OnDemand Personal Navigator to automate software training
by Dirk Manuel, Member Belgium chapter and ID-IA SIG with an introduction by Walt Jones, Senior Member, Online SIG
This article is based on a post by Dirk Manuel on May 11, 2006 on the ID-IA SIG email list, and appears by Dirk’s permission. The introduction was posted on the Online SIG list, and appears by Walt’s permission. These posts responded to a question about a tool called OnDemand Personal Navigator.
Introduction
Walt Jones begins:
OnDemand Personal Navigator (ODPN) from Global Knowledge is primarily a software simulation tool that also allows export of various forms of printable documents. Macromedia Captivate and Authorware provide smoother simulations, but ODPN provides more control over recording. Editing is relatively easy, though not as advanced as Captivate.
The output for the simulation includes a table of contents in HTML, with links to the zipped simulations. The simulation that ODPN creates includes onscreen bubbles (like in the comics) that point to where the learner should click. The printable documents consist of the text in the onscreen bubbles, with or without the screen shots. The text usually needs to be cleaned up–for example, to remove step numbers from explanations.
Dirk Manuel provides more detail, and has written a 3-page article for Communicator (the journal of the UK-based Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators) which was planned for publication in June 2006.
OnDemand Personal Navigator (ODPN) is an enterprise software package. RWD’s Infopak is a competing package. Developer licenses run into the thousands of dollars each. OnDemand has packages for SAP, PeopleSoft, Siebel, and “everything else.” The different packages make it possible for OnDemand to determine the context of what the user is doing and record appropriate instructions.
Recording instructions
OnDemand can effectively be used for “generating” documentation or training material, that is, interactive exercises with or without demonstrations and tests.
Documentation and training materials are based on simulations captured in a live system. OnDemand does not capture a “video,” but rather captures screen shots. and actions (key presses or mouse clicks). OnDemand does a pretty good job of identifying the context (button names, field names, and so on) of the actions recorded. For example, in SAP if the training developer clicks the button that looks like a diskette, then OnDemand automatically recognizes this as the “Save” button and generates the text “Click the Save button.” It also automatically generates “Alternative: Press CTRL+S.” It recognizes buttons, field names, and so on.
Documentation and training output
The output is is a series of .PNG format screen shots. linked by actions. Users see these screen shots, and carry out the actions (or see the actions carried out, for a demo) to navigate from one screen shot to the next.
For documentation, OnDemand produces MS Word documents or HTML/XML from the same information–screen shots with actions. There are several templates for different types of documents; all documents contain the same screen shots., and the same texts describing the actions. It is possible to tag text for either screen or print output or both. The templates typically must be used as is, with changes to no more than the header and footer. The templates are built via XML and with an XSLT template, and without very good knowledge of those and VBA for applications, there will be a struggle to customize. Getting OnDemand to generate documentation in the same format as strict corporate standards is extremely difficult.
For training. OnDemand allows capture of a very basic “working” exercise in not much more time than it takes to perform the actual task being recorded, although data set-up to get to the point that recording can start takes quite some time. However, to generate truly realistic exercises that look and feel like the actual system (which is the point) takes significantly longer.
The default captured text almost always needs “tweaking,” and the “action areas” (where the user clicks or types) normally need redrawing.
Also, the recordings do not capture any business-specific information, such as why the users are doing what they are doing, or what the information on the screen represents. From experience, this is exactly the type of detail that elevates exercises and demonstrations from “throwaway” training to useful ongoing references.
I have now used OnDemand for creating training material (exercises, demos, and tests) for around 50 tasks (order entry, invoice entry, and so on) carried out by SAP Retail end users. The training output has proven to be very effective. I didn’t use OnDemand for the documentation, as we have very strict styles, although I do re-use the screen-captures in documentation.
Learning with OnDemand
OnDemand has four modes for learners, See It (demo), Try It (Exercise), Do It (performance support), and Know It (test). Each presents the same screen shots. and actions.
In using OnDemand to create demos and exercises to be used as an integral part of classroom-based training, if the developer puts enough useful information in the exercises, they can be used stand-alone, on an ongoing basis. This is especially useful if a user runs the recording in “Do It” mode where the user is following the instructions but doing the actions in a real system. The recording can keep up with where the user is, and automatically advance the instructions. There is no need for the user to flip to the instructions, click next, then flip back to the system. The instructions are displayed in a bare-bones panel that floats over all of the other open windows. This provides true performance support.
In the test mode, users receive few or no instructions. Users receive a score depending on whether they we able to progress through the task unaided.
Testing and scoring are SCORM-compliant, so results can be linked into a learning management system. We do not use an LMS, but when we have a new piece of functionality that we want to implement in a retail store, we have the learners do the exercise in Know It mode, print their results, and fax the results to us. If the results are passing, we activate the functionality for them. If the results are failing, we re-train before activating the functionality.