How to train your project team and end users
Training is an interesting subject in system deployments. Everyone agrees that it is important for the success of the project. We all know it is at the heart of change management. Yet it quickly becomes a second priority when the project team faces other challenges. On one hand, we all acknowledge it is important and necessary. On the other hand, it is rare to see a comprehensive training plan in system deployments.
So why the dichotomy between training needs and lack of training? In order to come up with a good answer, we need to start first by asking good questions. What is the goal of the training? Who are we training? What are we training them on? When should we train them? How should we train them? How do we know they are trained? As you will see, there is not one but several answers to these questions. Let me provide a framework.
In large system deployments, you will need two types of training. First, you need to train the people that are going to run the project. These are your core project team members and your IT team. Let's call this team training. Second, you need to train the people that are going to use the system to do their jobs. These are your end-users. Let's call this end-user training.
Team training needs to happen at the start of the project. It can be divided into functional and technical training. Your project team must get comfortable with the new solution so that they can actively participate in modeling the to-be processes in the new system. Functional areas are comprehensive and go end to end.
Meanwhile, your IT team must learn the new system infrastructure, data migration, system integration, software extension frameworks. The audience is relatively small. Generally, these functional and technical training are provided by outside consultants hired by your company. As the project and IT teams work side by side with consultants, this upfront training is reinforced each week until the team is fully trained. If you are deploying a sprint-driven approach explained in a previous blog, this ongoing training is embedded within each sprint. It can be highly effective.
The end-user training happens towards the end of the project during Conference Room Pilots (CRP) as explained in a previous blog. Your end-users need to know what to do when the system goes live. This training is more to-be operational training than generic software functionality training. It is very targeted to a specific audience. For example, you will train your warehouse personnel on how to pick orders. Your retail associates learn how to use Point of Sale. The audience is quite large since all operational people across multiple functions are involved. Most companies take a ”train the trainer” approach - where the project team takes the lead to train the end-user under the watchful eye of the consultants.
The traditional instructor-led approach can be overwhelming for both the trainer and the trainee. People consume information in their own way. They need to be ready, feel safe, pay attention, take their time, control the pace. Online training can be very effective in addressing these concerns. A set of easily-digestible micro-courses served in 3-5 minute demos with interactive exercises can do the trick. For an example check out https://www.itembyitem.co/. A combination of both online training and instructor-led training is most likely the right approach.
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My name is Cem and this has been another gem.
