Appendix D: Sample Training Program Plan Outline

Appendix D: Sample Training Program Plan Outline D-1

Appendix D: Sample Training Program Plan Outline

This appendix contains a sample and completed training program plan. This is by no means intended to be comprehensive, but should be used as a guide to determine what information should be included in such a plan. Each organization’s management will almost certainly want different pieces or sections, and this document can be adapted to any training project as needed.

Program Purpose

This section details the purpose of the program, which can be the problem to be solved or business opportunity to be exploited. This section can also contain a “goal”, or an unmeasurable “know it when I see it” type of statement.

Program Background

What happened before this program? What were the forces that drove the program into being? How was training handled up until now?

Program Scope/Exclusions

This section MUST outline the software that will be covered, and what will not be covered. Often, saying what won’t be done is as important as saying what will.

Organizational Units Involved/Impacted

This program will impact many user and I/T areas. Specify what areas are and are not part of the rollout. This will often lead back to some selling work, particularly if a department that was to be excluded now wants to be part of the program.

Goals and Objectives

The overall goals of this program are generally not measurable. The objectives, however, MUST be stated clearly and must be measurable. There is often some confusion of the difference between a goal and an objective. An objective is always measurable, a goal may or may not be measurable.

Expected Benefits

This section should be about both tangible and intangible benefits.

Issues/Constraints

Are there any time or budget constraints? Is the proper technology available to do the job? What about human resources needed to complete the program?

Critical Success Factors

This is a list of items which must be present to ensure the success of this program.

Risks

What happens if this program fails? What happens if the critical path or other resources aren’t available when needed. What if some assumptions turn out to be incorrect?

Program Approach and Deliverables

The phases as specified in Appendix D (in the estimating guide) can be inserted here (without dates) and and the deliverables grid can be inserted as well.

Management Approach

Time and Status Reporting

Weekly program and team status and time reporting requirements should be specified here and will likely include accomplishments/main efforts for the week, plans for the coming week and any issues/concerns/problems that arise.

Copyright McGraw-Hill 2000. Original purchasers of this book are permitted to photocopy or customize this page by downloading it from “ This document can then be opened, edited, and printed using Microsoft Word or other word processing software.

Meetings

Team meetings for all staff and consultants directly involved in the program should be inserted here. These should be regular meetings. Other meetings to communicate with management or key end-users will be set up on an 'as needed' basis.

Change Management Process

Any significant changes to estimates, schedule or scope (e.g., additional tasks, expanded complexity, increased learning curve) will be documented (description of change, why it is required, impact), then discussed with the team for approval before proceeding. A form should be developed by the team for this use.

Acceptance/Sign-off Process

Major deliverables should be reviewed for completeness, compliance to standards, and accurate content prior to sign-off. At a minimum, the following people involved in this process will be:

- Names Here

PROGRAM ORGANIZATION SECTION

Training Lead?????

Business Lead?????

Rollout Lead?????

Consultants?????

Preliminary Program Schedule and Budget

This section contains the phase grid with dates and dollars.

Signatures

______

Training Manager

______

Business Manager(s)

______

Rollout Manager(s)

WCS/KIS Training Program Plan Outline

Revision Date: January 27, 1999

Program Purpose

The purpose of this project is to develop a training program for the rollout of the Widget Control System (WCS) and Knowledge Information System (KIS) software packages. This program will serve both I/T and business users, through a combination of classes that address varying skill levels and needs. The program will be strong enough to support current activity, but flexible enough to change with future needs. The program will serve as a model for future training design.

Program Background

This program was initiated by I/T and business users, as well as the training department. It’s important to note that training for previous software rollouts was developed “on the fly” and really didn’t follow any specific, structured methodology. By following the industry standard “ISD” methodology, this program will be stronger, more precise, and serve the users better than past efforts.

Program Scope/Exclusions

This program covers only those software functions to be installed at TWI. This particular program will be developed to fit future efforts at TWI, and will develop and set documentation standards.

Organizational Units Involved/Impacted

This program will impact many user and I/T areas. The areas of I/T that will be impacted include systems development, operations, technical support, and the help desk. Business areas include manufacturing, purchasing, HR, sales, and finance/accounting.

Goals and Objectives

The overall goal of this program is to develop a training program that will enable TWI employees to use the new software (WCS and KIS) in ways that will greatly enhance their productivity. The measurable objectives are:

Complete the training program by 06/01/1999
Deliver classes to all affected staff within 60 days of installation
Stay within budget
Have a complaint rate of less than 3%
Have median instructor ratings of at least 5 on a 7 point Likert scale
Have median class ratings of at least 5.4 on a 7 point Likert scale

These objectives will be measured for each class taught and for the program as a whole.

Expected Benefits

Without this training, employees are unlikely to use the software properly or in a manner that at least maintains their current level of productivity. Thus, this training program must be completed to have user be most effective with the new software packages.

Because of the nature and complexity of the WCS and KIS, it is estimated that the classes taught in this program will save users up to 80% of the time they would spend learning the software “OJT”, and reduce help desk calls by 70%. The intangible benefits are lower levels of frustration, more effective production support, and better employee morale.

Issues/Constraints

As with any large project, the major constraints involve time, money, and human resources. Because of the small size of the core training team, other I/T and business staff must be matrixed in to complete the work. It is possible that deadlines will be missed if more training developers aren’t hired.

Critical Success Factors

Select the best models for the classes
Develop relationships with business partners.
Manage the budget closely
Assign training development responsibilities the best qualified team member
Involve the training department personnel as well as external expertise in critical decisions
Satisfy departmental needs in a specific business area
Be large enough to be meaningful to a wide/critical audience
Provide added business value
Understand both limitations and capability for growth.

Risks

The major risks to this program involve missing deadlines or misidentifying needs. Misidentifying needs is likely to result in training that “doesn’t answer the question”. The TNA must be complete, and double-checked throughout the program development period. In addition, the training staff must stay close to the rollout team to make sure that the program follows the software correctly. Some strategies for mitigating the know risks include:

Being very familiar with the goals of the project, or the specific focus they are involved with.
Being familiar with the general risks that are outlined in this risk plan.
Periodically considering the impact of any events and developments that may impact the cost, effort, product functionality, product quality, and schedule.

Screening the project opportunity and requirements to ensure that it is aligned with corporation's business objectives.
Performing a high-level cost/benefit analysis to determine the risk relative to the potential gain and the opportunities for reward.
Reviewing the solution and assess its technical feasibility, based on current technology
Identifying initial business and technical risks.
Developing a high-level risk response strategy to reduce the impact of potential risks.

Promptly reporting any identified risk to the program lead.

These strategies should result in a lower risk of failure for the program.

Management Approach

Time and Status Reporting

Meetings

Change Management Process

Acceptance/Sign-off Process

Major deliverables should be reviewed for completeness, compliance to standards, and accurate content prior to sign-off. At a minimum, the following people involved in this process will be:

Richard , vice-president of human resources
Dennis, vice-president of manufacturing
Dick, vice-president of sales
Jeff, vice-president of finance
Sandra, vice-president of purchasing
Gary, WCS software rollout team leader
Lauren, KIS software rollout team leader
Bob, I/T training manager
Connie, CIO

These signatures together will constitute approval of a completed milestone or deliverable.

PROGRAM ORGANIZATION SECTION

The following people are involved in actually developing and delivering the program. It’s important that the roles be clear to ensure the team operates at peak efficiency on this project.

Connie, CIO
Bob, I/T training manager
Mike, I/T training team lead
Shawn and Dave, trainers
Kathy, training developer
Jack, technical writer
Trudy, human resources (HR) training specialist
Gary, WCS software rollout team leader
Lauren, KIS software rollout team leader

The training team must work closely with the rollout team and representatives from key user areas to ensure that the program meets the needs of the software rollout.

Program Approach and Deliverables

# / Task / Deliverable(s) / Who / Done 

/ Identify critical path activities / CPM, Gantt, or other chart / Training team, Rollout team, users / 

/ Identify critical path players / Personnel, roles, and responsibilities form / Training team, Rollout team, Users / 

/ Document drop-dead date ranges / Copy of project plan obtained from rollout team (to be used in planning and design phases) / Training team, Rollout team / 

/ Estimate remaining activity hours and costs / Activity-based cost worksheet and program plan / Training team, Rollout team, Users / 
Factor in elapsed time ranges / Activity-based cost worksheet and program plan / Training team, Rollout team, Users / 
Estimate HW/SW costs / Activity-based cost worksheet / Training team, Rollout team, Users / 
Calculate total budget / Activity-based cost worksheet / Training team, Rollout team, Users / 
Generate alternatives / Potential solution set / Training team, Rollout team, Users / 
Communicate program plan to partners / Completed program plan document / Training team, Rollout team, Users / 
Gain approval / Management sign-off / Management / 

Preliminary Program Schedule and Budget

Task group / Task / Days / Est. Start / Est. Done
Design / Develop objectives / 125 / 01/12/1999 / 02/28/1999
Develop metrics / 25 / 01/12/1999 / 02/28/1999
Select/sequence content / 15 / 03/02/1999 / 03/17/1999
Create groups/tracks / 5 / 02/28/1999 / 03/02/1999
Choose Delivery Options / Investigate options / 20 / 03/03/1999 / 03/28/1999
Decide delivery method(s) / 5 / 03/29/1999 / 03/28/1999
Make or Buy Decision / Capability assessment / 10 / 01/12/1999 / 02/28/1999
Decide on trainer vs. SME / 10 / 03/02/1999 / 03/18/1999
Purchasing Training / Deciding what you need / 25 / 04/05/1999 / 05/14/1999
Finding vendors / 10 / 05/15/1999 / 05/28/1999
Evaluating courseware / 20 / 05/25/1999 / 06/14/1999
Selecting packages/vendors / 5 / 06/05/1999 / 06/20/1999
Selecting handout sources / 20 / 06/05/1999 / 07/14/1999
Selecting book(s) / 10 / 06/05/1999 / 07/14/1999
Getting bids and negotiating / 10 / 06/05/1999 / 07/14/1999
Customizing Training / Refining the needs analysis / 30 / 07/05/1999 / 08/14/1999
Gap analysis / 15 / 08/05/1999 / 08/24/1999
Designing perfect solutions / 10 / 08/24/1999 / 09/14/1999
Working with vendors / 30 / Ongoing / Ongoing
Implementation / Getting the best trainers / 5 / 08/05/1999 / 08/14/1999
Finding internal trainers / 10 / 08/05/1999 / 09/01/1999
Designing trainer evaluations / 15 / 07/05/1999 / 08/14/1999
Installing CBT software / 20 / 09/10/1999 / 10/11/1999
Assign support tasks / 5 / 10/11/1999 / 10/15/1999
Rollout Communication / Building enthusiasm / 25 / Ongoing / Ongoing
Tracking attendance / - / 06/01/1999 / Ongoing
Developing incentives / 10 / 04/08/1999 / 04/21/1999
Creating Evaluations / Designing evaluations / 20 / 03/15/1999 / 04/15/1999
Conducting evaluations / - / 06/01/1999 / Ongoing
Continuous improvement / - / 06/01/1999 / Ongoing

Task / Labor Type / Hours / Cost/Hour / Total Cost
Develop objectives / Training Developer / 250 / 110 / 27,500
Develop metrics / Training Developer / 200 / 110 / 22,000
Select/sequence content / Trainer/Developer / 50 / 220 / 11,000
Create groups/tracks / Trainer/Developer / 50 / 220 / 11,000
Investigate options / Manager
Developer / 80 / 300 / 24,000
Decide delivery method(s) / Manager
Developer / 80 / 300 / 24,000
Capability assessment / Manager
Developer / 120 / 300 / 36,000
Decide on trainer vs. SME / Manager
Developer / 40 / 300 / 12,000
Deciding what you need / Developer/Trainer / 120 / 300 / 36,000
Finding vendors / Developer/Trainer / 40 / 220 / 8,800
Evaluating courseware / Developer/Trainer / 80 / 220 / 17,600
Selecting packages/vendors / Training Team / 120 / 300 / 36,000
Selecting handout sources / Developer/Trainer / 120 / 220 / 26,400
Selecting book(s) / Developer/Trainer / 120 / 220 / 26,400
Getting bids & negotiating / Manager / 120 / 300 / 36,000
Refining the needs analysis / Manager, Developer, Trainer / 200 / 300 / 60,000
Gap analysis / Manager, Developer, Trainer / 150 / 300 / 45,000
Designing perfect solutions / Manager, Developer, Trainer / 150 / 300 / 45,000
Getting the best trainers / Manager, Developer / 40 / 300 / 12,000
Finding internal trainers / Manager, Developer, Trainer / 80 / 300 / 24,000
Designing trainer evaluations / Manager, Developer / 80 / 300 / 24,000
Installing CBT software / Developer / 120 / 110 / 13,200
Assign support tasks / Manager / 20 / 80 / 1,600
Developing incentives / Manager / 80 / 80 / 6,400
Designing evaluations / Manager, Developer, Trainer / 120 / 300 / 36,000
Conducting evaluations / Manager, Developer, Trainer / 120 / 300 / 36,000
Continuous improvement / Training Team / 1200 / 300 / 360,000
GRAND TOTAL / 3,950.00 / $1,017,900

Item / Cost
Labor / 1,017,900
Travel, Lodging, Meals / 2,050,000
Facilities / 800,000
Hardware / 500,000
Software / 400,000
Purchased Instruction Materials / 300,000
Salary/lost Job time / 2,300,000
Grand Total / 7,367,900

Signatures

______

Richard , vice-president of human resources

______

Dennis, vice-president of manufacturing

______

Dick, vice-president of sales

______

Jeff, vice-president of finance

______

Sandra, vice-president of purchasing

______

Gary, WCS software rollout team leader

______

Lauren, KIS software rollout team leader

______

Bob, I/T training manager

______

Connie, CIO