accreditation: used to measure competency and efficiency of organisations such as channel and training partners to ensure they are adhering to agreed standards
ADDIE Model of Instructional Design: a framework used to develop training courses; it comprises five phases, namely: Analyse, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation
AGILE Instructional Design: a project-oriented iterative process that uses collaboration, feedback and iterations to improve the eLearning design and development process; it comprises five stages: Align, Get set, Iterate and implement, Leverage and Evaluate
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA): develops standards for audits of private companies and other services including educational guidance
authorised training partner: an independent training provider that has been approved and authorised to provide technical training for an IT vendor in the use and application of its products
breakeven: delivering training income from both internal and external resources that balances the costs, known as a breakeven model
carve out: a way of ensuring training is included seamlessly within a sales transaction; the main issue is that no revenue is recorded as actual training, and hence delivery costs have to be absorbed, so it is important to gain corporate agreement on any carve out strategy regarding booking and revenue allocation before agreeing to this mode of operation
certification: used to validate the skills and competencies of an individual’s level of proficiency; most IT companies implement certification programmes to validate their channel partners and to ensure customers have the skill required to be competent in their roles
cloud-based infrastructure: provides training organisations with access to third-party IT infrastructures, which can be configured to provide access to various applications in support of training delivery, content development and management
collaboration tool: interactive technology established to support and assist in the sharing of information, or activities specific to a group of students attending a course remotely
commercial training: for our purposes, this is an IT vendor training group established to provide training to its employees, partners and customers within an agreed financial framework and with an expected return on investment
cost centre: managing costs to an agreed and defined budget, known as cost management; often applied when training is viewed as a cost of doing business, in the same way that first line technical support, marketing or pre-sales support is viewed
cost of sales (COS): relates to the actual cost involved in selling the training; sometimes referred to as cost of goods sold (COGS)
course schedule: lists the courses on offer, available dates, locations and price in local currency
curriculum development: in training, a curriculum comprises a series of training activities that a student undertakes in order to gain knowledge, skills and proficiency in a particular product, so the development of the associated content and materials are collectively known as curriculum development
customer advisory meeting (CAM): provides an environment where customers and the training team can share ideas among themselves, and the customers can advise the training team on their needs, concerns and observations
customer reference programme: provides the training team with the ability to obtain customer testimonials that can be used to enhance sales and marketing activities, to assist in active demand generation
customer success management: a programme of internal activities to ensure a customer achieves the success they are looking for via the purchase of a company’s product or service; this is accomplished by regular and meaningful interactions with all groups within a company, including the training department
demand generation: part of the marketing process and focused on shaping the target audience perspective on what they should consider buying, and, hence, is measured in terms of bookings or amount of revenue generated
eLearning: provides access to a training portal where students download subject matter content via the internet
electronic performance support system (EPSS): an application that provides on-demand, task-based training to help in the development of employees’ skills and performance in the workplace, thus assisting in the improvement of productivity and employee development
estimated selling price (ESP): in relation to revenue recognition for bundled sales solutions, an agreement within the company of the best estimate on what the training is worth based on market prices
freemium: a play on the words free and premium; a pricing strategy where the product or service is free of charge and additional services are charged at a premium rate
gamification: uses the techniques of game design to aid student engagement, motivation and problem solving
general product announcement (GPA): release announcement and date for a new product following alpha and beta stages
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP): principles adopted by the US Securities and Exchange Commission; the purpose of GAAP is to ensure financial reports reflect earnings in the period that they were delivered
go-to-market (GTM) strategy: focused on how a training offering will be placed into the market in order to reach market penetration, revenue and profitability requirements
governance: for a training group, this relates to being able to demonstrate how well-run and governed it is, in order to show that shareholder value is being maximised and protected
grey market: relates to non-authorised training partners who provide training without the approval of the vendor
gross domestic product (at purchasing power parity) per capita: commonly known as GDP (PPP); used to price training according to the economic performance and buying power per person in a country
gross revenue: the price charged before discounts and any applied reimbursements
inclusion rate: a measure of the number of deals, not the revenue value, that has been included with a sale
instructional systems design (ISD): a systematic approach to designing, developing and delivering instructional content and offerings in a consistent and reliable manner
instructor-led training (ILT): comprises an instructor, a classroom, lab equipment (dedicated or cloud-based) and catering
ISO 17024 standard: this standard addresses the definition of what is being examined (competencies), in terms of required knowledge and skills, and ensures the examinations are independent and provide a valid test of competence
ISO 9001 standard: defines quality practices for assuring organisations consistently understand and meet the needs of their customers
key performance indicators (KPI): used to assess and measure the performance of a specific business task. For example sales results in terms of order rates over a quarterly (3 month) period
kit sales: different from that of royalties, whereby the training partner purchases the training content (kit) upfront based on the number of course places sold; typical kit costs purchased from the vendor represent 15–18% of the student course fee
learning content management system (LCMS): an application allowing the creation and publishing of content in both print and web formats, and includes analytical tools to measure how students are interacting with the content
learning management system (LMS): systems designed to assign courses, training rooms and instructors, plus provide scoring and ability to manage student progress regarding eLearning content
managed training services: refers to any training activities that have been outsourced; this can be as simple as handling the printing of course material, or as comprehensive as managing the entire learning and development function
modified Angoff method: a study that test developers use in order to determine the passing percentage, or cutscore, for a test; it uses empirical data for validation
net promoter score (NPS): NPS is a management tool used to measure how an organisation is maintaining its customer relationships and loyalty; it is an alternative to traditional customer satisfaction research
net revenue: the price received after all discounts have been applied and the sale concluded
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): OECD promotes policies that improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world
product management: a process that a training group implements to plan, design, build, operate and maintain a training offering; it can also be considered as a lifecycle management process
profit and loss: often abbreviated to P&L, this is about generating agreed levels of profit, through income generation, and minimising losses; collectively known as a profit and loss (P&L) account
quality assurance: guarantees that, during the training development, processes and administrative activities are implemented to monitor and control the training requirements and ensure goals are fulfilled
quality control: used to check that the training product or service being developed is in accordance with its specification
quality improvement: irrespective of the training development model being used, quality checks and assessment of development processes and tools should be regularly reviewed to check for and recommend improvements
quality management: important for a training group to adopt and undertake, as it ensures that the training product and service is consistent; this is achieved by implementing quality planning, quality assurance, quality control and quality improvement
quality planning: requires a training group to write and collect documentation that specifies the quality standards, practices, resources, specifications and content development models relevant to the training offering being developed
return on expectation (ROE): relates to the customer in terms of what level of behavioural or developmental change can be achieved at individual or group employee level
return on investment (ROI): the financial return on the committed and operational expenditure associated with the development and delivery of a particular training offering
revenue share: where the training partner purchases the content and shares the revenue obtained with the training group on a typical 35–45% basis
route to market (RTM): how the training offering reaches the end customer, which can comprise many channels: training partners, online sales, vendor sales staff and dedicated training sales staff
royalty-based income: where the training delivery partners purchase training content direct from the training group and print copies for consumption by the students who attend their courses; the partner reports the number of course places delivered and pays an agreed royalty amount, normally monthly
search engine optimisation (SEO): its main function is to increase website visibility. The main search engines use algorithms to rank a website’s position and hence its overall position in the search results. In some instances it can be as simple as structuring the words on a website in a way the search engine operates
selling, general and administration (SG&A) costs: the actual cost of selling, which includes sales compensation, commissions, advertising and promotional materials
Shareable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM): a standard in eLearning that supports the tracking and tracing of student results in a learning management system (LMS); a course is SCORM compliant when the authoring tool produces a publishable version of student results and activities that can run on an LMS
social learning: extends formal training by providing an environment where students can discuss how they applied it in relation to their actual job, and the lessons they learned as a consequence; it also provides the opportunity to share experiences in a collaborative manner, reinforcing what students have learned, and assists in the better retention of information
social media: interactive technology allowing the creation and sharing of information; for a training organisation, it is typically in support of a course or curriculum
specialised product incentive fund (SPIFF): a specific form of incentive that results in an immediate bonus being paid for a sale; typically, they are paid by the training department to encourage product sales teams to include training as part of their overall deals
subject matter experts (SMEs): IT professionals within a vendor organisation who have expertise in their field and are often used by a training team to deliver advanced topics to students or assist in content development
technical training: covers the acquisition of knowledge, skills and competencies leading to overall individual or company performance in the use and application of technology
third-party evidence (TPE): in relation to revenue recognition for bundled sales solutions, the finance department and training group researches third parties, such as competitors, to determine how to price a similar offering
Tin Can: a standard that enables the collection of data related to the training experiences a student has both online and offline. It gathers data in a consistent format and is similar in principle to SCORM
total cost of ownership (TCO): includes the cost of buying a product and the additional costs associated in supporting, implementing and operating it; from a training perspective, TCO can be reduced by training and hence is a useful reference point for selling training to a customer
training attach rate: measures the relationship between product revenue and training revenue as a percentage rate in terms of the automatic inclusion of training in the sales discussion
training modality: primarily relates to learning style, which can be instructor-led training (ILT), virtual instructor-led training (VILT) or self-paced eLearning
training needs analysis (TNA): a process of activities regarding the identification of knowledge, skills, competencies or performance gaps that may exist when a new technology is being deployed to employees in a company, the output of which is used to help design and develop a training solution
training offering: can be categorised as a training product or service deliverable such as a course, seminar, practical lab session or subscription service
training partner advisory council (TPAC): provides an environment where selected training partners can share ideas, request new courses, discuss market conditions and debate new directions with the training group
value statement: informs a training group’s employees and customers regarding its core beliefs and priorities
vendor: in the context of this book, the vendor is the IT manufacturer and supplier of products and services that the training organisation is supporting with relevant training offerings
vendor-specific objective evidence (VSOE): a revenue recognition mechanism used by companies that sell combined products and services such as training, in order to recognise a fair market value based on its individual sale value over a known period of time, rather than an allocated value
virtual instructor-led training (VILT): comprises an instructor who is remotely located and links up with students via conference phone or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and a virtual training lab with 24-hour access for the duration of the course
World Bank: provides funding for developing countries and has a common goal to reduce poverty, increase prosperity and promote sustainable development