Really Strategies
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Remote Users are People Too
Aug 2003Really Strategies recently completed a project to create a custom content management system for medical publisher F.A. Davis Company. Deployment included formal training for on-site users, but off-site user training posed some problems. A few different approaches were possible. Could we get some or all of the remote users (contracted authors and editors) on-site for training? Or should we create an interactive web tutorial? Or would F.A. Davis's MIS department need to provide virtual hand-holding via telephone?
We'll discuss the actual solution in a moment, but first let's look at some guidelines for minimizing the impact of remote training on your next software project.
Early Warning
Give your off-site users as much notice as possible. If you're at an early stage of development, consider including one or more of them in the review of the project's use cases and user interfaces. (For more on use cases, see State Your Case.) You may get valuable feedback from an often under-represented user group, as well as an early reading of the ease or difficulty of later training efforts. For example, if your off-site users feel ambushed rather than enabled by new applications, you'll probably hear it.
Build Enthusiasm, but Control Expectations
Let your remote users know about the new CMS's advantages over the old system (or non-system!). Give them some bullet-point details that will build enthusiasm rather than anxiety. But don't overhype it as the last word in clearing away all roadblocks and removing all inefficiencies. No system is perfect for all users, no matter how well it's tailored to your workflow.
Conceptual Hurdles
Your local users may have become familiar with the new CMS's concepts and functions through internal reviews, testing efforts, or the accessibility of the development team. They're more likely to know that "check out" doesn't mean "evaluate" or "export." Instead they'll have gleaned that—in the CMS world—it commonly means "retrieve and lock a document for exclusive editing." But if you're graduating from an ad hoc system of forwarded email attachments, your off-site users may need more help. Consider using a simplified workflow diagram to demonstrate the new system's features and concepts.
Practical Problems
F.A. Davis's remote users weren't available for on-site training. In fact, it proved difficult to schedule a common time for a conference call or web demo/tutorial. That's not surprising considering that they're all working full-time in various medical professions. The cost-effective solution was to use the proven steps of the on-site training, condense them where possible, and lead each user through the sequence individually or in small groups via telephone. Fortunately, the current user group was familiar with the conceptual basis of the CMS, having used related tools earlier. But there was some hesitancy about switching—an "if it ain't broke don't fix it" attitude—that took some discussion to overcome. These users weren't aware of the prior system's rather severe limitations when adding new content sources or implementing new workflows. More involvement during development and more copious information would have made that final "sell" unnecessary.
So keep all of your users—and prospective users—in the loop throughout the project from beginning to end. You'll see more enthusiasm, and you'll expend less effort in training.
