring - UNLV, TMCCWrote UPK Topics for TMCC, UMUC, MizzouKnow HCM, Campus Solutions 15 years training experience

3Ive written lots of UPK topics over the last several years. I also teach UPK Developer and wrote the training guide we use for that class. And I helped several institutions set up and manage their UPK systems.

The point of all this hype is that I wont waste your time.4OverviewThis is not a UPK Developer class!Extras from my training class For experienced UPK developers2-day UPK Developer class availableUPK implementation help available

4This is not a class on the basics of UPK! What youll get today is the extra from the UPK Developer classes I teach for our clients. 5OverviewQ/A following presentationAlternatives to UPK CaptivateSTTSoftware Training TechnologyNow part of Kaplan

5There is time reserved for Q/A. Questions during the presentation can be submitted via the Questions message area to the right of your webinar screen. Questions after the webinar should be sent to my CCI e-mail address, given at the end of this presentation.

Also, you should know there are alternatives to UPK, such as Captivate and STT (recently acquired by Kaplan).6OverviewWhat is the User Productivity Kit (UPK)?By OracleRapid development toolRecord process stepsRecord once, publish several ways

6The User Productivity Kit is a tool that captures both screenshots and actions taken to accomplish a task on a PC. While I usually use UPK only to document PeopleSoft processes, anything you do on a PC can be captured in UPK. Its main advantage is that you can trace a process once, then publish several tools from that content, adding explanations and editing screenshots as needed. UPK version 11 (Professional) even contains a simple learning management system (LMS), though a more robust LMS is available separately from Oracle.7OverviewWhat is the User Productivity Kit (UPK)? cont.

Integrates with CS Help filesIn-app Support GuideUsable with any applicationComes with default content

7UPK can also be used to provide an alternative to the PeopleBooks material accessed via the Help link on your PeopleSoft pages. This can be challenging to set up, and should usually be done as a cooperative effort between a UPK developer and a PeopleSoft developer. The UPK developer selects the UPK topic that applies to a particular PeopleSoft screen, and the PeopleSoft developer posts the link to PeopleSoft Help for that page. Separate documentation on this process is available from Oracle at the link shown here, or my company can help you set that up.

Your organization may also have purchased default content, which allows you to adapt many topics to your organization, rather than creating them from scratch. This default content also provides a useful framework for the training subjects you might want to cover for a given PeopleSoft (or other Oracle application) function. 8OverviewSeveral formats produceMS Word documentationMS Word training materialsPDF documentation/training materialsOnline walk-thruTest scripts

8Here are some of the materials that can be produced from a single recording. 9Todays ContentAdapting default contentStandards & Naming ConventionsAvoiding & Fixing common problems Estimating Development time

9Today, Ill talk about adapting Default Content, how to standardize & name your UPK topics, troubleshooting, and estimating Topic approval time. 10Todays Content (continued)Faking screenshotsWhich actions to captureBacking up the Library

10Well also cover the importance of masking sensitive data, which actions to document in UPK, and how to back up your UPK Library. 11Adapt Default ContentPluses:Provides framework on which to buildInstructive in processes new to authorOrganized into PS hierarchies

For most commonly-used PeopleSoft tasks, default content is available, and can save you a lot of time. Youll still need to create topics for distinctive processes from scratch, but using the default content can really cut down the number of those.1112Adapt Default ContentMinuses:1024x768 resolution Outdated Less detailedLeft-hand Menu always shownOccasional grammar, spelling issuesCareful with Spell check!

The default content uses 1024x768 resolution, which is a lower resolution than most PCs use today, but it does allow UPK topics to be accessed via smartphones. Also, the default content always shows the left-hand menu, which takes up screen space unnecessarily once navigation is complete. And the default content contains spelling and grammatical errors.12Adapt Default Content13Most common policies & proceduresEliminate click in field stepsEliminate scrolling stepsWhen adapting default content, you should eliminate some of the steps it documents, such as Click in field before entering text, since this action is usually understood. You should also eliminate scrolling its sufficient to inform learners that youve moved to another part of the screen. 13Descriptive Module/Section titlesActivity titles-ing Same look & feelUse topic as a base to develop new topicAimsAvoid distractionMessage in forefrontSingle editor for grammar, spelling, usageConsistency14

Standards & Naming ConventionsWhen naming UPK topics, be sure to follow a naming convention, such as always naming topics as actions. For example, you might create a topic named Reviewing Employee Benefit Plans.

Also, you should provide some list of standards for developing and publishing to which all developers will adhere. This need not detail every possible contingency, but should lay out the most important aspects of topic development, such as screen resolution, use of callouts, and introductory/closing slides. Remember, the main purpose of these standards is to avoid distraction from the main message being taught. For this reason, one person should be responsible for the final editing of all your UPK topics.14Approving topics for Publishing

3 review levelsPeer ReviewFunctional reviewDepartmental reviewTracking sheet (MS Project or Excel)Percentage complete at each approval level

15

Standards & Naming Conventions cont.Part of your process of publishing topics should be a structured review process. Reviewers are likely to notice different issues, based on their training expertise, subject matter knowledge, and eye for detail. After 3 reviews, done by different people, most important issues should have been fixed.

If producing a large number of UPK topics, you should put in place a mechanism to track developers progress. For instance, at my last assignment, the % of completion for each Topic rolled up into the completion for that Module, which became part of the total UPK project completion percentage. Timelines were in place to ensure that each Module was ready a few weeks prior to its planned rollout date, when it was to be available for online self-study access or use in a classroom environment.15Office 2010 + UPK 3.6Office 2010 supported in 3.6.1 (ESP3)Office 2003/2007 supported in 3.6Office 2010 supported in v.11Adobe Acrobat error Installed? If not, de-select when publishingPublished title error Avoid 50+ charactersGood module/section titles16Avoiding & Fixing common problemsFor developers, its important to know that UPK is often a step behind the latest MS Office version available. For instance, if your organization uses UPK 3.6, it will only work with Office 2007 and older.

If you see an error referencing Adobe Acrobat when you try to publish, the option to publish in Adobe format is probably checked, but that application is not installed on the Developer PC. Either turn off the Publish to Adobe option or install Acrobat.

If you see an error indicating that one of the items you tried to publish failed, check the title of that topic. If the title contains more than 50 characters, it should be shortened. Remember that UPK adds destination information to the topic title, such as the folder and sub-folder to which it was published. For this reason, you may want to avoid using too many levels of folders when organizing the Library.16Click Player, nothing happensLikely culprit: popup blockerIE, Mozilla popup blocker easy to turn offAdd-on toolbar (Yahoo!, Google, MSN) popup blockersDifficult/impossible to turn offMust be removed!IE versionAt least IE 6 requiredNewer = betterSome MS updates require UPK patches17Avoiding & Fixing common problems cont.Now well discuss some common troubleshooting. Of course, the best troubleshooting is done before problems occur, but you and/or your users will encounter some common problems. For instance, if a user complains that clicking the Player icon does nothing, you should first ask about popup blockers. While many users know to turn off the popup blocker in their browser before viewing UPK topics, many are not aware that popup blockers are also part of most add-on toolbars, such as those from Google or Yahoo! These add-on toolbars must usually be removed.

The next thing to check is the version of IE with which the user is trying to access UPK topics. More browsers work with v.11, but in versions 3.6.1 and before, IE is usually the only browser that will work. 17E-mail error Cant send links Use new messageIE version problems Latency cant open contentUse other browserFirefoxSafariGoogle Chrome

18

Avoiding & Fixing common problems cont.If you attempt to send links to a published topic and the message stalls, try closing that message and starting over.

If your user has trouble viewing a topic, using a different browser to access the Library might be the answer, provided the version of UPK youre using supports that browser (see earlier chart).18Recording audioFlash 9.0Headset mikeBullet points, not script!Selectable quality Higher quality = larger file, longer download19

Avoiding & Fixing common problems cont.Not many organizations use the Sound feature available in UPK, but if yours chooses to use sound, keep these items in mind. Most speakers are not as loud or clear as they believe they are, so a headset microphone is helpful. It ensures a consistent distance between the microphone and the speakers mouth. Your speaker should work from a list of bullet points, rather than a script. And remember that better sound quality means larger topic size (and longer download time).19

Estimating Development time1-25 frames = 8 hours26-50 frames = 16 hours50 100 frames = 24 hours

UPK 11 counts frames for you!

20Heres a good estimate for development, review, and publishing time. Note that UPK v.11 counts frames, saving you a bit of time.20

Faking/Editing ScreenshotsMasking dataReal employee informationSSNsFake names, stock SSNs, addresses

Show successMention possible problemsIf so, tell how to fixProcess not yet functional?Alter screenshot21Be sure to mask sensitive data such as employee contact information, pay rates linked with real employees, and SSNs. You may want to produce a list of accepted names, addresses, and SSNs that your developers should use.

If you are documenting a process that sometimes fails, its best not to show the failure. You might mention what steps to take if this happens, but try to demonstrate success. After all, failures should be rare, and you want to help build confidence in your end users.21

Split Explanation FramesNo more than 3 fields per Explanation Frame

You write moreUsers read lessPerception of difficultyIf everything is important, nothing is important22Remember the purpose of Explanation frames to point out important fields on a particular page. If you point out more than 2-3 fields, the user may have difficulty understanding what is really important. Theres an important communications maxim that says The more you write, the less they read. This is partly because users subconsciously tune out information that seems, on the surface, to be too detailed. 22

Capturing Difficult and/or Tedious ActionsScrolling Dont bother!

Alternate actionsDont bother!

Process/Report Process Monitor update23I dont use Alternate actions they add more confusion that they alleviate. If another option is commonly taken, I mention that briefly. If its really important, I may copy the topic up to that point and trace the alternative process in a new topic.

If youre showing a Process/Report running in the Process Scheduler, its not necessary to walk users through repeatedly clicking the Update button. Simply mentioning that the screen doesnt automatically update is sufficient.23

Backing up the LibraryOnce per day Usually @COBMore critical as authors addedSeparate location from main LibraryFlash drivePortable HD

Deleted topic/section/module?Can locate using LibraryDeleted documents stored

24You should make a backup of the UPK Library each day. At my last assignment, this prevented the loss of several topics. Back up the Library in a different server location you may even want to use a portable HD (available up to 2TB size) for this.24

Question/Answer25

OK time for me to answer questions for you. If I dont happen to have the answer to your question right now, Ill get an answer and get back to you within the next 2 weeks. Whos first?25

Thanks for your participation today! Before we go, Id like to invite you to participate in our annual HR Tech survey, run by Lexy Martin. Shes been doing this survey for several years as a service to the HR community, and for its 15th anniversary, were awarding prizes for participation! Join the mailing list and be informed when the survey is live at the website above. Youll be asked only for your e-mail address, with which we will contact you when the survey is live.

2627For Further Information.kent.sipes@cedarcrestone.com

Contact me with questions about:

UPK DeveloperPS Query (HCM, CS, FIN)PS Campus SolutionsPeopleSoft HCMTrain-the-TrainerCommunications

27Feel free to contact me with questions about any of the subjects listed above. Im a teacher, so I love to help! And again, if youre attending OHUG 2012, please attend one of my sessions (PS Query Tips & Tricks; SIG Panel Discussion) or stop by the CedarCrestone booth and introduce yourself.