Change Management of Training Materials

Hello Kate!

Very interesting subject. Looking forward to hearing more from the community on this topic. I know we've got some IDs and Training Consultants here who can probably offer some insights.

I have a bit of personal experience in this area as I've worked on some large scale ERP-implementations in the past where we've developed the training materials.

And from what I've seen in these situations, in many cases the Instructional Designer worked closely with a Business Analyst to identify which tasks and procedures were impacted by the software upgrade. Based on this information, the ID then developed a plan for updating the training materials. If not the Business Analyst there might be someone with a different title but similar job who's in charge of analysing how the company operates and how these processes would best be carried out in the new ERP.

If it's possible, and if changes are still being made and are ongoing, it may be a good idea to have the lead Instructional Designer sit in on any meetings where the Business Analysts and those in charge of the implementation are making decisions on process changes, so at the very least the training group is aware of what's being impacted and what tasks need to be looked at more closely and updated. 

Might also be helpful to work from any past or existing documentation whether it be SOPs, test scripts, to work from so you can easily see what the past process was vs. new process and note any discrepancies.

It can also be valuable to look at what are the risks/impact of the process changes not being communicated to the training department. Does it mean that people aren't correctly doing their jobs? Clearly stating to the stakeholders/management the implications or business risks of not having the proper information can sometimes be eye-opening for them... 

Good luck! Look forwarding to (hopefully) hearing from others on this topic.

Thank you, Nicole! Great tips. 

Every client is different, and as a contractor, I have to get a feel for each one. In general, though, each client has their own change-process.

What I try to do during development and production is to find out what parts are likely to change (or have a short "shelf-life," so to speak). That has an effect on how those sections are produced. For example, one client updates some revenue figures each fiscal year for their sales onboarding program. I wrote generic voiceover that could be used over and over again -- something like, "This chart shows the revenue for the different field offices," rather than having the actual numbers being related in voiceover. This makes the update a text change only, with no expense for new voiceover.

The same principle applies when clients want to put names and contact information for various people in the training.

From your description, there appears to be wholesale changes going on. In this case, I'd probably recommend a text-only production -- no voiceover -- and keep the design as minimal as I could. Once all the changes are in place, and you're confident that it has a longer shelf-life, then that minimal build can be spruced up with interactivity and voiceover.

While non of this really helps in the process of actually collecting the changes, it gives some talking points that you can relay to the course owners that can save time and money.

Kate,

First... Often times businesses "suddenly" realize they need newer/better process documentation when something like this rolls out.  As the old axiom goes, that is a good problem to have. :)

But of course you have to deal with the impact of these new changes. So my first thought is what is the governance standard in terms of creating/posting new processes?  Are all businesses free to create and post their own for all to abide by? Or is their some sort of gatekeeper function in place?

You might consider suggesting that as part of the ERP project, their may need to be a follow-on consideration/sub-project to manage the process changes that are occurring post roll-out. Lots of formal ways to handle this (Process Management department) down to less formal methods such as creating standardized templates and posting processes that all separate departments adhere to. 

But in any case, perhaps the training piece is only part of the business need and you might be bring value by consulting with the biz leaders to improve overall efficacy?