5

Gathering Information

 

Gathering information for your technical training project can be the largest challenge you face during development. It is important that you understand what type of information you are seeking. You need to be able to dig into as many internal and external sources of information as you can find. When you do find a source of information, you should attempt to maximize the amount of material you attain and organize it in a logical manner. There are multiple challenges to gathering information, but every challenge can be met if you keep a persistent attitude.

Types of Information to Seek

As you gather information for a technical training class, there are certain types of information that you should seek:

• categories
• levels of information
• definitions
• components
• relationships
• analogies
• processes.

In general, you should first catalogue information you have, thinking about it in terms of the types of information listed above. Then, based on this assessment, you should seek information that fills the gaps. To complete your technical class, you are likely looking for one or more of the following: facts, case examples, diagrams, definitions, processes, procedures, best practices, contingencies, components, descriptions of internal functioning, typical errors, calculations, paperwork, charts, graphs, equations, scientific principles, troubleshooting or decision trees, applications, limitations, features, benefits, systems, job conditions, guidelines, rules of thumb, maintenance procedures, service procedures, assembly instructions, disassembly instructions, checklists, accessories, available upgrades, toolface or equipment readings, pre-and post-job checks, operational steps or events, functions, safety issues, menus, diagrams, models, and illustrations.

In-house Sources of Information

Every organization has information that will be found (or hidden) in different locations. There is no consistent place to look. You will need to analyze the organization you are working with and think about where you might search and who is likely to have access to the information you need.

When considering in-house sources of information, you might try these approaches:

Ask other SMEs. It can be helpful to gain additional perspectives on a source you have attained. After you have soaked up all that one subject matter expert (SME) has to say about a particular source, you can talk to other SMEs to see if they can offer additional insights. Often, you may find key words and phrases spur different information depending on the background of that particular SME. This means of gathering information is key when no written formal procedures are present and (somewhat informal) best practices are all that exist.

Ask someone within your target audience. This tactic has similar benefits to the “ask other SMEs” approach, but it provides a different perspective. Asking someone who does the job day in and day out what he or she thinks about a particular source or technical topic can give you incalculable benefits and insights.

Study old job reports. Often, old job reports and job paperwork are treasure troves of information. They often may fairly easily be turned into case studies, and the wording that job reports use can clue you in on the correct way to approach a technical topic.

The following are additional examples of internal sources of information:

• intranet site
• R&D/engineering department records
• local IT server
• HR department records
• old training manuals
• operation/service manuals
• marketing brochures and presentations
• IT document library
• job aids around the workplace (formal or informal)
• work orders.

Of course, you can always ask the IT manager, HR representatives, technical writers, R&D/engineering supervisors, secretaries, technicians, or programmers, among others, for additional information.

Your best bet is to find information internally; however, there are instances when it can be very helpful—and necessary—to turn to external sources of information.

External Sources of Information

Outside sources of information vary from industry to industry. However, if you know where to look, you can often find useful data related to your course objectives from sources of information outside of your organization. The following are some examples of outside sources of information.

 

Blogs and Forums

Internet communities and discussion boards can give you great insight into the typical job issues of your target audience. Blogs and forums can be an unequaled source of informal information—especially if your technical topic is somewhat obscure and not likely to be represented in major websites.

 

Wikipedia

Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia, is typically a more vetted source of informal information than most blogs. Still, Wikipedia is an Internet source with fluctuating editors, so information gained from the site should be treated accordingly.

 

Books

This may seem obvious, but books in general still remain credible, vetted sources of information.

 

Academic Journal Articles

Academic journal articles can give you great perspective on the topic. Often these will clue you in to a specific portion of your technical topic. Sometimes using academic journal articles involves sifting through a lot of information, but if you are able to do this and you have the ability to summarize well, the payoff can be great.

 

Universities (Professors, Departmental Websites, Listserves, and So On)

Academia is a great source of information. Often you can contact a department and find professors who have some insight on your technical topic and would be more than happy to share it with you as long as you properly cite them.

 

Competitor Websites

While competitors' products are not the exact same products as those of your organization, if a competitor is truly a competitor, there must be some similarities in your product offerings. The mention of competitor websites does not advocate illegal corporate espionage, but rather refers to information that is freely available on the competition's website or in product sales brochures. Seeing how a competitor explains a product can help you understand and describe your own product better.

 

Government Websites

The governments of various countries host a variety of informational, credible web-sites on a variety of topics.

 

Safety Accreditation Organizations

Safety is a driving force in most technical industries. As such, external safety organizations often have information available that can translate into material that helps to meet your course objectives.

 

Industry Professional Organizations

Related professional organizations frequently have valuable resources available on their websites. These professional organizations also tend to hold training courses and sponsor conferences—both of which are places where you would have the opportunity to learn about your technical topic.

Maximizing Information You Receive

As we all know, technical information is often difficult to attain. As such, it is important that you optimize the technical information you do receive. The following are tactics for making the most out of material coming to you.

 

Double-check with Your SME Before You Eliminate Information

Before you decide to trash a source, ask your SME if the material is something that could be used in any other particular place in the course.

 

Don’t Automatically Discount Sources

If you are not familiar with your technical topic, you should keep in mind, as you try to make sense of the information coming to you, that you are still a relative novice on the topic. With this said, don’t automatically discount sources you don’t understand. Sometimes a particular piece of information requires other information to be fully understood. You will likely not understand every little thing the SME wants to incorporate into the class. You don’t want to limit the course material based on your own understanding of the content. Sometimes, even though you don’t understand it, a particular topic will have to be included or dropped just because the SME “says so.”

Save Emails

You never know when what has been said previously about a topic will suddenly make sense to you. Periodically during the project (especially if you hit a rough patch), revisit old emails to see if you can glean any additional content.

 

Read It Twice

If written material is highly technical, it may take you a couple of times reading through it to begin to understand everything the source has to offer.

 

Save It for Later

Don't throw away any of your sources. Log them and put them in a safe place, whether they are hard copies or electronic sources. After you have learned more about your topic, you may find it helpful to revisit those sources you read during your early days of learning about the topic. As you will by then have additional knowledge, the initial sources you analyzed may make more sense, answer outstanding content questions, and contain valuable information that should be included in the material!

 

Organizing Your Information

Part of gathering information involves organizing the information you receive. You can possess the best information in the world, but if you are not able to access it, the information does you no good. Also, little will ruin your credibility more than having to ask an SME for a document that he or she has already given you once before.

As you receive information, you will need to create an organizational system with the following characteristics:

• It allows you to store information.
• It allows you to easily find information. That is, the organizational system is convenient to your work flow and indexes data in some way.
• The system will still make sense to you if you end up stepping away from the project for a while or if the project gets put on hold for a few months.
• It communicates what you already have. With so many files in and out, it can be a challenge to see clearly what data you currently possess. Sometimes a document listing sources with a brief description of their content and purpose (that is, an annotated bibliography) can save you time for large projects, projects extended over a period of time, and projects that include many different levels of courses (with different developers). Also, it will ensure that you don't have to ask an SME for a document that he or she has already given you once before.

The specific organizational system you have is not as important as simply the fact that you have a system. Your organizational system can take a variety of forms. Essentially, as you collect materials, you are matching content gathered with your topical outline and objectives and placing these materials within the section they are most likely to represent.

You might, for example, take an empty three-ring binder with each tab representing a different topic, chapter, or section of the course; you may then index all of the materials you receive under these tabs. You can also accomplish this electronically with a file folder system with electronic documents placed within each folder. Cloud-based software, where data is stored on the Internet and can be accessed globally, is another option for tracking and organizing data.

Keep to the Point

As you gather information for a technical training project, you should keep your investigation to the point. As you gather data, visualize the primary audience and their need for the information. Make decisions about whether information stays or goes based on this audience. Refer often to the course objectives and keep information only if it is somehow related to those objectives.

Challenges of Gathering Information

Almost anyone who has worked on a technical training project will agree that there are times when gathering information is one large headache. This section will discuss the challenges of—and solutions to—effectively gathering information.

 

Limited Sources

This challenge refers to information so obscure that you will not find a Wikipedia page on it. Sometimes technical information for a particular field is so highly specialized that there are really only two or three people in the world who truly understand the topic. Finding these people and, even more significantly, attaining access to them can be a challenge.

If your limited source is a person, you can counter this challenge by being prepared. Isolate the questions that must be answered by this person only. Find all the possible answers you can on your own. Don't waste your source's time with questions whose answers you can find elsewhere.

It is also a good idea to ask your SME how he or she finds information. Having access to your SME's source of information can be very helpful. Sometimes, for example, your SME may know of an internal server or an external blog that can give you at least a general picture of a particular technical topic.

 

Missing or Unequal Information

There will be instances in which you have loads of information available (in excruciating detail) about one particular topic, but for a second topic you will have hardly any information at all.

In situations with missing or unequal amounts of information available, understanding and pinpointing what you do and do not have is key. Analyze your outline and, if necessary, visually or anecdotally depict the amount of information available for one topic. (For example, I have 329 pages on Topic A, but I have only 14 pages on Topic B.) Explain this to your SME and then ask for suggestions on where you might find additional information.

Beware of the temptation to simply spend more class time on the topic with the most information available. If a topic warrants it, class time should be spent on it; however, the reason for spending the bulk of the class time on a particular topic should be because the objectives call for it, not because that topic has the information easiest to attain.

 

Inconsistent Information Available

In the process of gathering technical information, sometimes you will find sources that contradict each other. It can be challenging to determine the absolute correct answer. Inconsistent information can occur for various reasons. Sometimes it is a result of the issue being unresolved. Sometimes it is because, after a change has occurred, no one has gotten around to updating all the various sources in which this information resides.

In situations in which you've found inconsistent information, it is best to place the sources next to each other and ask the experts. Let your SMEs battle it out and then give you a final answer.

In addition, you should be open to the fact that information sometimes appears inconsistent because, in certain situations, more than one acceptable solution exists.

Mistrust

Some people want to know every possible thing you may do with a particular piece of information before they let you have access to it. It can take time for you to build trust and to explain your intentions. Unfortunately, this can put a damper on your information-gathering efficiencies.

If you are dealing with a person who is distrustful of you or your purpose, your best bet is to take a deep breath and practice patience. Explain as best you can what you are doing. Some people do not like to feel out of control of situations, so recognize this and try to give them an idea of what to expect. If possible, show them one of your other finished projects so they can understand the reasons behind your questions. Sometimes seeing a finished product can help ease some of the distrust.

 

Technical Jargon

Highly specialized topics are often accompanied by their own “language,” complete with dense descriptions and acronyms galore. (I once had to create a class that had an accompanying internal acronym dictionary more than 50 pages long!) Technical jargon can slow down your information gathering, and it can make it difficult to realize what a source is really saying.

Technical jargon can be countered most basically by attaining an industry dictionary or an acronym dictionary. If these items do not exist, start your own. As you come across definitions for these tricky words, phrases, and letters, keep a log of them. Ask other developers with whom you work to do the same, and gradually you will be able to handle the technical jargon better.

 

Proprietary Material

Technology is pretty much the bread and butter of technical organizations, and organizations usually take precautions to keep proprietary information from getting into unwanted hands. Unfortunately for you, this could include the training department. It can be surprising to see the number of organizations that ask for training on a product without releasing any information about that product, even internally. Still, intellectual property management is a serious matter, and therefore some organizations require stringent controls on information.

You can counter the proprietary material challenge by explaining that you will not release the material to any unauthorized people. Offer to put this promise in writing. Explain to the proprietary material holders that they are putting their learners at a disadvantage by withholding important information. You might reference the analogy of attempting to explain swimming to someone without being able to discuss what water is.

Another option is to ask the person worried about releasing the information to become the individual in charge of coming up with a solution. For example, you might ask: “We have established that our target audience needs to know about this technology. I realize that security is an issue; how do you suggest that we counter this?” Often this person will find a work-around, and it will be a great idea, because, well, it is his or hers.

And finally, if these tactics don’t work, you may just have to accept the fact that some material is simply too sensitive for the general training public of your organization. Figure out what you can and cannot include, and then find a way to work with it.

 

You Don’t Know What to Ask

When our knowledge of a topic is elementary, we don’t know what we don’t know. This can make it difficult to ask good questions.

This challenge, however, can be met relatively easily. Simply ask your SME this basic question: “What other questions do you think I should be asking you that I am not?”

 

You Don’t Know What You Have

You may have potentially the best source ever, but if your lack of knowledge prevents you from understanding what a treasure of a resource you have, that resource may be overlooked.

In these instances, your best line of defense is to be extra aware that you may be sitting on a gold mine. Asking your SME if he or she notices anything that you have overlooked about a particular source can also be helpful.

 

Getting It Done

Gathering information for your technical training project is a necessary, but challenging, aspect of technical course development. In general, you should first catalogue the information you have, thinking about it in terms of the “types” of information (for example, categories, levels of information, definitions, components, relationships, analogies, and processes). You need to access as many internal and external sources of information as you can find. When you do find a valid source of information that helps to meet course objectives in some way, you should maximize this material and organize it in a logical manner. There are many challenges to gathering information, but every challenge can be met if you keep a persistent attitude.

 

Worksheet 5–1. Gathering Information

The following is a worksheet that you can use to determine the current state of data gathering and your future actions related to it.

What type of information do I currently possess?     What information do I still need?     What sources can I tap to find this information?

 

Worksheet 5–2. Potential Sources of Information

This form can be used when you are at a standstill in gathering information. Go over the following list with your SME.

Do any of the following items exist for our technical topic?
facts case examples diagrams definitions processes best practices contingencies components descriptions of internal functioning typical errors calculations paperwork charts graphs equations	animations videos scientific principles troubleshooting or decision trees applications limitations features benefits systems job conditions guidelines rules of thumb maintenance procedures service procedures assembly instructions	disassembly instructions available upgrades checklists, accessories toolface or equipment readings pre- and post-job checks operational steps or events functions safety issues menus diagrams models illustrations