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    User Training for Busy Programmers
    User Training for Busy Programmers
    User Training for Busy Programmers
    Ebook199 pages1 hour

    User Training for Busy Programmers

    By William Rice

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    About this ebook

    This book is concise and pithy, focusing on action rather than theory. While many books explore the subject of adult learning, User Training for Busy Programmers shows the reader how to apply a proven method in a systematic way enabling busy programmers to produce excellent results without adding too much to their workload. William's approach is to start in the middle and work your way outward. He based this approach on an article he wrote about how to develop user documentation. "I wrote this when I realized that my method for creating user documentation and training under tight deadlines was nothing like what I learned in school. I really expected heavy criticism from other writers and trainers when I published this article, but apparently my heresy was well-received. It's one of the most-linked-to and highest-rated articles on my website. By the time I saw the need for a book that enables non-trainers to develop software training courses, I had thoroughly developed the middle-out approach." Do you need to write a successful software training course? Are you unsure of how to start? Would you like a step-by-step project plan to guide you in the development of your software class? This book gets right to the point with clear, concise directions for developing an end-user software course.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPackt Publishing
    Release dateJun 14, 2005
    ISBN9781847190338
    User Training for Busy Programmers
    Author

    William Rice

    William Rice is the nationally-known food and wine columnist for The Chicago Tribune. One of America's most respected authorities on food preparation and wine, he has co-edited three editions of Where to Eat in America, a national restaurant guide, wrote Feasts of Wine and Food, a wine guide with recipes, and has contributed articles to Travel and Leisure, GQ, Gourmet, Elle, and Connoisseur. Before joining the Tribune, he was the editor-in-chief of Food & Wine magazine. Bill lives in Chicago with his wife, Jill Van Cleave, a specialist in recipe development.

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      Book preview

      User Training for Busy Programmers - William Rice

      Table of Contents

      User Training for Busy Programmers

      Credits

      About the Author

      Preface

      What This Book Covers

      Conventions

      Reader Feedback

      Customer Support

      Errata

      Questions

      1. Introduction

      Misconceptions about Training

      Myth: Your Software Training Class should be about the Software

      Myth: Your Students Want or Need to Know It All

      Myth: In a Training Class, the Instructor Must Answer All of the Students’ Questions

      Myth: When Teaching Software, You Should Begin at the Beginning

      Haven’t we Solved these Problems with IDS?

      The Checklist

      Step 1: The Setup

      Set Criteria and Get Buy-In

      Step 2: Develop In-class Exercises

      Test and Revise Exercise Files

      Step 3: Develop Lectures

      Step 4: Develop the Demo

      Step 5: Package the Course

      The Student Guide

      The Instructor Guide

      Step 6: Set Up and Test Run

      Test the Room Setup

      Practice Run

      Revise the Course

      Develop Follow-up Materials

      Step 7: Deliver the Course

      Summary

      2. The Setup

      Who Needs to be Trained?

      Action

      Audience (Select One)

      Type of Information to Cover for this Audience (Select All that are Applicable)

      Write the Learning Objectives

      Checkpoint

      Action

      Is This a Need that a Training Class Can or Should Fulfill?

      Checkpoint

      Action

      What Scenario will give your Clients the Most Realistic Experience in the Classroom?

      Define the Process

      One Process or Several?

      Checkpoint

      Action

      Develop a Training Scenario

      What is a Training Scenario?

      A Special Case: Software Toolkits

      The Scenario

      Checkpoint

      Action

      Write an Exercise Description for Each Learning Objective

      Examples of Learning Objectives and Exercise Descriptions

      Example 1

      Objective

      Exercise Description

      Example 2

      Objective

      Exercise Description

      Checkpoint

      Action

      Set the Criteria for Success

      Action: Write Criteria for Success

      Checkpoint

      Get Buy-in from Sponsors

      Summary

      3. Develop In-class Exercises

      Prepare Software for the Exercises

      Checkpoint

      Action

      Write the Directions

      Save a Version of the Data after Each Exercise

      Extended Example of Exercise Directions

      Writing Style for Directions

      Sentence Structure: Put Conditional Phrases First

      Start Each Numbered Step with an Action

      State the Result of Each Action

      Use the Second Person

      Differentiate Button Pushes, Menu Items, and the Text Displayed on Screen

      Separate Nested Menu Items

      Action

      Test and Revise the Exercise Files

      Return the Training Files and Development Workstation to its Pre-Class Condition

      Step Through the Exercise Directions

      Checkpoint

      Action

      Summary

      4. Develop Lectures

      Develop Lectures Around the Exercises

      A Structured Approach to Developing Lectures

      List of Suggested Slides

      Unit Title

      Purpose

      When is This Procedure Performed?

      Who Performs this Procedure?

      What Information is Entered During this Procedure?

      What Processing does the System Perform on the Data Entered During this Procedure?

      What is the Result of this Procedure?

      Special Fields

      Demonstration

      Exercise

      Review

      Questions?

      Checkpoint

      Action

      Summary

      5. Develop the Demo

      Write the Demo Instructions

      Use Unique Data for the Demo

      Developing a Demo — Key Steps

      Write the Demo Speaking Points

      How to Write Demo Speaking Points

      Example of Demo Directions with Speaking Points

      Checkpoint

      Action

      Summary

      6. Package the Course

      The Student Guide

      Table of Contents

      Introduction

      State the Goals of the Course

      Describe the Intended Audience

      List Prerequisites

      Duration and Class Size

      Training Group Contact Information

      Printouts of the Slides

      Directions for the In-class Exercises

      Resources and Contacts

      The Instructor Guide

      Table of Contents

      Introduction

      Printouts of the Slides

      Directions for the In-class Exercises

      Resources and Contacts

      Slide Show Files

      Checkpoint

      Action

      Summary

      7. Setup and Test Run

      Test the Room Setup

      Practice Run

      Action

      Develop Follow-up Materials

      Example of a Follow-up Course Evaluation

      Checkpoint

      Action

      Summary

      8. Deliver the Course

      Presenting your Course

      Summary

      9. A Final Note

      Index

      User Training for Busy Programmers

      Develop effective software training classes quickly and easily

      William Rice

      User Training for Busy Programmers

      Develop effective software training classes quickly and easily

      Copyright © 2005 Packt Publishing

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

      Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author, Packt Publishing, nor its dealers or distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused either directly or indirectly by this book.

      Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.

      First edition: May 2005

      Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.

      32 Lincoln Road

      Olton

      Birmingham, B27 6PA, UK.

      ISBN: 1-904811-45-0

      www.packtpub.com

      Cover Design by www.visionwt.com

      Credits

      Author

      William Rice

      Commissioning Editor

      David Barnes

      Technical Editor

      Nanda Padmanabhan

      Layout

      Nanda Padmanabhan

      Indexer

      Ashutosh Pande

      Proofreader

      Chris Smith

      Cover Designer

      Helen Wood

      About the Author

      William Rice develops software-training courses, user documentation, and knowledge management solutions. He lives and works in New York City. During his 15-year career he has worked with a variety of Fortune 500 clients. He specializes in training and knowledge solutions for software that supports business processes. This is his first book for Packt Publishing. He can be reached via his website at williamrice.com.

      This first book is for you, Lisa. Thank you for encouraging me to stick with it.

      Preface

      Training users is

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