© Best Practices in IT Leadership, Mosaic Media, Inc.

Tools to support IT staff development
BY MARILYN ALLENDORPH

Technology training has changed greatly from the days of watching videos in “training rooms” that were barely more than closets with VCRs and a stack of dog-eared workbooks. Today, IT training professionals use a variety of methods and tools. The computer is a key tool in instructional delivery and an invaluable aid in tracking learners’ progress.

Often, however, computerized training solutions are a mixed bag, as instructors try to weave together different products (typically from different vendors) that don’t integrate well.

A number of emerging integrated tools, known as Knowledge Management Systems (KMS), can help trainers tie together the many pieces of their training program. A KMS is defined as an interwoven online system for simplifying and automating major training functions. KMS products vary in cost and complexity but share a number of key features.

Ten key functions of a KMS

The following list describes each of those training functions and discusses some of the practical issues that may arise when you consider updating to a KMS-based training system. You’ll most likely base your decision on your existing systems and environment as well as the technologies you plan to introduce in the future.

1 Course and curriculum management. A KMS enables employees to browse and get details of the course offerings and curriculum maps that will be part of their personal development. They can see how an individual class fits into an entire curriculum. This information is reliable whether the class is developed in-house or offered through an outside vendor. • Look for KMS products that can provide different levels of detail within a curriculum. Some people want basic course description; others will want to see details all the way down to the lesson plan.

• Make sure the KMS will allow you to categorize and cross-reference courses.

• Can the KMS provide course descriptions both from the standpoint of the participant and the manager?

• Can the system maintain historical course description data? Remember, today’s Visual Basic 101 will look very different from the one offered seven years ago.

2 Competency management. Management input helps determine the skills needed for a specific job. For instance, the managers should set knowledge and performance standards for a variety of technical positions. Defining competencies for use in your KMS is a daunting task.

• Be sure to involve HR at the outset, so they share in the ownership of the system and lend their expertise in selecting a KMS.
• Be realistic about expectations. Some competencies can’t be measured concretely.
• Don’t reinvent the wheel. When possible, use benchmarks from external sources.

3 Student registration. Online registration for all employees is important regardless of the source or subject matter of the products offered.

• Make sure the KMS will allow for a number of registration options. Not everyone will have access to the online system, so see how the system handles batch or other input methods for registration.

• Ask how the system handles over-bookings and waiting lists. Does it track requests and notify students when an opening becomes available, or does the training manager have to handle all this manually?

4 Student tracking, transcripts, and security features. A good KMS should help maintain student course histories online. It should also track tuition reimbursements by student, manager, department, and curriculum.

• Check that the KMS can account for and report class costs (instruction, materials, overhead, etc.).

• Ask if cost and staff transcript information will be available for managers online and if each staff member can view his/her own transcript information.

• Given the sensitive nature of the two points above, you’ll also want to insist on security features to manage and restrict views of this information.

• Finally, administering security should be user-friendly. People will bypass (or work around) security if it is awkward to administer.

5 Testing. A complete training system provides tools for building, administering, and scoring tests for evaluating learner progress and demonstrating return on investment.

• Know your audiences—both course participants and managers. Work with managers to pinpoint the most important elements  test, and structure the tests to fit the students being examined.

• Does the system allow for a variety of testing approaches, or just a basic multiple-choice or True/False?

• Will the system score and profile participants individually and as a group? Can it score “on a curve”?

• Make sure the system can accommodate pretests and can analyze results for instructors to help them adjust class levels to existing knowledge and skill levels.

• Finally, see if it can help analyze posttest results and compare them with pretest data to demonstrate training value to line.

6 Course development. A complete KMS should provide a virtual workbench of software for developing courses, not only for CBT (computer based training) but for conventional courses and job aides as well. Some KMS products restrict you to the vendor’s own software tools; others allow you to mix and match their products and other vendors’ courseware.

• Cultivate expertise in the latest training tools available, but don’t get too close to the leading edge. Select course development tools with proven track records.
• Make sure the course development tools allow you to use a number of different approaches for course delivery to better address the various learning styles of your learners. Some students will need CBT; others may want extensive written materials; others will need classroom training. The workbench should accommodate all types of course development.
• Adopt in-house standards for “look and feel” of internally developed materials and insist that any outside consultants conform to them.

• Ask if the KMS product is “AICC Compliant.” The AICC (Aviation Industry CBT Committee) has developed extensive criteria for technical course development, which has become a widely-accepted standard among all CBT course developers (not just in the aviation business!).

7 Course delivery. Integrated software tools deliver training materials at the desktop, wherever the employee is located.

• Before bringing in a KMS, be sure you can provide alternative forms of delivery for learners without desktop access to the Internet.

• Also, provide alternative study sites. Many people find it difficult so study at their workstations with high traffic or frequent interruptions. For example, you might provide a couple of laptop computers, which learners can check out and take to a quiet place for studying.

8 Measurement and evaluation tools. A comprehensive KMS will measure and track things like number of students completing a class, number of hours a participant spent working on a CBT course, and other key information about training participation. It should also have a way to tally and maintain student evaluations of courses.

• Work with HR and line managers to determine ahead of time the most meaningful items, and be sure the KMS can track and report on them.

• Decide how you will use these measurements to improve the training process, and be prepared to follow through when the time comes.

• Make sure the KMS collects student course evaluations consistently, for meaningful evaluation statistics.

9 Administrative and reporting tools. Online courseware tools must be easy to use for developers, curriculum managers and training administrators— who sometimes are all the same person, but often are a variety of people at different levels in the organization. Find out what managers and executives want and need from a reporting system. Ask line managers what measures are important to them and how often they need to receive them. Make sure the KMS will accommodate the elements identified as most important . 10 Course marketing and audience management. Managing course demand is crucial for keeping training cost effective. You will not only need to provide basic information about courses, you may find that you need to actively promote course enrollment.

• The KMS should make course descriptions and dates easy to find, with important information like costs and anticipated audience clearly displayed.

• See that the KMS can maintain and use prospect lists and email to notify target audiences about new course offerings.

• Make sure the system allows students and managers to communicate with course administrators electronically via e-mail.

• You will also want a KMS that can let you design individual training plans for staff and alert them when courses in their customized curriculum become available.

10 The most important Consideration.  Eventually, KMS systems will address all of the issues I’ve outlined in this article. In the meantime, remember that the most sophisticated tools merely help support IT training professionals in doing their jobs. Your success in using a KMS depends on your ability to communicate and interact with HR, upper management, IT managers, and student participants as you develop and maintain curricula to meet the goals of your organization.

 MARILYN ALLENDORPH
© Best Practices in IT Leadership, Mosaic Media, Inc.