Prototyping a High Quality Student Employee Cameron Goble Technical Training Consultant

“TRAINING SUCKS.” Let’s fix that.

Starting points: Life is too short to build something nobody wants. My assumptions about what people want are probably wrong.

LET’S FIND OUT WHAT’S REAL.

Write my assumptions down: Customers Problems they have and are eager to solve Proposed Solution: Value Key features Channels to reach customers Costs & ROI

Write my assumptions down: Image credit: LeanCanvas.com

My assumptions: My customers are managers & supervisors who organize or perform training. Their problem is that their training documentation is out of date and hard to get to. My proposed solution is to create co-working meetings where IT stakeholders can collaborate to update training docs with best information.

Focus on people’s stories! Image credit: Wisehunch.com

My interview process:

Problems: Supervisor Perspectives Training costs lots of time Over-loaded with things to do Docs are up to date, they’re just hard to use day to day Hard to focus on “doing it right” Inconsistent results from training

Problem: Student Perspectives Training feels hurried, disconnected Need professional support Fast turn-over Loss of experience when they leave Don’t “get the big picture” Heavy reliance on one person who knows it all

PROBLEMS FIGURED OUT. What’s the solution?

Solve customer’s problem: “Travel time is too long.”

Solve customer’s problem: “Students need better training.”

TIME TO EXPERIMENT You may feel a brief discomfort.

Lean science!

Experiment 0: Commitment Hypothesis: If new employee training is a valid pain, then Supervisors will volunteer time to discuss a program to improve training.

Experiment 0: Commitment

Experiment 0: Commitment VALIDATED 3 staff managers and 1 student employee shared existing documents across departments

Experiment 0: Commitment WHAT I LEARNED Customer-facing departments (CSS, SCONS) responded more strongly than more internal tech teams. Students can write awesomely complete documentation for other students.

Experiment 1: Format Hypothesis: If better training documentation is a need, then Early Adopters will endorse a new format that is: Structured complexly Useable by students as they shadow Pedagogically sound

Experiment 1: Format

Experiment 1: Format VALIDATED Manager was enthusiastic about the “at a glance” nature of the canvas. Manager fell into a constructive, generative mode as I introduced the format.

Experiment 1: Format WHAT I LEARNED IT CSS Student Supervisor was my “Early Adopter”. Managers did not want to be involved much at this level.

Experiment 1: Format PROBLEM SOLVED! Docs are easier to use overall! Docs are useful for trainer and trainee alike during shadowing!

Experiment 2: Ownership Hypothesis: If the new format is valid, then early Adopters will spend time and talent to write their own training docs in the new format. They will “make it their own”.

Experiment 2: Ownership

Experiment 2: Ownership VALIDATED Manager used to format to create good documentation with little training. Manager innovated some additions to the format (Causes, Quick Checks, Escalation Path in Cherwell)

Experiment 2: Ownership WHAT I LEARNED Time to develop: 10 minutes. Minimal revision required by me.

Experiment 2: Ownership PROBLEMS SOLVED! Early Adopter can write awesome docs! Manager’s training idea was creative, hands-on, engaging!

Experiment 3: Scale up Hypothesis: If the format provides a desirable ROI, then Early Adopters will want to generate a full scope of training in the new format.

Experiment 3: Scale up

Experiment 3: Scale up VALIDATED Early Adopter created SKA graphs for all levels of student employee roles Early Adopter envisioned students training each other Others joined Early Adopter in this work.

Experiment 3: Scale up WHAT I LEARNED Canvas-style format is validated. Nothing succeeds like success.

Experiment 3: Scale up PROBLEMS SOLVED! Student job roles are now clearly defined! Student employees can pass their best SKA on! Momentum is growing!

Experiment 4: Involve students Hypothesis: If the job roles and SKA really match, then experienced student employees should be able to write quality training documentation.

Experiment 4: Involve students VALIDATED (Sort of) Target number of docs were created by a group of student employees. Quality was variable.

Experiment 4: Involve students WHAT I LEARNED Students need initial training on using the format and the expectations of quality. Certain students were identified as high performers by the quality of their documentation.

Experiment 4b: Involve students WHAT CHANGED Select Students created high quality docs. Students trained other students on Pinnacle processes. THEY LOVED IT.

Experiment 4: Involve students PROBLEM SOLVED! Supervisors free up their time and still get training docs! Students are being recognized for their expertise! Training is directly relevant to how students work & learn! Peers are mentoring!

Experiment tracking: Image credit: LeanCanvas.com

SOLUTION ITERATING NICELY. What’s next?

Assumptions valid and invalid Image credit: LeanCanvas.com

Next experiments: Evaluation: How can student trainers fairly and consistently evaluate their peers as they train? Sustainability: How can the training be part of the whole IT Student employee experience?

Evaluation Rubric FailedNeeds WorkPerformed Well Could Teach Others

I HAVE ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT THOSE IDEAS TOO. Stay tuned for results!

Caveats: If we just straight-up adopt this, it will fail The value lies in the process, not the product

Contact/Questions Cameron Goble Technical Training Consultant Phone: Blog: camerongoble.blogspot.comcamerongoble.blogspot.com