Case Study: TruLogica,
Inc.
Training and Workshop Build User Confidence and
Skills
Situation
TruLogica, Inc., a Dallas-based software company, is quickly becoming
a leader in identity management solutions. Because of this rapid growth,
TruLogica had to quickly develop an improved training program to better
support its expanding customer base.
Actions and Solution
TruLogica hired Rob Brown from RDB Consulting in late 2003 to assess
its training needs and quickly develop a core training solution to
coincide with an expected February 2004 version release. After performing
a quick needs assessment and survey of existing documentation, Rob
delivered a short-term tactical training plan, which included course
road maps for the most critical user profiles.
Rob then designed and developed a three-day instructor-led software
training workshop.
A modular, scenario-based approach was used, in which students take
the role as administrators of an identity management solution for
a hypothetical company. The example used throughout the workshop was
based on a real-world example. Besides learning the functionality
of the software, the scenario approach encourages students to use
industry best practices when implementing and managing an actual identity
management project.
Course materials included a 250-page training manual and reference
materials.
Results
By having a professional-quality training course, TruLogica can quickly
train its new customers.
TruLogica recently signed a contract with a major new customer, which
is now sending its employees through this new workshop. Training participants
have provided highly positive feedback, stating that this training
effectively equips them to begin using TruLogica’s software.
Case Study: Fuego, Inc.
Training and Performance Support Materials Target
Vertical Markets
Situation
Fuego, Inc. is a pioneer in Business Services Orchestration, the
software industry's first comprehensive approach to coordinating and
managing internal and external business activities through a completely
Java-based application. In 2003, Fuego embarked on an initiative to
target several vertical markets such as insurance and banking.
Fuego hired Rob Brown from RDB Consulting to assess current training
and performance support materials (e.g., online help, user guides,
and other reference documents) and revamp these materials so they
were geared to these new targeted markets.
Actions and Solution
RDB Consulting redesigned product training to align with marketing
initiatives. This included initiating role-based training curriculum,
developing vertical market-focused insurance and banking case studies
to augment basic workshop training, and updating all training and
performance support materials to reflect this new approach.
Results
Fuego is now able to funnel customers into classes that are relevant
to their industry experience. By using case studies, transition time
is reduced for students so they become fully productive sooner when
using Fuego’s tools in the workplace. Fuego’s training and performance
support materials won awards from the Society for Technical Communication
in 2003 and 2004.
Case Study: Corporate Web
Site Redesign
Communications and Training Support Assists Change
with No Service Disruption
Situation
A Fortune 500 electronics firm redesigned and re-architected its
own customer-facing mass-market Web site to make it more user-friendly
and easier to update. These changes had to occur with minimal disruption
to members of the worldwide engineering community who daily access
the site to find product information prior to making purchasing decisions.
Business owners responsible for updating content on the Web site
had to be quickly trained on the new tools and processes for making
updates. Employees and their supervisors also had to be kept informed
of work being done, staging dates, and when to report for training.
Actions and Solution
Communications and training support included:
- Communications and sponsorship program for mid-level product
managers
- Development of one-day instructor-led training, including training
manual, job aids and other reference materials
- End-user performance support for more than 1,500 content authors
- Web site metric reporting for product managers
- Project management support for 50-person team
Results
Changes were implemented with no disruption of service to customers.
The number of hits to the redesigned Web site increased 40 percent with
a corresponding increase in sales reported.
