Not all plain sailing

Making a success of an EPSS requires more than a ‘build it and they will come’ approach – because often they simply won’t. Donald Clark, Chief Executive of e-learning developer Epic, believes that EPSS systems often suffer from the same fate as ‘help’ functions: “There’s a reluctance to use help because it often fails to solve the problem at hand. It fails because the software cannot diagnose the actual cognitive problem. Even simple arithmetic tasks can be completed 10-15 different ways, and so there’s the same number of ways of going wrong. The software usually guesses wrong, giving you help that doesn’t hit the mark. It’s usually easier to ask someone else close to hand or use email”. Donald goes on to recommend a human, email-based system, such as the one developed by Orbital Technologies: “These guys recognise that most of the useful help in an organisation lies in the heads of its employees and simply puts people who need help in touch with those that have the skills.”

Anyone considering introducing an EPSS should take the issue of maintenance very seriously. Often all the effort and the budget are put into the development of version 1 of the system, when that is only the start. Sue Welch, formerly Customer Services Training Adviser for American Express, played a key role in introducing an online support system. Her advice is: “Dedicate a resource to maintenance, probably full-time. If users spot just a single inaccuracy in the information, they lose faith in the system as a whole and simply won’t use it.”

Sue also points to the cultural shift required in moving to an EPSS: “People change more slowly than technology. A person’s paper-based notes act as a sort of comfort blanket and it takes time for that person to adapt to an online environment. And for that change to take place, it’s important that the support system can sit alongside the application on the screen. It’s too disorientating to have the support system replace the application – in that case, paper-based notes are much more usable.”

Tools for creating Electronic Performance Support Systems

Tool	Source
On Demand Personal Navigator	Global Knowledge Networks (formerly PTS Learning Systems) http://www.kp.globalknowledge.com/index.htm Winner of the 1st Bill Communications Extraordinary Products Award
Coachware	Sterling Resources http://www.sterlingnet.com/sterling/coachware.htm
Assistware	Baydon Solutions http://www.assistware.ie/
MM Helper	ESMMI http://www.esmmi.com
Robohelp	Ehelp Corporation http://www.ehelp.com