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June 14, 1999

Evaluating Training Vendors And Courseware

Though students may say that exercises are boring, drills are important to long-term learning.

By Charles Trepper

Illustration by John Bleck

nce you've determined the types of courses you want to deliver, how do you evaluate potential vendors and their courseware? This can be a long and involved process. You first need to determine which vendor poses the fewest risks to your budget and deadline. You know that you're probably going to be with the trainer for the duration of the project, so pick someone with whom you're comfortable. Look for things that set the vendor apart. Ask for references and use specific questions, such as whether the vendor met deadlines and stayed within the budget. Also consider how the vendor deals with problems, whether it is willing to customize programs to your particular needs, and how effectively it solves problems.

Focus on the things you respect in a vendor. Do you respond best to one that wins awards and projects the highest professional image, but may cost more? Or do you feel more comfortable with a vendor who's willing to get dirty and participate actively in the training development process, which usually costs less? Make sure that you're comfortable that your vendor believes in the same values you do.

Functionality is the most crucial evaluation criteria for courseware. Will the courseware help students learn the software? Will the material be used away from the classroom, and will the necessary equipment and skills be present at that time? Will the package fit the needs of your courses? Will it fit the approaches and style preferred by the training team?

From the training team's perspective, courseware will need to show where and what kind of support will be required: accompanying materials, ability-level support, and guidance on how to link associated topics in the curriculum. If courseware is marketed to a particular industry, then the training team should expect the vendors to explain where and how it fits in. Since most software training is competency-based, it's easy to make the courseware technically accurate but very unfriendly. To be easy to use, the training should:

Concentrate on teaching concepts and solid skills;
Be easily accessible;
Have a uniform design and consistent format;
Be concise and avoid unnecessary jargon;
Use short sentences and simple English appropriate to the student's level;
Be free of distracting errors.

Each piece of courseware must meet certain minimal conditions. It should be modular and consist of a series of lessons, where each section covers an area of the product. Manuals should have a solid, easy-to-use structure, including a table of contents, index, glossary, a course preview detailing topics covered, objectives for each section, an explanation of how to use the book, a statement of any assumptions about the student's knowledge, a summary, and a case study at the end of each day of training.

Because the manuals and training material are what students will have sitting on their desks after the class, they must be easy to reference quickly. The lesson structure should be consistent, and contain:

Lesson objectives at the start of each lesson;
Summary and revision questions at the end of each lesson;
A full explanation of each feature, as well as hands-on exercises;
Numerous short exercises throughout the lesson;
Screen shots illustrating each feature;
Small segments of text explaining each feature;
Tips and shortcuts.

Exercises are also critical to reinforce the material learned. Though students may say the exercises are monotonous, drills are important to long-term learning. Exercises should include:

Screen shots, particularly at the end;
Simple instructions;
Clear step-by-step processes with numbered points;
Starting points from a supplied file to avoid excessive typing;
Exercises relevant and meaningful to students;

The presentation is also important. If the visual impact of the training material is really negative, the student will have a difficult time getting motivated to learn.

Students are likely to be somewhat nervous using new software for the first time, so the easier the manual is to use, the faster they're going to learn. It's also important that the courseware motivates students by explaining why features will benefit them. It needs to satisfy the course objectives and promote active learning through questionnaires and practical exercises. Sessions should be short and include summaries and tests for understanding.

Developers generally learn best in an atmosphere that is fast-paced, modular, and concrete. That's why it's important to find courseware that is flexible and can help them learn effectively.

Return to main story, "Training Developers More Efficiently."

Illustration by John Bleck