3

Beginning the Technical Training Project

 

Communication is at the core of successful technical training projects. When a project gets started off with a healthy dose of communication, collaboration occurs and a better work product is likely to result. Conversely, without effective communication at the outset, the technical project may drag along, be fractured, or have something even worse occur. Consider the anecdote below:

Neil furrowed his brow as he studied a stack of papers placed on his desk. Just days ago, Neil was assigned to a technical training project for a biomedical research lab. Elyse, a biomedical research scientist, had created hundreds of PowerPoint slides of content she thought would be good for the course. Now Neil was tasked with taking this information and quickly “making a training class” out of it.

“Are you sure all this content belongs in this course?” Neil asked Elyse, who had just walked into his office.

“This is all important stuff,” Elyse said impatiently as she tapped the papers.

“But is it absolutely necessary for lab technicians to know this information in order to correctly do their jobs?” Neil asked. “I don’t know a lot about the topic yet, but from the type of information I’m seeing in this documentation, it looks as if it’s geared more toward doctors than the technicians in the lab.”

Elyse stared at him. “There is a chance we may have one or two doctors who decide they want to attend this course,” she said.

“But isn’t this course geared toward the lab technicians?” Neil asked.

“I am not following you. Who said that?” Elyse said.

Neil tried again. “Does this information from the last seven slides you gave me help in some way to meet the objectives of the course?”

Elyse studied Neil’s face. “The point is that this information should be included in our class because we may have some people that don’t know these things,” she said. With that, she turned and started for the door.

“Besides,” she called over her shoulder, “I’m not sure if you knew this, but all the equipment in the lab might be overhauled in another eight months, so 80 percent of the course content we have so far might end up being obsolete anyway.”

Neil sighed. It really was going to be a long project.

Like Neil, some of us may have experienced technical training projects that did not get started well. Consider some of the issues from this scenario:

• Needs Analysis: The most obvious problem with the scenario above is that a good needs analysis was not completed before the training development started. Without a solid needs analysis, technical training development projects are doomed to fail.
• Target Audience: There was no clear target audience defined, and so Neil had no ground to stand on when he made the assumption that the target audience of the course was lab technicians.
• Course Objectives: It also appeared that no course objectives had been written down. Without anything defined, it was difficult for Neil to reason with Elyse as to whether material belonged in the course or not.
• Relevancy of Information: In addition, Neil had no idea that particular lab equipment was likely to become obsolete. Knowing which equipment was likely to go away could have helped him focus his time and energy on the correct and relevant information; perhaps this course wasn’t even necessary to meet any real business needs of the organization!

Neil could have headed off most of these issues if he had insisted that the technical training project be started in a more comprehensive way. If he had asked the right questions and documented the answers in a solid and visible design document, he might have avoided many of the problems he faced.

The ideal venue in which to address all these issues and create the conditions for a successful technical training project is the initial course design meeting.

The initial course design meeting is a great opportunity to get a solid start on your technical training project. By taking full advantage of this meeting, you can avoid many of the pitfalls that plagued Neil in the scenario above.

The Initial Course Design Meeting

The initial course design meeting sets the stage for the technical project. This meeting is where the scope of the project is laid out between you and your subject matter expert (SME). It is where you find out the business need for the course; that is, it is where you verify that a course and its objectives are relevant and necessary to the organization.

Besides giving you an indication of the overall picture of the course, the initial meeting gives you clues about what kind of material you are dealing with and, more important, with whom you will be working to complete the project.

Who Should Attend?

In the most basic technical training project, there will be at least three parties: the technical training developer, the SME, and the “stakeholder,” or the person requesting the course. (Note: The SME can often fulfill both the role of the SME and the role of the stakeholder.) At the very least, the developer and the SME must attend the initial course development meeting. The SME who attends this meeting should know the business reasons for the course, the technical content, and the target audience. The SME should also be aware of the typical knowledge, skills, and job process of the target audience. Most important, the SME must be able to speak on what information should or should not be included in the course. If the SME does not have all that information, more parties must be included in the meeting, such as the stakeholder or someone who does know the business reasons for the course and its target audience.

What Should Be Accomplished?

The initial course meeting should provide you with enough information so that you can begin to document your design plan and course structure (described in detail in the next chapter). The main point of the meeting is for all parties to understand and agree on the following for the project:

• overall business goal
• target audience
• course objectives
• major course topics.

Eventually, as a result of this meeting, you will create a design document that spells out the items listed above. The design document functions as a plan for the project and is what you and your SME can work from as a roadmap.

It should be mentioned that this initial meeting is also an opportunity to set the tone of the project and the working relationship.

Important Questions to Ask

As mentioned previously, a good needs analysis is essential in order to create an effective fit-for-purpose technical training course. The following are some sample questions that you can ask during your initial course design meeting.

 

What is the business goal this course is supposed to meet?

This is the most important question within the needs analysis. Before understanding how you will complete your course, you must understand why you are doing the course in the first place. To be relevant and valuable, every training course must have a sound business purpose. This purpose will guide you and your SME as you complete every chapter and make choices for the course.

Who is the target audience? How is one identified as part of the target audience?

This question seems simple, but in these times of sprawling organizations with multifaceted employee populations, it is often difficult to answer. You will be surprised at how often an SME or even the stakeholder will have trouble pinpointing the target audience. Sometimes the target audience will be identified by a particular job title within a particular geographic location in a specific product line. Other times, it will be a combination of factors you never even considered. Regardless, the answer to this question cannot be put off, as it is instrumental in narrowing your focus and allowing you to understand your target audience’s needs.

 

Do all members of the target audience belong to one job title?

It is important that you determine whether the course content will be geared to many different job titles or just one. Differing job titles will affect how you address the content. An audience that encompasses many job titles tends to be the case for foundational level courses or for courses focused on general tasks. If your target audience spans multiple job titles in the organization, you may need to be more general with your content, or you may need to make sure you draw in examples and data from lots of different areas of the organization so that the course is relevant to the entire target audience.

 

Do job descriptions exist for the target audience?

If you have formal documentation of job descriptions and competencies, these items will be extraordinarily valuable in helping you more accurately identify the needs of the target audience and the eventual course objectives.

This question will help you learn more about the background and existing knowledge of your target audience. With technical topics, varying skill levels will be present in an organization. Often, one of the chief complaints about a technical course is that the content does not match the target audience. If a course is too basic or too advanced for the target audience, the class is a waste of time. Understanding the skill level of the audience is critical in maximizing the benefit of the class.

 

Did the target audience receive a specific university degree or vocational certificate?

People who work in technical fields often must have associated university degrees or vocational certificates. You can research the qualifications and requirements of attaining a specific degree or vocation, and that knowledge will give you additional insight into your training topic. For example, you would speak to different areas of a topic if your audience was composed of doctors who have graduated from medical school, rather than lab technicians with a high school education.

 

Besides the primary target audience, is there a secondary audience that might attend the course?

Once you’ve established a primary target audience, it might sometimes be helpful to take into account a secondary audience as well. You will not specifically design the bulk of your content to suit your secondary audience, but you may find that you will throw in a note or two every so often in order to increase the footprint of your course. Accommodating the secondary audience of your training course, however, should not come at the expense of your target audience.

 

What are the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Testable) objectives of this course?

Your attention to this single question should not be diminished. Your course objectives will guide every aspect of your course design and development, so it is imperative that you utilize SMART course objectives.

 

Where do this class and these objectives fit into the overall learning plan of the target audience?

Is this a beginning course, an intermediate course, or an advanced course? Knowing whether a course is fit for a beginning, intermediate, or advanced learner helps you determine what content to include and what level your material should reach. It can also give you a framework for how much of one topic to cover.

 

What is the work environment like for the target audience?

This question gets at the overall feel of a particular type of job. This is important to know, because besides giving you more insight into the characteristics of your target audience, knowing the typical job environment of your target audience can help you relate course content to the workplace and increase the credibility of the course. Understanding what a typical day is like for your target audience can help you determine what will work well in your course. If you have a bunch of rough and tough oil rig workers, for example, you may not want to start off your training class with everyone standing in a circle singing.

 

What resources do the target audience members already use on the job?

These may include computer programs, instruments, reference books, databases, data charts, and so on. This question is important because it can help you determine what you should include in your training materials. The question is also significant for another reason: If you are asking learners to complete an activity in class that replicates something they do on the job, you will want to keep in mind any job aids and resources they are likely to use on a daily basis. You probably will want to have these resources available during the course.

 

In the past, how has the target audience learned about this product or service? Are there any available materials already?

No matter how insignificant this question may seem, or how much pushback you get when you ask it, insist on an answer. A lot of informal training goes on in technical organizations. Before your training course existed, at least a few people somehow found a way to learn about the product or perform the task correctly. The answer to this question can give you clues about where to start your search for technical information.

Is this a new or an existing product or service?

This question can also give you insight into how difficult or easy it will be to secure information on your topic. If your course content covers a relatively new product or service, get ready to complete a lot of interviewing. If your course content covers an established product, prepare yourself for a lot of sifting and editing during the development process.

 

Does this product, service, or procedure change often?

Highly technical products or services often stay competitive by being on the cutting edge of technology. Unfortunately, this can pose some difficulties for training development. It can be a challenge keeping course materials current if a product is constantly changing. If you are not prepared for this at the beginning of a project, you may find it especially debilitating. Chapter 9 of this book, “Troubleshooting: Challenges and Solutions,” discusses specific tactics for this type of situation.

 

What changes are likely to happen with this product, service, or procedure in the near future? In the distant future?

If the product or service is about to undergo a major overhaul, you will want to know. If management cannot yet articulate exactly what those specific changes will be, you should still try to get a basic idea of what may be coming in the future. You can help with the credibility, timeliness, and relevance of your course and your materials if you can demonstrate to learners that your training course is tied in to the future of the product or service.

 

Where does this product or task fit into the organizational scheme?

This question gives you an idea of the organization within which your target audience functions. Understanding how your course’s product or task fits into the grand scheme of the organization can help you make connections with content and also identify potential sources of information.

 

How does the organization view this product or service?

This question warns you if you are stepping onto a land mine. You may be dealing with an unpopular topic or product; these types of hindrances can prevent a course from being successful. The best technical training projects can fail if there are organizational issues going against the topic or information. Your first line of defense is to understand these issues.

 

Where is the best place to start looking for resources internally?

SMEs should know the organization. That is, they are likely to have a good idea of where knowledge is stored and who knows what. This may seem simple, but you will be surprised at the gems you can find simply by asking SMEs where they find information. Ask. See what you can find out.

 

Has this topic or something similar ever been taught in the past?

This is another question designed to help you find hidden information. You will be surprised at how often you will be given a course request, only to find out that a similar course or learning solution existed in the past. Valuable information about products and services is often hidden away on computers in the form of customer presentations, job aids, or an entire host of other things.

Is there already a prerequisite course?

If so, request access to those materials. Prerequisite materials will give you an idea of the existing knowledge level of your target audience. A prerequisite course can also help educate you on your technical topic.

 

Is there a (different) finished training course that can be used as a model?

If so, ask to review that course to learn more about the stakeholder and SME’s process and expectations. Seeing an example of a successful finished product that you can use as a formatting blueprint helps to ensure that you are meeting expectations of the company. A finished product can also give you an insight into current logos, styles, the “look” the company prefers, and so on.

 

Who are the experts?

You’ll want to identify top performers of the service or those who are knowledge experts on the product. This question is important if your SME is not currently a member of the target audience. If your SME has not been a member of the target audience for a while, it is especially important that you gain the perspective of a top performer currently doing the job. This will help keep your content relevant. Top performers are often the closest to the topic and usually have good information stashed away on their computers, at their workstations, and in their minds. It is important that these current upstanding members of the target audience be identified and consulted to provide you with key information.

 

Who is the best internal source for additional information about this topic?

Try to get multiple names so you have backups to contact for information. Establishing early on that you will be utilizing various sources of information during development can prevent you from feeling later on in the project that you are in the middle of a turf war. Asking this question helps make it clear you are “approved to go to various sources for information,” and that the course content won’t just be based on one person’s word. In addition, if for some reason your SME leaves the project, you still have other experts to whom you can turn.

 

What is the preferred method of contact regarding this project?

In order to work effectively with an SME, you must be able to communicate well with others. People have differing communication preferences. Some prefer email, while others choose to communicate face-to-face or by telephone. Understanding your SME’s preference can help ease the communication process and get you the information you need to complete your course.

 

What external sources can go be called upon for additional information?

You might be surprised at the good sources of information your SME can point out. The web is a big place, but it can be made smaller if you know what to look for and some good key words to plug into search engines.

 

Who are the competitors of this product or service?

By researching competitors, you may find a valuable source of information. Although the competitors’ products or services may be different, there must be similarities if they are considered to be competitors. Reading about how the competitors explain their products or services can help you gain a better understanding of the product or service your own course covers.

 

Are there any long lead-time items that need to be discussed?

Long-lead items include any needed equipment, models, animations, or graphics that do not yet exist. Often these items can be time-consuming or expensive to obtain and can involve people outside the immediate training department. You should do everything in your power to allow those other people time to accomplish what they need. Ideally, the development of the long-lead items should run concurrent with the course development.

Knowing whether you will be able to secure these long lead-time items will affect your course design. If you have models, simulations, graphics, or videos available, you will plan to build these into your course plan via exercises, discussions, practices, and so on. Ascertaining these longer lead-time items at the earliest stages of the project can save you time in the end.

 

How can the information attendees learn in the training course be supported once they are back on the job?

Subjects covered in a training class can be highly complicated and technical, so it makes sense to ask about how the course topic and materials can be supported once the target audience is back on the job. At the very least, asking this question gets your SME in the mindset of linking the training course to on-the-job performance.

 

How will the success of this course be determined?

This includes identifying what metrics and measures to use. This question helps to focus your design plan, and it again makes you and your SME specifically consider the business need of your course.

At the end of the project, you want to be able to supply data that quantifies the return on the investment of time, energy, and resources spent. Determining final measurements at the beginning of the project can help accomplish this.

 

Is there anything else that should be included?

Because often you don’t know what you don’t know about your technical topic, asking your SME whether you missed any important questions at the end of your meeting is good practice. Almost always, SMEs will add some important tidbit or mention an especially important point on which you should focus.

Asking the right questions at the beginning of a technical training project can get you headed toward success. The questions mentioned in this section are intended to give you a flavor of what you should ask during your needs analysis. Based on your topic and the answers you get from your SME, you will probably have to prepare follow-up questions to complete your analysis.

Course Starter Packet

This chapter has discussed what information to collect during a face-to-face meeting with an SME. However, you can gather some information before this meeting, and you may consider creating a course starter packet to jump-start your development.

A course starter packet is a series of papers, forms, or references you give to an interested party who wishes to have a course or program developed. This packet is not intended to replace the face-to-face initial course design meeting; rather, it is intended to enhance that get-together. As your SME reads and fills out this paperwork, he or she should start to get into an ideal frame of mind for the initial course design meeting.

The following are general sections of a course starter packet.

 

1. What’s in It for the SME?

As for anything else, your SME needs sufficient motivation to have his or her course developed. You need to explain why having you design or redesign a course is a good idea. At the very beginning, include a short paragraph on the benefits of the design process to the organization. You must truly sell the benefits of the project here. If you can get your SME to begin with the end in mind, you will more easily be able to convince your SME that you have shared goals, and the entire process will go more smoothly.

2. What to Expect

a. General process

b. Expectations

 

Being up-front about the process helps to place everyone’s expectations in the same arena. You should explain briefly the general phases of the process. Be clear about the things you want. For example, if you would like to check in with your SME once per week, ask for this.

 

3. Introductory Questions

a. Contact information

b. Business need of the course

c. Typical audience

d. How the course will be measured

e. Course objectives

f. Resources available

 

As discussed previously, you will want to ask a variety of questions related to your course content. These introductory questions will help get your SME to begin thinking about these issues so he or she develops a better mindset before you begin. They will also help you to gather some basic information.

 

4. Principles of Adult Learning

a. Characteristics of adult learners

b. Additional resources

 

Many people, especially in the technical industries, assume that lecture equals training. Start debunking this myth early by showing examples of educational research on the effectiveness of different teaching methods. Consider including additional links or a bibliography of works available on adult learning or instructional design. Encourage your SME to look these over. Remember, the more your SME knows about what you are doing, including all the benefits, the more he or she is likely to buy into the process and make your job easier and more successful.

 

Getting It Done

This chapter marks the formal start of the course development process. You can avoid the pitfalls mentioned in the scenario at the beginning of the chapter if you are prepared and begin your technical project with a comprehensive course design meeting with your SME. The initial course design meeting sets the stage for the technical project. You should ask the right questions in order to determine the overall business goal, your target audience, the course objectives, and the major course topics. You can prepare your SME for these questions by creating paperwork (in the form of a course starter packet) that he or she can fill out before your initial course design meeting.

Launching your technical training project in a comprehensive way helps ensure that you are meeting the business goals of your organization and addressing the needs of your target audience.

 

Worksheet 3–1. Initial Course Design Meeting

The following is a worksheet you can use to prepare for your initial course design meeting.

Who needs to attend my initial course design meeting?         What questions do I need to ask during the initial course design meeting?

 

Worksheet 3–2. Course Starter Packet

The following is a worksheet you can use to prepare your own course starter packet to give to your SME. Please note that you will need to attach the specific adult learning sources you would like to discuss with your particular audience.

Valuable Training The instructional development process you will be part of helps to implement training that tackles our organization’s needs by specifically structuring content that intentionally targets individual learning and retention.

Creating a course involves identifying the business purpose, the target audience, and the objectives of the course planning and developing the instructional strategies to teach the needed information and skills implementing and evaluating the course.

Please remember to keep an open mind, give input, and stick to deadlines during the process.

Please fill out the following information.

Name: _______________ Email: _______________   What is the business need for this course?   Who is the target audience of this course?   How will we measure the success of this course?   What are the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Testable) objectives of this course?   What technical resources are available?

Thank you for your help in this project! For more information, please email me at____________.