7.2 Develop the User Training Plan

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The User Training Plan details the activities required for getting all system users trained on the new application and understanding the new work flow procedures. The plan should identify personnel training needs, and this is also where you must finalize the description of the detailed training specifications. The Core Team should develop test cases that will be used to verify the training subsystem. There should be time set aside to have all of the relevant business leaders walk through the detailed system training strategy so they are appraised of what their organization is facing when training is delivered.

The Core Team should also develop a cost-benefit analysis for the training, highlight the benefits that will result from effective training, and try to

quantify them so they can be presented during the business leader walkthrough of the training program. The business leaders will certainly want to know what the estimated costs of training are and how the numbers were derived. The team should also develop a training program that is designed to evolve with the inevitable changes in the system. Finally, the Core Team will need to develop a detailed system training strategy, covering the following for each targeted audience:

• Scope and objectives

• Training methods

• Training delivery

• Training facilities

• Training materials development

• Timing, duration, sequencing, and dependencies

• Training estimates

• Hardware/software requirements

7.2.1 Scope and Objectives

Ask yourself, Who is the target audience for this software? Who will need to be trained? In most instances, the business owner can readily identify the users in his or her organization, but there are others you may want to consider. These include data analysts assigned to the project, support and administrative personnel, newcomer needing orientation, and so on. An answer must be provided to the question of whether every user in every area should be trained or just selected users in major business segments who, in turn, will train other users. This is really a question of cost.

Training is a costly proposition, and you should be aware of that fact. To train some or all users internally or externally is a calculated tradeoff between the quality of training the user will receive and the time and cost of having specific training for each user. Consider the different categories of users in your program and how many people per user category must be trained. Ask yourself if the training should be tailored to suit the specific needs of each category of user or if one training curriculum will satisfy all users. Next, ask what the level of training should be: basic, intermediate, or advanced.

7.2.2 Training Methods

Which type of training method is recommended and by whom? You have identified the audience(s) and the proper level of training for each audience. What method will be used to deliver the training? Does the method of training vary by audience? Is a hands-on approach suitable for administrative personnel or best suited for the sales team? Is the classroom approach with hands-on exercises or a self-study approach best? Should this training be done with some on-the-job coaching? If so, who should coach? What type of audiovisuals should be included in the training? How many materials are needed and what quality of production is required for these materials? Should the training be given in a formal presentation format? As tutorials? Seminars? Interactive computer-based training? Should some mechanism be put in place to obtain constructive feedback on the effectiveness of the training materials? Defining the training methods to be used helps the training team clarify what is to be done and helps members focus their efforts on delivering the right material to the right audience in the right facilities with the right equipment. When you can answer these questions about training methodology for your program, you are ready to define training delivery.

7.2.3 Training Delivery

With any system you are introducing to the user community, you should ask yourself; who should deliver the training? Your question should also ask who will give the training for the various audiences, such as the development team, the users, and other internal departmental personnel. Should the training be delivered by an internal training department or by a specialized, external training firm? Should that firm be the vendor that is supplying a commercial package? Especially in large systems, the vendor is often more than willing to charge exorbitant costs to provide such training. In many cases, this training is well worth it. As a business leader, you should decide whether the benefits of incurring such costs are appropriate for the package and the audience who will receive it. It is always wise to look to third-party training organizations that specialize in training for the package you are implementing and have your internal group develop delta coverage of what is not covered in the general training given by these third parties or software vendors. It usually works out that a hybrid solution gives the best results.

7.2.4 Training Facilities

As part of the Training Plan, the Core Team should decide what type of physical facilities will be needed to deliver the training. They should determine if these facilities are suitable to the training of staff, users, or both. The plan should outline where people will be trained. Will training be conducted in-house or given outside the organizational facilities? Will the training require the students to be in a general-purpose classroom or in a dedicated training center? Will they be in their own working environment? How many people can attend a single training session? What type of office equipment will be required to support the training process? Will other equipment be required? An overhead projector? A 35-mm slide projector? Video equipment? Whiteboards? Flip charts? It is important to be thorough and plan every detail of training. The students will represent the training you give them across the entire organization.

7.2.5 Training Materials Development

The Core Team is tasked with asking what exactly must be developed at this point to conduct the proper level of training. It is important to understand what type of documents are going to be required to train the staff. Find out if any special forms are needed. Will preassignment booklets be utilized? What type of documentation will be provided to the trainees during or after a course? Does the training require presentation transparencies, classroom notes, or other materials? Will the new user operating manuals be used during the training sessions? If so, have they been validated against the actual system implementation? Will they be printed and available for training before the system is implemented?

7.2.6 Timing, Duration, Sequencing, and Dependencies

It is important to communicate not only how but also when the training sessions will be scheduled. Determine if it is during the normal workday, weekends, after work, or whatever. If it is conducted during the normal day, who will do the work while the people are attending training? How can people be pulled from the job to train without having special accommodation for their absence made in advance? In planning for people to attend training, ask what will be the duration of the training sessions and in what sequence. Will the staff be trained at one physical location at a time? One region at a time? All at once? Do special transportation arrangements need to be made? Are there any special or unusual training dependencies between the various releases of the system?

7.2.7 Training Estimates

The Core Team must determine the total number of people to be trained and calculate an estimated level of resource consumption utilized to deliver the training. This means they must account for things like how many computer systems, training manuals, and so on will be needed. It also includes how many meals or coffee cups must be provided during training sessions. It all depends on the type and level of training provided. Other things to think about are how many people will be needed to conduct the training session, how many machine resources will be consumed, and what provisions should be made during training times for a guaranteed system response time while training people. All of these items require advanced planning and coordination. It is not as simple as throwing people in a room and preaching words of wisdom in their general direction. Real training takes real effort.

7.2.8 Hardware/Software Requirements for Training

Knowing what type of hardware equipment or software facilities are required to support or conduct the training session is essential to your success. It is crucial to know and understand what, if any, special hardware equipment will be required to train the staff. Imagine having the need for dedicated terminals, printers, plotters, automated teller machines, largescreen computer projection systems, microcomputers, or other such equipment and not having it ready when the trainees show up for class!

Equally important is the software used for training. Ask about software requirements, and determine if you need to buy software for training, or ascertain whether the new system will be used to train the staff. Will help screens be provided with the new system? If so, will the help screens be a part of the training curriculum? Would a prototype model suffice for training purposes? Does the software package offered by the vendor include a training subsystem that can be used? Is it usable or suitable to the type of training you want to give? Can some portions of the old training material be used with minor modifications? Remember that just because the vendor provides it, that does not mean it is good or adequate for your training purposes. Vendors often offer superficial coverage of items to meet contractual obligations more than to ensure you have a happy user community. It is your responsibility to get it right, so take input from all sides and make informed decisions, but make sure you make the call because of a real, valid, documented business reason and not because someone can do it for you.

7.2.9 Training Roster (TR)

The Training Roster is simply a list of all users who need to be trained. It should include their organization and a list of product modules they will be most likely to use. The Training Roster should be completed well before training is actually given and should be used as a validation of receipt of training. It is important for an organization to know who has had training because training equates to dollars. You want to help ensure the organization does not waste money training those who will not benefit or do not need training. Likewise, it is imperative to train all of those in the organization who need and will use the training. Having untrained personnel causes the organization to incur costs in terms of lost productivity, and it does not take very long for those costs to add up to a large sum of money.

7.2.10 Training Schedule (TS)

This schedule lists the occurrence of training classes for the new product. Separate schedules should be maintained for users, administrators, executives, and so on. Tailor each schedule to the needs of the audience receiving the training. Post the schedule as far in advance as possible, work with the different business organizations to pre-enroll trainees, and have the business leaders work with you to ensure that the training on the new product gets the proper level of attendance.

7.2.11 Training Signoff (TSO)

Signoff at this point is simply a letter or document from users indicating they have all been trained on the product. It is basically intended to be a formal certification that training was received. It can be used to validate training completion to business owners wanting to know who has received the training and who needs to be trained. It can also be used to help calculate final training costs. To derive this cost, you can easily divide the total cost of training by the total number of people who were trained to get a cost-per-head figure for training. This data can be useful in follow-up releases and future budgeting exercises. It can also be used as a basis of comparison for decisions about whether to have third parties conduct the training for you. It will be a benchmark for negotiations because you already know what your in-house cost for training will be.

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