I'm creating an interactive wizard to walk sales people through the decision points to find the right approval and escalation path for credit requests. They're allergic to Visio documents and don't have time to puzzle over the table I received the content in so I started this in PPT/Studio with links to the appropriate slides after each choice. Now I'm wondering if it wouldn't be faster to do it in SL and publish for web. Thoughts? Any potential pitfalls or complications that I may not have thought of? Any ideas and input are appreciated!
I attached a shot of the opening page to give you an idea of what it will look like. Should be much more sales-friendly than a diagram.
Assuming similar skill levels in PPT and Storyline, Stoyline is the better choice in my opinion. The number one reason I think this is because of the Story View which will provide a graphical representation of the branching. For me, it is easier to keep track this way.
I support John on this one and would also add that the way Storyline makes use of triggers and variables gives you much more scope than with PowerPoint (good as it is). At the end of the day, you want a product that is engaging, otherwise it won't be used.
I'd say Storyline too, especially if you're already familiar with how to use the software.
It's easier to deploy to your learners, they can view it on multiple device types and if you need to make updates you just need to update the source and republish, rather than send out a new PPT deck to all of your learners.
As Ned rightly says, you have more opportunities to make the material engaging in Storyline that you would in PPT. You'll have to put the effort in to make it engaging but you have more tools available to help with this in Storyline.
Thanks, all. I'm sold! I'd originally thought it would be faster in PPT but as I worked on it, I really started thinking I was dumb for not doing it in Storyline. I imported it into Storyline yesterday and that was definitely the right call. It's built to do this and will definitely be more engaging and flexible. I'm not sure why it hadn't dawned on me before to use it for projects like this.
I really appreciate everyone's input! I tested it where I'll need to host it (we sell and use an application called SecuriSync that competes with Box, Google Drive, etc.) and it works great. I'll just need to ensure Sales bookmarks the link I'll provide to the file.
I'm curious about how your project worked out. I'm looking to create something very similar. My project is to create an interactive decision tree that a wholesaler can use to help guide a sales person to the right financial product. I would love any lessons learned, or tips you can provide me.
It worked out well! My decision tree had some paths that ended in the same spot and others with unique end points. It really helped me to sketch out all the paths first so I could really see the points where the paths converged and how many unique end points I needed.
I always label slides but it was even more important than usual that the slide names were detailed enough that I could easily differentiate between slides. I had two sets of many of the inputs. For example, a credit process was dependent on the product category and then the dollar value being less than or greater than a certain amount so I had two sets of dollar value decision points. Labeling super well made it go faster.
This was a fun project and went quickly. Good luck with yours! Let me know how it goes.
I am in the middle of creating an interactive tree to aid the salesforce just as you - different product but same idea. I am using Storlyine 360 - Here are some tips I would share:
My first tip is to draw or sketch out a map on how it should navigate - even more important depending on how many levels of decisions you may have. Reference the map for ease.
To quote "Shannon McGinnis" - label your slides! I am a stickler for that normally anyway but in this case, it makes life easier and faster. Especially when pointing to common responses or answers.
My decision tree is relatively small but I used a different scene for each level of answer.
The 1st scene is my open and close for the entire story
I also used the 1st scene for common slides (end points) - if answers from different questions (from different scenes) point to the same slide, I put it in the 1st scene. But you could create a specific scene just for the common slides if you wanted.
Knowing how sales people typically like things fast... you could also create a side menu of just the high level questions or different applications.
For example: if you are referring to selling to different personas, your menu could be the 1st question for each persona (teller, manager, branch mgr, etc...)
Or the menu could start off with different types of products
My first three (3) above are even more important if someone else may be using or editing this story later. Understanding how things should work (your map) and how things are linked in Storyline will make for a happy colleague and robust project.
Good Luck, Ron
P.S. don't forget to add a way for the end user to restart and best to wireframe your project 1st before adding all your content. Most of your work will be in the navigation so once that is worked out, than you can start applying your content.
8 Replies
Assuming similar skill levels in PPT and Storyline, Stoyline is the better choice in my opinion. The number one reason I think this is because of the Story View which will provide a graphical representation of the branching. For me, it is easier to keep track this way.
Thanks, John. That's a great point!
Hi Shannon,
I support John on this one and would also add that the way Storyline makes use of triggers and variables gives you much more scope than with PowerPoint (good as it is). At the end of the day, you want a product that is engaging, otherwise it won't be used.
I'd say Storyline too, especially if you're already familiar with how to use the software.
It's easier to deploy to your learners, they can view it on multiple device types and if you need to make updates you just need to update the source and republish, rather than send out a new PPT deck to all of your learners.
As Ned rightly says, you have more opportunities to make the material engaging in Storyline that you would in PPT. You'll have to put the effort in to make it engaging but you have more tools available to help with this in Storyline.
Thanks, all. I'm sold! I'd originally thought it would be faster in PPT but as I worked on it, I really started thinking I was dumb for not doing it in Storyline. I imported it into Storyline yesterday and that was definitely the right call. It's built to do this and will definitely be more engaging and flexible. I'm not sure why it hadn't dawned on me before to use it for projects like this.
I really appreciate everyone's input! I tested it where I'll need to host it (we sell and use an application called SecuriSync that competes with Box, Google Drive, etc.) and it works great. I'll just need to ensure Sales bookmarks the link I'll provide to the file.
Hi Shannon,
I'm curious about how your project worked out. I'm looking to create something very similar. My project is to create an interactive decision tree that a wholesaler can use to help guide a sales person to the right financial product. I would love any lessons learned, or tips you can provide me.
Hi Michelle,
It worked out well! My decision tree had some paths that ended in the same spot and others with unique end points. It really helped me to sketch out all the paths first so I could really see the points where the paths converged and how many unique end points I needed.
I always label slides but it was even more important than usual that the slide names were detailed enough that I could easily differentiate between slides. I had two sets of many of the inputs. For example, a credit process was dependent on the product category and then the dollar value being less than or greater than a certain amount so I had two sets of dollar value decision points. Labeling super well made it go faster.
This was a fun project and went quickly. Good luck with yours! Let me know how it goes.
Shannon
Hi Shannon,
I am in the middle of creating an interactive tree to aid the salesforce just as you - different product but same idea. I am using Storlyine 360 - Here are some tips I would share:
Knowing how sales people typically like things fast... you could also create a side menu of just the high level questions or different applications.
My first three (3) above are even more important if someone else may be using or editing this story later. Understanding how things should work (your map) and how things are linked in Storyline will make for a happy colleague and robust project.
Good Luck, Ron
P.S. don't forget to add a way for the end user to restart and best to wireframe your project 1st before adding all your content. Most of your work will be in the navigation so once that is worked out, than you can start applying your content.
This discussion is closed. You can start a new discussion or contact Articulate Support.