Overview

Designing training correctly is critical for the success of any training event or program. Product experts must be involved in designing product training. Their involvement, however, is often limited to delivering content. Content is key, but it is not king. This section helps subject matter experts understand content’s role in the design process.

Chapter 8 is a pivotal point in the book. Most experts, when asked to prepare for teaching a class, will immediately begin compiling the content. That is similar to finding out you are going on a trip and immediately packing the car. There are important things that the traveler must find out prior to packing the car. They must know where they are going, who is going with them, and what they will do when they get there. Only with those questions answered can one pack the car with confidence that they are bringing the correct material.

It is also important for experts to question whether training is the solution to the problem or not. If a salesperson sells your product as a solution to a problem it cannot fix, it will make your product look bad when it fails. The same is true with training. The worst possible advertisement for training is to promote training as the solution to a problem it cannot fix. There are many problems training cannot fix. Quality issues, motivation issues, pricing, and so on, might all be reasons a product is failing or not selling. Training may not be able to fix those.

Chapter 9 explains the design process. Introduced here is the 4 × 8 Proficiency Design Model (Figure 24.1). It consists of eight steps in four layers. Designers perform the layers sequentially while completing the steps within each layer in any order. This model was designed specifically for product training and is based on other good design models that ensure that the right content gets to the right people. The model is also based on a philosophy of learning that incorporates doing, not just listening, into the learning process.

Chapter 10 is a practical chapter that gives potential instructors points on making a student guide and visual aids like PowerPoint slides. Student guides are a helpful addition to a training class. A student guide is more than just the instructor’s slides printed out for the students. The purpose of the guide is to enhance the student’s learning experience, adding information the instructor may not have time to address, helping the students take the correct notes, and emphasizing the objectives of the course.

PowerPoint slides, or any equivalent visual aids, should help the instructor make a point. Instructors should not create slides that look like a technical manual. Graphics are better than words, and fewer words are better than complete sentences. Trainers should be familiar enough with the material that complete thoughts are unnecessary. If students need them, they should be included in the student guide.

Whenever a new curriculum is developed, it is important to test the class with a pilot class. Only after an instructor has the opportunity to teach a pilot class, will he or she be able to determine the necessary length of the class and if the exercises help the students meet the class objectives. Up until that point, all timelines are guesses and exercises are suggestions.

How You Can Help

Getting the structure right is important and as a decision‐maker, it requires your consistent help. Mediocre training is inevitable if executives across your company do not understand and support a good design process. Here are a few specifics you can do to help:

1. Make sure training is the solution before committing to it

   Nothing will more quickly ruin a training program than good training that is ineffective. This can happen when curriculum designers create good training that is not the solution to the problem. It is tempting to suggest training as a solution quickly, especially if one misunderstands the investment required to design it correctly.

2. Make learning more important than content

   Content is most valuable when trainers can deliver the right content to the right people. Make sure that you allow your instructors the time necessary to get the content right. Developing the right curriculum takes a lot of time—about 40 hours of preparation per hour of training delivered. By supporting your trainers and giving them the time required to go through a valid curriculum design process, you will be supporting real learning over merely the delivery of content.

3. Attend a pilot class

   By getting involved in the training process, you show your support for effective learning. Attending a pilot class will communicate that you support learning and understand what is required to perfect the learning process for your customers. Your attendance will also help you to see the instructors in action and encourage their efforts.

   Most importantly, your presence signals a support for continuous improvement. A pilot class will not be perfect. In fact, the goal is to work out imperfections. Your presence during those potential imperfections will do more to support improvement than waiting until they have finalized the class.

Conclusion

Few subject matter experts understand the importance of designing their classes correctly. Of those that do, even fewer know how to do it. This section will help them understand both the impact of well‐designed training and the process of doing so.