1. 3.11 Training and Supporting Users

3. 1. The type and timing of training are dependant on many
factors. Discuss these factors
2. When a new employee joins an organisation what is the
first type of training they will experience?
3. There are two main types of training what are they?
4. What are the potential benefits to an organisation of
providing training to their staff?
5. ---NOTE---
6. There are many training methods available, state 5
7. Explain each of the above methods and state who and
when it would be suitable for.
8. What types of support are available to users?
9. Explain each type of support available
10. What factors might influence a choice of support
method?

4. 11. --- NOTE ---
12. What is an interface?
13. What are the features of a ‘good’ ‘user
friendly’ interface?
14. What features would you provide in an
interface to offer support?
15. What interface would be ideal for an ATM?
Justify your answer
16. What interface would be ideal for an ATM?
Justify your answer

5.  Type of training will be dependent on:
◦ How many users need training?
◦ Is expertise available onsite?
◦ Are suitable facilities available onsite?
◦ Are external courses available?
◦ Are manuals or other methods available?
◦ Experience of the user
◦ The users knowledge and job role
◦ The level at which the staff works e.g. operational/tactical/strategic
 Timing of training will be dependent on:
◦ Whether the user has used a computer before
◦ Whether the member of staff is new to the organisation/department
◦ Introduction of new hardware/software
◦ Introduction of new legislations/procedures

6.  Induction training

7.  Task based
◦ Trains the user to carry out a specific routine
activity e.g. operating an EPOS checkout
 Skills based
◦ Aims to give the user transferable skills that can be
used in a variety of ways
 Skills updating and refreshing is also
important

8.  Cost benefit
◦ Can improve staff productivity
 Higher profits
 Improved staff moral
◦ Training can inspire and motivate staff
◦ Shows the commitment the company has in them
 Improved staff retention
◦ Many employees want to professionally develop
◦ Opportunities to further their knowledge, skills and
progression is a reason to remain in the workplace

9.  When deciding on whether to provide training
or not, companies will weigh up the cost
against reward
 E.g. Companies that have a rapid turnover of
staff (fast food chains) and/or many part time
staff might not reap the benefits of training
their staff

10. 1. Personal training (instructor lead training)
2. On the job training
3. External courses
4. In house courses
a. By external trainer
b. By internal trainer
5. On-line tutorials
6. Training Manuals
7. Computer-based training (CBT)

11.  Personal training (instructor lead training)
◦ Often use for specialised training
◦ Expensive
◦ Ideal for strategic staff / specific users requiring specific specialist training
 On the job training
◦ Learning whilst at work
◦ Observation
◦ Difficult to learn whilst still working
◦ Little costs
◦ Ideal for those who are unfamiliar with company procedures (maybe changing
departments – observe to see new role)
 External courses
◦ Shared costs for many attendees
◦ Some courses (by commercial companies) can be very expensive
◦ Provides opportunities to collaborate, share ideas and ask questions amongst your
peers
◦ A good meeting point for new contacts
◦ Some are run out of office hours so no work is missed
◦ Employees are often asked to share their experiences/learning on their return

12.  In house courses
◦ By external trainer
 Often used to train many at once .g. when a new system is
introduced
 Location of training must be considered
 Expensive to higher trainer but potentially cheaper than sending
each member of staff on a course
 Staff are still on site if required to work i.e. emergency (should be
avoided)
 Good for team building and collaboration
◦ By internal trainer
 Costs are low
 Trainer has a good understanding of the organisation
 Will be able to tailor the training (know the staff and procedures)

13.  On-line tutorials
◦ Delivered via the internet
◦ Offered for free, paid subscription, part of a contract (bespoke
software)
◦ Interactive, visual and audio
◦ Can pause and work through at their own pace
◦ Can replay and revisit areas that cause confusion
◦ Is impersonal, can’t ask questions
 Training Manuals
◦ Usually paper based/PDF
◦ Produced by the software developers/third party publishers
◦ Step-by-step exercises
◦ Selective choice of areas to focus on
◦ Always readily available
◦ Less expensive than training course
◦ Is impersonal, can’t ask questions

14.  Computer-based training (CBT) Features:
◦ User follows simulated versions of the software to
deliver sequences of operations
◦ Built in marking system
◦ Makes use of multimedia
◦ Used for tutorials
◦ Game based training is growing
http://goo.gl/OCZt4
◦ Testing and assessment can be built in
◦ Distance training

15.  --- NOTE ---
 CBT is not simply used to train people how to
use computers it can also be used to train
people how to do certain tasks or how to
react in different situations e.g. a simulator

16.  Health and Safety training – spot the dangers
 How to perform a specific task e.g.
demonstrations and practical computer based
tasks on how to operate a piece of machinery
 Software packages often offer computer based
tutorials
 Others http://www.selfstudysource.com/
 When should it be used? http://goo.gl/fgb59

17.  Flexibility of where and when used (not limited to space and
geographical setting)
 Ensures consistency in the training provided
 You can simulate scenarios that would be difficult to replicate
 Materials provided using multimedia e.g. text, audio, video
 Material can be accessed using a variety of hardware e.g. tablet,
desktop, mobile
 Can work through the training at your own pace
 The training can be repeated until understood

18.  The software can be expensive
 Loss of social element to bounce ideas off of
peers
 Potential of being distracted
 Some packages don’t gauge the progress
made and with no human input it is difficult
to assess whether the training has been
absorbed

19.  Training
◦ Providing opportunity to develop skills, learn new
things
 Support
◦ Providing assistance

20.  Software / On-screen help
 User guides and manuals
 On site technician/help desk
 Existing user base
 External helpdesk
 Email and chat support
 Remote support
 Call out support
 On-line support

21.  Software / On-screen help
◦ First port of call
◦ Often has index and search facilities
◦ Tries to use a natural language interface
 User guides and manuals
◦ Includes information on how to install, maintain and run the
software
◦ Point of support not training
◦ More suitable for experienced users
 On site technician/help desk
◦ Companies interests at heart
◦ May need further technical support from experts
◦ Help desks allow technicians to prioritise requests and log regular
problems

22.  Existing user base
◦ Experienced users can help those less experienced
◦ Free support
 External helpdesk
◦ Helpdesk provided by the software manufacturer
◦ Usually made by telephone call
◦ Details of problems logged
◦ Frustrating for the user (logged, passed on to technical
team, call back etc.)
◦ Costs can be per call or contracted
 Email and chat support
◦ Free to communicate
◦ logged

23.  Remote support
◦ Contractor can access machines from outside the organisation to
resolve problems
◦ Affects level of security
 Call out support
◦ Potentially expensive to have support engineer visit onsite
◦ Maybe cheaper than employing full time technician
 On-line support
◦ Forums
◦ Bulletin boards
◦ FAQ’s (problem maybe logged and solved previously)
◦ Free
◦ May have to search through many threads
◦ Reliability?

24.  How critical the system is to the organisation
 If the company is whole dependant on the system
 Expertise available within the organisation
 Skill level of the employees
 How different the new system is from the one it replaces
 The number of employees
 Is there enough work to justify employing support staff?
 How complex is the setup?
 How much support if provided for free?
 Cost of the support
 What will the support include
 How quickly is support delivered
 Any security issues?

25.  Companies are able to provide training to
their employees but not always to their
customers.
 Therefore it is essential they provide user
friendly interfaces if they expect customers
to interact with their systems e.g. ATM
machines, e-commerce

26.  When customers interact with a new system
they will need guidance at the point of input.
 This guidance/training could be provided by:
◦ Providing detailed instructions
◦ Providing examples, visual illustrations of what is
expected
◦ Providing video tutorials that demonstrate how to
use the interface

27.  The point at which the user communicates
with the system
 Refers to both the hardware and software
 E.G.
◦ Think of a sat-nav system
◦ Touch screen interface (hardware)
◦ GUI (Software)

28.  Clear
 Simple
 Easy to use
 Intuitive

29.  FAQ’s
 Step by step instructions
 Search facilities
 Prompts

30.  Menu driven interface
◦ Options are predetermined
◦ Intuitive (step by step instructions)
◦ Prompts
◦ NO TRAINING REQUIRED
 Touch screen
◦ Simple to use

31.  GUI interface
◦ Familiar graphics used to prompt user
◦ Structure of content familiar (top-to-bottom, left-
to-right)
◦ Search facilities and FAQ’s accessible via help
◦ Contact details present on each page
 Keyboard and mouse
◦ Familiar hardware

33. http://goo.gl/KEeDo excellent suggestions http://goo.gl/8fbZk last 4 paragraphs