Creating Roles, Topics and Tasks (RTTs) for the Custom Education Program (CEP)
Our method to begin the question writing process for the CEP was to create question categories, classified by functional area, roles, topics and tasks.Here are theFunctional Areas that are currently covered by the CEP:
Order Processing
Purchasing and Receiving
Accounts Receivable
Accounts Payable
Next, for each functional area, we developed a list ofROLESor job responsibilities.
Then, we identified the TASKS that are performed by the folks in each of the Roles.
Finally, we listed the TOPICSrequired in order to complete each Task.
Keep in mind that no list of RTTs that we create could ever be perfect for all of our customers, as we could never fully account for the fact that our customers run their businesses in many different ways. The goal wass to develop a list of RTTs for a “typical” customer. To give you a clearer idea of what we’re looking for, let’s walk through an example, using RTTs that were created for CommerceCenter:
To create a list of RTTs, put yourself in the shoes of a customer considering their staffing requirements, and complete the following statements.
ROLES: “To cover my order processing needs, I need folks who can take care of _____.”
Order Entry
Handling Customer Inquires
Processing Front-Counter/Will Call Orders
Processing Shipments
Generating Invoices
Sales Management
TASKS: “My Order Entry staff is responsible for _____.”
Processing orders for stock items
Processing orders for non-stock items
Processing customer returns
Generating POs from Order Entry
Entering assembly items on orders
Processing Blanket Orders
Processing payments / credit cards on orders
Making Changes to Existing Orders
TOPICS:“In order to process orders for stock items, they need to know about the following: _____.”
Understanding Order Header and Order Defaults
Using Alternate Ship To records
Editing shipping info for one order only (address, ship inst)
Editing the packing basis of an order
Creating temporary items
Understanding stock allocations and dispositions
Processing consignment orders
Posting Lot Numbers
Posting Serial Numbers
Entering orders on behalf of other locations/branches
Editing price / profit
Editing cost
Editing Description lines
Adding Extended Description lines
Changing source / ship location
Adding a notepad to a customer / line item
Scanning WBW file for price history
Suspending / resuming order
Splitting commission
Editing tax information
Utilizing order template functionality
Next, you’d create a list of TOPICS for each of the TASKS that you listed under this ROLE. After that, you’d return to the list of ROLES and begin again.
So, under each Functional Area, there is a list of roles.
For each ROLE, there is a list of tasks.
For each TASK, there is a list of topics.
And eventually, for each TOPIC, there will be a list of questions.