5

Beginning the Technical Training Project

What’s Inside This Chapter

This chapter lays the groundwork for your technical training project by explaining the importance of the kickoff meeting and describing:

• who should attend

• what should be accomplished

• important questions to ask during stakeholder and SME interviews.

At the end of this chapter, a worksheet of questions for SMEs can help clarify roles and duties.

5

Beginning the Technical Training Project

The Kickoff Meeting

Communication is at the core of successful technical training projects. When a project gets started 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 this scenario:

Neil furrowed his brow as he studied a stack of papers placed on his desk. Just days ago, he 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 who 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 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, so Neil had no ground to stand on when he assumed that the target audience of the course was lab technicians.

• Performance Focus: It was automatically assumed that the solution for the situation was a training course. A proper analysis could point to other behavioral or structural approaches besides training. Perhaps this course wasn’t even necessary to meet any real business needs of the organization!

• Learning Objectives: It also appeared that no learning objectives had been documented. Without anything defined, it was difficult for Neil to reason with Elyse on whether material belonged in the course.

• Relevance 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 relevant information.

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 kickoff meeting.

The kickoff meeting sets the stage for the technical project. This meeting is where the scope of the project is laid out between you and your SME. It is where you begin to investigate the business need for the project; that is, where you verify that a learning solution is relevant and necessary to the organization.

Besides giving you an overall picture of the course, the kickoff 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.

During the kickoff meeting, there are different parties in attendance: the technical training developer, the SME, and the “stakeholder,” or the person requesting the course. (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 kickoff meeting. The SME who attends this meeting should know the target audience and the business reasons for the performance project. The SME should also be aware of the typical knowledge, skills, and job processes of the target audience. 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.

The purpose of the kickoff meeting is to conduct introductions and lay out expectations and administrative information so that all parties are in agreement; initial stakeholder and SME interviews are also conducted.

Introductions, Expectations, and Administrative Information

First and foremost, the kickoff meeting is an opportunity to set the tone of the project and the working relationship. To truly set the stage for the project, address these topics in your kickoff meeting (Wakefield and Murdock 2017):

• What’s in it for the SME?

• Your credibility.

• Credibility for instructional design and adult learning.

• Roles and expectations.

• Risk mitigation.

Each of these are described briefly.

What’s in It for the SME?

As with anything else, your SME needs sufficient motivation to participate in the project. 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.

Your Credibility

Introduce yourself in terms of your background, qualifications, and experience. While introducing yourself, play particular attention to the skills and traits you bring to the project that will ultimately be of interest and value to your SME.

Credibility for Instructional Design and Adult Learning

Many people, especially in technical industries, assume that lecture equals training. Start debunking this myth early by showing examples of research on the effectiveness of different teaching methods. You can explain that adults usually respond better to a facilitation type of instruction, and that to reach a multicultural, multigenerational audience, you must employ certain development tactics. Consider providing your SME 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 likely they are to buy into the process and make your job easier and more successful.

Roles and Expectations

When developing a technical training course with a SME, you must be able to adequately prepare the SME for what to expect with the project. To that end, have a discussion about the process, expectations, and roles and responsibilities.

It is important that the SME understand their role and the role of the designer. Chapter 2 goes into details on the two roles; but essentially, it is important that the SME understand that there are two sides—the technical side and the educational side—that come together to create a complete product. Your role as the developer is to provide the framework, structure, and sound educational foundation for the learning material; the SME’s job as the technical expert is to provide the content. The SME has the final say in what is said, but you have the final say in how it is said.

Being up front about the process helps to place everyone’s expectations in the same arena. Communicate to the SME what to expect during the process. You should describe your training development model. Give specifics about what will be covered during each step of the process. From the SME’s perspective, understanding that there is a method to the course development madness can help them buy into your vision for the course.

Additionally, give your SME specifics about what you need during the process. Explain that these points are important:

Keep an Open Mind

The instructional design process may seem foreign to your SME, but keeping an open mind helps move the process along. This is important, especially when the SME will be the instructor for the course. The SME may be highly protective of their way of teaching and may need help to become more flexible.

Return Information on Time

You are both working on a timetable, and for the process to continue smoothly, it is extremely important that information be supplied by the agreed deadlines. If there is a delay for some reason, this should be communicated as soon as possible.

Be Prepared to Make Decisions

Because the SME is the one in charge of the substance of the course, it is extremely important that they make decisions on issues of content and stick to them. Communicate the importance of this.

Provide Resources and Materials

At the beginning of a project, if the SME can go through their files and hand over any relevant documents, presentations, graphics, or videos, these items will help immensely.

Stay Current

The technical knowledge and the professional relationships of the SME form your pathway to the content. If there is a legitimate gray area surrounding the content and the SME is not authorized to clear up all issues, the SME should know who to go to in order to get an answer. Your information is only as good as that of your SME, so it is quite important that the SME keep connected and up-to-date on the technical subject.

Remember That Everyone in the Project Has a Specific Role

As much as necessary, remind the SME of each of your roles and how both roles affect the project.

This is not an exhaustive list of the types of conversations you should have with your SME regarding roles, the process, and expectations. Expect these conversations to evolve as you gain more experience working with SMEs. Additionally, there is a worksheet at the end of this chapter that includes additional examples of the roles, expectations, and responsibilities of the SME and designer.

Risk Mitigation

It is also important during the kickoff meeting to have a discussion with your SME about the risks associated with the project’s efficient and effective completion. A list of potential project risks should be brainstormed by you and your SME. Some risks might include, “SME doesn’t return information on time” or “An update to the software comes out mid-project,” and so forth. You will want to be clear that you are not expecting these things to necessarily happen, but you want to be prepared just in case. After you brainstorm the risks, you will also want to come up with a potential plan of what to do if any of these risks come to fruition. It is much easier to have these conversations at the beginning of the project, when everyone is usually happy, rather than later in the project when there could be various stressors or challenges present.

After all parties have introduced themselves and agree upon the expectations, roles, and administrative information for the project, an initial stakeholder or SME interview should also be completed. This can happen during or after the kickoff meeting.

Important Questions for Stakeholders and SMEs

Here are some sample questions to ask during the analysis stage.

What is the business goal you want to achieve?

This is the most important question within the needs analysis. Before understanding how you will achieve your performance solution, you must understand why you are doing it in the first place. If training ends up being your performance solution, every training course must have a sound business purpose. This purpose will guide you and your SME.

Capturing the business need is not always easy. The business need is not simply a competency measure. The business need should be a larger picture than the competency measure. One way to get to this point is to ask yourself “why” three times. Why does your organization pay to offer a training class? Why? Why?

Consider this business need statement:

We need to train employees on the m1-x tool.

This is not a good business need because training should not be an end in itself. Training should be a means to an end that is valuable to the organization. Training should be a means to improving performance.

Now, consider these business need statements:

We need to provide customers with reliable data in the fastest amount of time possible.

We need to reduce the amount of down time caused by unnecessary service requests.

These examples point more to items that are of value to the business.

So much of technical training exists because it always existed in some form. Whether it is because of complexity, liability, or something else, technical training doesn’t often retire. A healthy technical training professional, however, is not afraid of retiring content or courses if it no longer meets business requirements.

Who is the target audience? How is a learner 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 a SME or even the stakeholder will have trouble pinpointing the target audience. Sometimes the target audience will be identified by a 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 competencies exist for the target audience?

If competencies already exist for your target audience, congratulations, your job just got easier. These competencies allow you to 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, it’s a waste of time. Understanding the skill level of the audience is critical in maximizing the benefit of the class.

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

It is entirely possible that during your analysis you realize that you have more than one target audience. You may, in fact, have a large chasm between the experience, skills, and knowledge of learners who engage with your training objects. In this case, create an analysis and a persona for each of these major groups that participate in your training. If you have more personas than is realistic to create, then simply identify the top three personas that are likely to attend your class and start with those.

It is important to 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 the course is relevant to the entire target audience.

If you have a “mixed-bag” or varied target audience that encompasses different backgrounds and experience levels, your course will be a bit more complicated to design. A good practice when you have this varied target audience is to try to come up with three different typical profiles of people who are likely to attend your class. These profiles can be split in whatever way makes the most sense. For example, you could split these profiles into zero to one year of experience, one to three years of experience, and three or more years of experience. Alternatively, you could split up employees from management, those from the sales team, and those from operations. Again, how you decide on the three profiles to analyze is case specific. The process of identifying and analyzing three typical profiles allows you to gather and compare data to help you make decisions about the course design and content.

Does the target audience possess 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 for 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.

What performance factors are relevant?

Does the target audience have time available, management support, tools and materials, logical policies, standard work instructions, approved processes, rewards (financial and otherwise), punishments, management support, realistic expectations, and so forth?

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.

Does the target audience have access to laptops or approved mobile phones?

Some target audiences will not have access to a laptop or a company mobile phone. This could limit some of the choices you have later in the process when determining the best learning technology to use.

Does the target audience have time during work hours to complete any learning? If so, are there time limits?

Again, there are certain audiences that are not practically able to complete training on the job. Driving training is an example of this—you wouldn’t want to distract your drivers while they are driving to look at something on their cell phones. Instead, you would have to build in any microlearning activities before a shift starts, during a break, or after a shift ends. Larger learning activities such as a class or driving practical exercise likely would have to be scheduled on different days. Sometimes this is possible; sometimes there are significant challenges to this. Flagging any time-related constraints of the target audience during this point in the analysis process is important.

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 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?

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. It is likely that 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. Valuable information about products and services is often hidden away on computers in the form of customer presentations, job aids, or a host of other things.

Besides the primary target audience, is there a secondary audience that we should consider?

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 to increase the footprint of your performance solution. Accommodating the secondary audience of your training course, however, should not come at the expense of your target audience.

Is this a new or an existing product or service?

This question can 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 12 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 landmine. You may be dealing with an unpopular topic or product; these types of hindrances can prevent a course from being successful. Your first line of defense is to understand these issues.

Is performing the task possible in a training environment? Are there health and safety risks? This question would be a flag to the need for possible simulation technology. For example, you really don’t want to start a nuclear reactor meltdown so that power plant staff can get practice on what to do during an emergency.

Are there human factors or other soft skills that are relevant to this topic or task?

Technical training should also include the soft skills or behavior competencies related to working in a technical environment. Identify if there are human factor or crew resource management type elements that are important to completing the job or task in a safe, effective way.

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.

Who are the top performers?

If your SME is not a member of your target audience, it is important that you gain the perspective of a top performer who is currently doing the job. This will help keep your content relevant. Top performers within your target audience are close 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 are other SMEs?

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 that you are in the middle of a turf war later on. 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 a 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 necessary 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 function. 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 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.

Is training really the solution?

Expect to see some startled faces when you ask this question. Still, it’s an important question to ask to start a broader conversation about all of the potential performance inputs that might be at play. So many times, people point to training as a knee-jerk response to a need, when in reality, the performance issue is related to something else.

If training is the solution, what are the SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound) 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. These will be covered in the next chapter.

If training is the solution, 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.

If training is the solution, is there an existing course on the topic?

Seeing an old version of a class can help you gain a further understanding of your topic, and at the very least, could help prevent you from making the same mistakes that caused the course to become obsolete in the first place.

If the SME is hesitant to give you old course material because it is outdated, explain that you wish to see it only to gain an understanding of one possible approach.

If training is the solution, are there any prerequisite courses?

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.

If training is the solution, 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.

If training is the solution, what is an acceptable minimum viable product (MVP) we can release to the target audience?

It may be a little too early to ask this particular question during your first stakeholders and SME interview, but at some point you should have a conversation with your SME and stakeholders about expectations regarding what form, structure, and quality your initial minimum viable product will take. This helps set expectations for all involved and helps you prepare from a project management standpoint.

If training is the solution, how can the information attendees learn be supported once they are back on the job?

Subjects covered in a learning intervention can be highly complicated and technical, so it makes sense to ask about how the technical 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 learning to on-the-job performance.

How will the success of this learning solution 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 learning solution.

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. 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 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.

Getting It Done

During the kickoff meeting, you should explain the benefits of the project to the SME. You should provide credibility for yourself and for instructional design and adult learning. You should explain roles, the process, and expectations (use Worksheet 5-1 as a guide), and complete a risk analysis. All these things will set the stage for the technical project. Additionally, the analysis stage is a critical part of technical training development. A full analysis of the business requirements, the target audience, and possible performance inputs should be done. One way (out of many) is to interview your stakeholders and SME. This chapter included different examples of questions you can ask.

Worksheet 5-1. Roles and Expectations

Use the following worksheet to have a conversation with your SME about roles and expectations during the project. Go through each of these items and together determine who has responsibility for each.