O2 – Rapid E-LearningIn this case study we outline the rapid e-learning development approach that has been developed by O2, with support from Kineo. This approach has enabled O2 to develop high quality e-learning modules in as little as five days to meet their business needs.
We explore:
You can download the full O2 and Kineo case study here (.pdf, 627 kb). Interested in how Kineo can help you accelerate your learning through rapid and custom approaches? Contact us, we’d be happy to help. The Starting Challenge – BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) Course ConversionsO2 had commissioned the development of six product e-learning modules from a bespoke e-learning provider for their corporate and SME sales teams. Whilst the e-learning was good and met its objectives, the timeframe to develop the courses was too long and the cost was too high. O2 needed to find a different way to meet their needs so they could take control of the learning and be able to deliver engaging courses within shorter time frames and have the flexibility to make timely updates to the content. They decided to look into the market for ways of converting their courses into a rapid model. O2 commissioned Kineo to build a prototype using Articulate to see how closely they could replicate a bespoke build using Articulate. Our approach: Articulate, but not as you know it… Kineo reviewed the existing courses and developed an Articulate equivalent using a custom Articulate skin and templates. The original bespoke course and the Articulate course are both shown below.
The initial courses were developed in a highly collaborative way. O2 provided the core content, developed with their subject matter experts around their sales model. Kineo built the courses in Articulate and created the art direction.
Enhancing the Rapid Process: Five Success Factors for Delivering in Five Days…Following the initial work O2 then looked at how they could develop a rapid approach which enabled the fast delivery of high quality courses. Speed matters at O2 as it operates in a very fast moving environment and therefore needs to deploy rapid processes which don’t compromise on quality or effectiveness. In some circumstances modules are required within five days, and often within ten days. As a consequence, with each new project we took the opportunity to make further refinements to the rapid processes. Here are some of the steps we’ve taken to work together to help us deliver at speed: 1. Make best use of rapid e-learning tools There are a lot of tools out there, so choosing the right one and then making it work for you is key to success:
2. Build strong working relationships and consistent teams Build strong relationships and ensure you have the same team members in order to build trust, knowledge and experience, which is essential in a rapid build. According to Kelly Lockwood at O2: “This has worked really well as they have built up their knowledge of our business, our products, how we work and our expectations. It means we have a common understanding and can flex between using internal resources or using Kineo at different stages of each project. I believe this has contributed to the success of our partnership and our ability to deliver courses to a high standard for our business, often with short timescales. Without this approach and the continued flexibility of Kineo and our internal teams we wouldn’t be able to meet our business objectives.” 3. Be flexible – partners, not client/vendor The new process also used a mixed build approach to maximise flexibility. The O2 team are skilled Articulate developers and know how to use it effectively. Thus they can either use their skilled in-house team or utilise Kineo for different parts of an e-learning module development as required. In some cases O2 built the modules themselves initially, then asked Kineo to create some custom animations, add audio or make updates to the content and publish for their LMS, due to time constraints and internal resource availability. On other modules Kineo built the core course and O2 recorded their own narrations and made the final changes.The key is flexibility each time to agree a process that works. 4. Make life easy for SMEs In the O2 process, the use of reusable templates or learning sequences helped capture knowledge from SMEs. There was also a flexible approach for reviews including conference calls to fit in with the busy schedules of the SMEs. 5. Enhance the tool with Flash animations There are times when you need functionality that is not available in a standard tool such as Articulate. This need can be met by the use of bespoke Flash animations which are used as and when needed to meet the requirement. Kineo produced a series of interactive Flash animated diagrams to illustrate how the various aspects of the products could be incorporated into different customer requirements and broke the content down into logical sections, taking Articulate further. Results: Quality at SpeedThe result of the rapid processes that have been developed and refined over time is the delivery of e-learning modules in under ten days, and in many cases within five days, which have met O2’s requirements in terms of budget and quality, and of course delivered on business critical deadlines. The feedback from users has been very positive as shown below: “I have completed them all; they are well constructed and logical.” Partner Manager "Just finished and I have to say it was very interesting! I thought I knew about the topic but I learned a lot here and it was in a good format." Channel Business Manager The overall benefits of the rapid approach are best summed up by O2: “We operate in a fast moving industry, which means that the timeframes and windows to launch a new product can be extremely narrow. We have to act quickly so the rapid development process and flexible approach we use at O2 helps us to meet these demands, by designing content ourselves in-house or working collaboratively with Kineo. We also have a specific budget for training allocated to each product launch. By combining internal and external resources we are able to deliver our courses within budget and to agreed timescales.” “This rapid approach has improved the effectiveness of our training offering to the business. Our courses are now more succinct and polished as we have been able to move the content forward using things like Flash animations. Our teams have always asked for a print-out of the course so this year we have introduced more resources in the courses, with documents to download and online resources providing a rich toolkit for our sales team. In Business Sales we employ the most expensive people in the company; using the rapid e-learning for critical parts of the training ensures that we make the best use of their downtime and reduce the amount of time away from customers.” Kelly Lockwood, O2 What Now? The Next ChallengesO2 and Kineo have built one of the most flexible joint rapid e-learning teams in the business and a proven rapid e-learning model, but things don’t stand still. We are continuing to refine the processes and we are looking at new tools and approaches with xml updating to develop content faster and to deliver even higher levels of quality. We’re now working together to look at how mobile learning can be designed and delivered with rapid models, building on these successes – so watch this space… |
