I've had a lot of clients in the past inquire about developing their own "enhanced help on demand" or "EPSS" or "animated screen captures" - which is better, Flash vs. Camtasia vs. Capticate? Or to abandon ILT in favor of EPSS or have them co-exist? I thought this would be a good place for us to keep a running discussion on the topic of how to make users successful with running software applications.

The truth is, that there is more than one way of tackling the issue of building successful end user adoption. Most of the emphasis seems to be on screen capture tools or how to squeeze the ILT environment into some on demand platform, rather than the overall challenges, goals, ROI, methodology, etc. The deliverable is last, yet I can see by numerous posts that we're still mostly interested in cutting right across the lawn - let me build it, post it, go onto the next project.

In any event, I understand the balance here - thinking strategically, but the need for tangible tools for the organization to use. Post questions, observations, success/failure stories, observations on really creative solutions, etc.

Don't give up on your users.

Sean Reyes
End User Assimilation Consultant
s.reyes@learningguide.us

I chuckled when I read this because I have used every tool you mentioned. What can I say, I LOVE Macromedia and in the past, I admit, the question I commonly asked when reviewing various software tools was, "will it publish in .swf format or can I open it in flash to modify it". That being said, I have recently broadened my horizons. There is a nifty "screen capture" software out there called Enlight that took a very different approach from the traditional "motion capture" standards. http://www.enlight.net/enlight/site/en/
The end result is an interactive simulation where the user is prompted to through the process. Simulations can be quickly republished as assessments without the prompts or even published in a word doc format for participant material or hard cards. Very rapid development using flattened .gif files and html in place of flash.
As for my own experience, we just rolled out global training on a new piece of software used for finance budget forecasting. The initial recording was performed by a trainer partnered with a SME from the project team and the recording went quickly. Editing the text took longer than expected but was well worth the effort. The simulations were used in an ILT delivery and were a big hit with all the participants. I anticipate that they will continue to be used post roll out as a support tool as well as in future new hire training.

Feel free to ask if you have any question...I love to talk training!

Owen Holt
Communications and Training Consultant
DELL - Global Finance Systems
owen_holt@dell.com

In the spirit of a "running debate":
In twenty-plus years of teaching tools and applications I have seldom used anything other than the actual application or tool itself. I have used Camtasia videos almost as incidental parts of training, but I have generally followed them up with use of the "real" tool.

I did work on a project once where we evaluated use of a sim environment, but the development cost was higher than using the actual software and developing test data.

The software courses I teach are generally 12-16 hours of hands-on with 8-12 hours of presentation over four days. Maybe that mix makes my environment different than Sean's or Owen's.

No real debate from me. Actually, I used a combination of simulations and real life exercises in the application. The simulations provide a safe trial and / or a guided walk through of the process followed by practical application in the actual tool. Feed back was great. As to cost, enlight would be cost prohibitive for a one off solution. However, I will be supporting multiple application rollouts so the cost becomes nominal and the time savings is dramatic!

~ Owen

The ability to offer both instructor-led training and to follow up with some EPSS solution for on-demand help is ideal. Unfortunately, in today's business environment, taking the entire enterprise through 20+ hours of classroom training is a tough sell - especially if retention rates hover around 10% after 60 days. Still, it's a great way to offer intense training and support prior to the user being asked to perform in a productive manner. There are similar challenges to the sim environment. The true mission critical, enterprise-transforming apps are so dynamic and so feature rich, keeping up with the development requires a lot of resources.

It's a huge challenge today and the reality is that no one has got it down to a perfect science. End user adoption is the #1 reason for failed implementations, yet the budget for training/adoption is a fraction of what it should be. The expectations of the organization are high as well. I was working with an SAP client who was 4.5 years into their "implementation" still waiting to get the benefits of the new system. They complained about the unrealized promises that SAP made, and yet they dismissed their own responsibility with ensuring successful user adoption. Blame the software vendor if you want, but you'll still own the fallout. Truth is, it's not just SAP...or Oracle...or SalesForce.com...or (insert name here). SAP was inconsequential - which is what we need to start recognizing. The pieces of the puzzle are more than the "GUI", user intuitiveness, change management, the corporate culture, top-down leadership, etc. Which brings us full circle - it's more than just simulation and eLearning tools.

The clients I work with take unique paths, but with clear recognition of all the potential pitfalls. There is a process and it usually begins with elevating your role from "trainer" to "productivity and performance manager" by building your case for creative user adoption strategies. Who else but T&D owns user adoption? It won't be the IT department, the software vendor, the system integrator....believe me - they don't know how to address the issue like you do (or should). Still, don't throw tools at the problem either - you might as well buy the courseware and user manuals from the software vendor.

I'll post some interesting data on user adoption that I think most people will be more than a little suprised to see. However, when you think about how many failed implementations there are, then it makes sense, and thus challenges us to think beyond the horizon.

Cheers,

Sean