PROVOCATEUR QUESTIONS,
by John Burton, Regan Carey, Mike Moore, and Don Stepich

In formulating these questions, we took the role of a DAI manager outside of the training department (perhaps Valerie Purcell as VP of Human Resources) hearing Jason's recommendations for the first time at the team meeting Cynthia Berry has scheduled.

Common Question for All Teams

"Can we slow this down a little, Jason? You've only been here for what, a month and you've talked with a few people. And based on that, you're making an assortment of recommendations that resemble reconstructive surgery on our company. I don't think the boss will be all that impressed and, frankly, it seems like overkill to me, too. We're looking to add an EPSS, not restructure the company. What elements of your proposal can be implemented, realistically, within the existing corporate structure and timelines to get the EPSS going and support its operation?"

Purdue Specific Question:

"Jason, you seem to be suggesting that we implement pre-production training, software application training, and perhaps some interpersonal skills training. I thought that the major purpose of this EPSS initiative was to reduce the need for training. How does all this additional training fit in with the EPSS?"

From: Jason Tillman
To: DAI Manager

DAI Manager:

While I still believe all of our recommendations have merit, I realize we need to deliver what we promised to upper management. The number one intervention should be the Electronic Performance Support System (EPSS).

According to our needs analysis, there appears to be adequate application software for production people to use at DAI; however, problems related to software appear to revolve around the most effective use of those applications.

Implementing our recommendation of developing an EPSS that can be easily accessed on the DAI intranet system by any computer workstation is very realistic within the existing corporate structure and timeline. The intranet is already in existence, although its use and application is currently not effective. EPSS would ensure that training is just-in-time and would therefore reduce the observed problems of lack of time for training.

The Visual Effects Team needs the flexibility that EPSS would allow, as their work makes structured planning for training nearly impossible. EPSS would reduce some of the problems incurred by employees as they try to keep abreast of all of the new software/hardware developments. The animators do not think much of the products' on-line support, because they are not always able to find the relevant information in a timely manner. Animators also have too much to learn, and too much time elapses between the trainings on new software and the time when they actually use it. According to Emily Quinn-Loubeck, trainings for new software happen mostly between productions. It is a waste of time when one of the crew cannot perform because three months have passed before a tool was ever used. With an EPSS system specially designed to meet employee needs just-in-time, such problems would be eliminated.

DAI already has a wealth of talent which is being under-utilized. The company will not need to obtain expertise from outside sources to enhance the capabilities of their intranet. While Karl Durer indicates it might be easier to ask someone who already knows the answer to a problem than wade through the tutorials, that person may not be available immediately and his or her valuable time might be wasted by repeatedly explaining the same problems. Incorporating those solutions in an EPSS would give employees immediate access to this information without interrupting others. Karl does acknowledge that one of the DAI employees created a Web-based tutorial for RenderStar which was superior to the vendor's tutorial.

The ability and capability to develop an EPSS appears to be strong. The programmers have developed Central Control which is updated periodically, and they integrate their management system with the other software that DAI animators use. A team from each department meets to discuss software issues throughout the development phase of larger projects. Some very knowledgeable "techies" who are in nearly every area of the pipeline join them.

It would also appear from the rotoscoper's perspective that "the most useful training comes from practice....just getting in there and doing it." EPSS would support such a structure by providing help when needed on-the-job. We also discussed that EPSS would alleviate some of Ellen Peterson's concerns about the budget, since it will not involve a major capital investment and will not take away from production time.

Thus, the implementation of the EPSS described will have a dramatic impact on the productivity of DAI. It can be implemented within the current corporate structure and the agreed upon timelines. The EPSS is one of the best ways for us to effectively utilize the talented resources we have at DAI. Given the nature of the employees' work, the EPSS can be streamlined into their work process seamlessly. Another major advantage we should witness is a significant decrease in the number of retakes required as our employees' skills and knowledge substantially increase. Shortly after it is implemented, we can evaluate its success and do a follow-up review of the organization to determine what else needs to happen to insure our people are working at peak efficiency.

Finally, as we discussed in the meeting, we may want to capitalize on the opportunity for management to restate their commitment to training when we deliver EPSS to the employees. One of the last recommendations in my presentation concerned the need for management to develop a well-defined training policy with clear goals, objectives, and expectations. I strongly suggested we time this training policy announcement to coincide with the introduction of EPSS at DAI.

The second half of our discussion centered on your other concern that my proposal would create new and additional training beyond EPSS. Let me revisit our discussion about Instructional Design (ID). As with many disciplines, ID professionals must deal with multiple issues. Not the least of these are the identification and sometimes separation of things that are actually ID issues, and things that are not necessarily design items but do affect or influence design criteria. For instance, you indicated you thought the main purpose of the EPSS initiative was to reduce the need for training. I perceive the EPSS as a tool or group of tools to help solve a group of problems, all of which are related to helping people be more productive.

One of the first things ID people typically do when addressing a design problem or opportunity is to perform a needs assessment. The needs assessment basically attempts to identify the way things are, and how they would optimally be to accomplish what the client wants. The difference between these two points is the "need". Many times with complex and/or multifaceted issues, such as those I have identified in this situation, there does not appear to be any one solution. Based on my training and experience, the solution here appears to require several related, but different components. Some of these components are training or training department issues, while others do not appear to be so.

Many of these identified components most certainly can be best handled by an EPSS program, as indicated in the software section of my original proposal. This would in fact reduce the need for some training delivered by a training person or persons, particularly if the EPSS can be created in the manner I described. However, some of the items I identified as contributing to the production problems cannot be solved by an EPSS process.

Implementation of the EPSS is only a part of the overall capability of the training department. The suggestion was not that we add or take away training department resources, but rather that we reevaluate and realign some existing resources to improve their effectiveness. It could be thought of as a new strategy for the training department. Additionally, the question was asked about implementing pre-production and software application training as well as interpersonal skills training. Actually, the pre-production and software application training already exist. What I suggested is to change or revise the training, and, perhaps more importantly, the timing or availability of that training. We also need to remember that some of the training is delivered from outside suppliers as a part of the software purchase, so we should strive to make the best use of that resource by attempting to make it available when our production people need it the most.

Many of the production people (both managers and line people) interviewed reported the same things: that most of the available resources are good, though some could use improvement or be more user friendly. The most often reported user and manager perceived problems were time to learn new applications and getting help during critical production schedules. Many of these people indicated there are others in the company who have knowledge of specific software, or experience in areas other than the area they are working in. However, they reported that access to that knowledge is practically impossible to get on a timely basis. The implementation of some interpersonal skills training, along with some informal information sharing sessions would be a good investment of resources. The electronic bulletin board I discussed in my proposal could be integrated into the EPSS. It would be best initially if some of this were face to face. Since many of these people work independently and do not have a lot of experience with interaction, the interpersonal skills training would appear ideal. Hopefully this would be informal and get the employees more comfortable with sharing their expertise as well as asking for help from a colleague.

To summarize, what I proposed was not the addition of several more training department initiatives involving many more resources, other than the implementation of a new EPSS to which the company was already committed and has provided funding. Rather, it involves a strategy, which the EPSS will certainly be a part of, to realign existing resources in order to: facilitate internal employee training in the most timely manner, promote information sharing, build a team spirit and employee ownership of this production overrun problem, and hopefully get software vendors to provide training when and how we need it. Accomplishing all of this should involve the implementation of interpersonal skills training, and, yes, this could involve minimal new resources. However, our existing training personnel can participate and facilitate this to keep costs to a minimum. The returns and time savings eventually generated from these activities should far outweigh the time and cost involved in initiating it.

Hopefully this summary accurately reflects our discussion. Feel free to contact me for further clarification or comments.