This blog is excerpted from the Performance Matters Podcast episode titled “Why Technology Matters with Workflow Learning” where Con Gottfredson, Ph.D., RwE invites his colleagues Carol Stroud and Sue Reber to discuss the critical role that technology plays in enabling the 5 Moments of Need framework.
Conrad Gottfredson (CG): Our focus is making sure
that organizations can implement the 5 Moments of Need framework and enable
workflow learning to ensure that people learn to perform. That is solved
through what we call a Digital Coach, which makes sure that within 2 clicks and
10 seconds, performers have what they need to do their jobs. Also, there is Targeted
Training—only for tasks with a Critical Impact of Failure that merits stopping
work to learn. All of this is enabled through technology. Today, we want to help
you look at technology through the framework of the 5 Moments and figure out
how to see it all. Carol, I'd like you to briefly introduce yourself and then
tell us how we can look at this technology landscape with all that's going on and
make sense of it.
Carol Stroud (CS): That's a that's a big question, Con.
Hi, my name is Carol Stroud and I've been working with this methodology for
almost 14 years, working closely with Con on lots of different projects, but
also being out and about working to implement it in different organizations. I've
certainly experienced many kinds of environments in terms of the different
puzzle pieces that fit for each one. From there, I started to understand that I
needed to learn the methodology. I did that and then found that once I started
to apply it in an organization, there was a ripple effect. It wasn't just about
doing the methodology, because the outcomes were so different: I wasn't doing eLearning
anymore. It was it was a very different focus. I had to figure out how we could
actually implement the methodology across a variety of different areas. One thing
that we always hit upon was the technology issue. How well did it fit in an
organization? Did they have what they need? What did we actually need
to implement in order to produce a successful solution?
With all that experience and working with Sue and Con on
different projects, we decided to put together an implementation framework for
the 5 Moments of Need. That framework—captured on strategic, tactical, and
technical levels—helped us start to wrap our arms around what implementation really
takes. Then, another layer went on top of that implementation framework, which
was a maturity model that lets us help people figure out where their
organization is in terms of maturity and implementation. There are four levels from
the very beginning to the very high end, and descriptions across those four
levels to explain what it looks like when you're at the very beginning of the
process, and what it looks like when you're rockin’ at the other end.
Technology is a huge piece of that conversation. In our process of putting together what we call “technology ecosystems”, Bob Mosher, Con, Sue, and I had some spirited conversations about how to break those down. We came up with three main areas to address when we talk about technology:
- Content, solution development, and maintenance. How do you create your content and maintain it?
- Delivery and optimization. How do you actually deliver the content or the solution and optimize it?
- Track, measure, report. How do you approach these key elements?
We carved out those areas in this way because when we look at the maturity levels of organizations, in some cases, all people can do is produce
content. Maybe it sits in a PowerPoint and maybe it’s delivered via email once
it becomes a PDF. Even though it’s low-tech, it still provides task-level
support; it still works and can be effective. This example gives us some of the
background as to why we look at the three different areas: content development,
content delivery, and how to actually track, measure, and report.
We put these lenses on top of all sorts of different
technologies. As Con said, initially, we were talking about a Digital Coach and
Targeted Training. But as we started to learn more and talk to different
people, we figured out that there's way more to this (things like adaptive
learning and different tools we can use to embed learning in the flow of work,
which make for a comprehensive series of Venn diagrams that we've put together).
Our overall intent for this work was to put some categories together and group
certain types of technologies into, for example, a Digital Coach category or an
LCMS category, etc. We wanted to map how all sorts of different technology comes
together and overlaps in a full 5 Moments of Need solution. We just needed that
foundational framework for us to be able to speak the same language. Often,
when talking about technology, people have their own perspectives and might
misinterpret that someone only means “this” (a very high end, integrated
solution) when in actual fact, the organization might not have that capability (they
only have a very low end, disintegrated solution). The question becomes, “How
can we produce good solutions using ALL types of technology?”
CG: Technology is important. Certainly, it's vital.
But not all organizations have access to all the technology they need to do
everything they want to do. One of the great advantages of working with Sue Reber
is that she's always looking, as does Carol, at how to implement and take
advantage of the technology an organization already has. Sue, as you have
worked with organizations and considered all the technology out there, what's
the greatest challenge you see as organizations work to step into 5 Moments of
Need capability (and getting the technology there to help them do that)?
Sue Reber (SR): Organizations have this tendency to
get wrapped up in the technology: what is it that we're going to build this 5 Moments
of Need solution in?! And that can really hurt you when you're trying to come
up with a good solution, because the methodology is really based around a
workflow, right? You can use any technology. You just need to start with what
you have available and go from there. You don't need to be thinking about
technology before you've actually implemented the methodology and applied it to
get to your workflow solution.
CG: Carol, I remember watching you at a time when
there was no technology, and you took the methodology and solved the problem
with a book of answers.
CS: I did live that dream, but it speaks so
successfully to what Sue was saying. We were pushing for a technology solution and
designing and working that way, but about six weeks out, it became apparent we
weren't going to get there. I still had the task of providing support to people
at the time they were going to need it, so I looked at the design of what we
had put together (intending for it to be put into the technology) and decided
we could actually create a print version. We had a workflow. We had tasks
identified. We knew what people needed to do and what they needed to know about
to go ahead and do it. So, within those six weeks, we were able to put together
a print solution, which was still effective because it followed the methodology.
It supported workers in the days of their new hospital opening. Interestingly,
it quickly went from print to a digital version as a PDF that went onto their
SharePoint site. Gradually, as the organization matured, different technologies
were used. But that's a great example of “start where you are". Have a solid
design based on the methodology and the Rapid Workflow Analysis, and then learn
to build as you move through those stages of maturity in the implementation framework.
CG: Sue, if I want to build a Digital Coach and you
tell me that methodology is the key, what do I need to have? What do I need to
be able to do with that methodology using technology?
SR: You need to be able to support a workflow. We have
a workflow map because everything is based on the workflow with our
methodology. And through that workflow, within 2 clicks or 10 seconds, we can
get to the support for every task, and all the support for a task is available from
the task itself. There is also immediate access to any supporting resources for
that task. This structure is going to be consistent. And the other critical piece
is being able to support all different audiences. Whether someone is an expert
or just starting out, we want to make sure to get them the support they need as
quickly as possible so they can get right back to work. If you think about it
that way, the technology itself is not as important. And you know, Carol talked
about a print version. I've built Digital Coaches in PowerPoint, we've
built Digital Coaches in SharePoint, and we've used a whole host of
different technologies (from low tech to high tech) to build effective support.
But the key thing is that it's all built around the workflow and what people do
on the job. Ultimately, you will evolve to where you're employing software
designed specifically to help you create, maintain, and deliver a Digital Coach. But what we want you to understand is that it's methodology that matters.
You can start from where you are. You can look internally at technology, and
you can prove it and grow. As your functional requirements increase, you can
look at other technologies, right?
CG: Yes, but those technologies must be founded upon
the right methodology. Is that what you're talking about, Sue?
SR: Yes. They're not the driver for the solution. The
workflow is the driver for the solution: what people need to do on the job.
CG: As we as we talk about technology, it's exciting
stuff. I mean, there are amazing things happening technologically. But we also
see a lot of decisions being made around technology with no forethought. So,
what is it that we need to do with that technology from a methodology
perspective? It is just so crucial that we are driving our technology decisions
based upon what it is that we need to be able to do. Technology enables
methodology and methodology ensures that technology is worth the investment.
Listen to the full
episode for more guidance around leveraging technology to enable the 5 Moments
of Need framework in your organization!
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