The regional solution
COMET’s requirement of supporting the regional readiness needs of a global audience is met by providing a unique view — not surprisingly found under Regional Views. There, content prepared by the local regions, in local languages, provides the type of region-specific support that results in augmenting the consistency of a corporate solution with the specific implementation that reflects the needs of responding to the unique customer requirements.
For example, COMET provides guidance
on how to create and profile a contact in
Figure 5 Sample screen from French Regional View
Ensuring content quality and usability
In addition to organizing content in various work contexts, the design team paid careful attention to content quality, design, and usability. COMET content typically takes the form of Quick Guides, which consist of succinct, targeted, and formatted content for easy visual review and application by users. EPG Worldwide Readiness manages content collection, publication, and maintenance, and ensures design consistency, and instructional effectiveness.
Content development process
In practice, the COMET content development process is organic in that it is ever-evolving. The primary goal, however, is timely publication of readiness support for the tools and processes that drive sales worldwide. We cannot overemphasize the importance of this — if a user turns for readiness support to COMET and does not find what he needs, he will question the overall credibility of COMET. Good news travels fast, bad news travels faster.
To maintain content integrity and quality, subject matter experts in each of the specific readiness domains, in close collaboration with a readiness partner, generate the COMET content in the form of Quick Guides using simple templates. An information design expert reviews the guides to assure consistency of styles and design, and they are then published on a daily basis. The Home Page calls out new content on the left navigation bar to facilitate access to new information. A six-month review cycle, in which the content owners are notified to update content, maintains the quality over time.
The (evolving) template
A template is the primary tool used to accelerate the initial content development process. At first, a Microsoft Word template was used, but this has evolved into a Front Page template (see Figure 6), and InfoPath is currently being considered for use. The template is in three high-level sections.
- Metatag info (data that supports the content management process, such as indexing, creation date, content owner, etc.)
- Body (includes simple information architecture, like an overview, process steps, other resources, etc.)
- Common objects (these are common to all COMET pages. For example, buttons that support user feedback, printing, or the option for users to add a page to their favorites)
Figure 6 Sample content template
The subject matter experts focus their attention on completing the first two portions of the template (Metatag Info and Body). To expedite the content generation, content managers and designers organize content into identifiable types and consumable learning objects.
Once COMET resources receive the template, they ensure that the content is understandable at the new user level, that graphic formats are followed, and that advanced applications of information principles are applied. They also complete the metatag information; for example, notes that indicate the content should be reviewed after a specific time period.
This is one area where the ability to manage document creation and editing within a group via Share-Point Portal Server proved handy. The ability to set notification alerts, and have that entire process automated, fed the efficiency of managing thousands of pages of COMET content.
COMET — Driven by the need for speed and effectiveness
In practice, the COMET content development process adheres to a weekly schedule, where draft pages, submitted by Tuesday noon, go to publication by Friday. This means that the entire COMET content development process, including content reorganization, application of formatting and styles, and content management data, takes place between Tuesday afternoon and Friday morning. As was mentioned earlier, speed is the key to publication.
The other source of content is field employees, either suggesting content that reflects region-specific needs, or feedback supported by COMET’s automated feedback process. This ensures that COMET content reflects both the corporate information needs and those of the regions and users.
COMET also provides opportunities for learners to access other in-depth material (such as white papers) and Web-based training objects (such as simulations and animations). Providing a range of relevant resources keeps learning focused on driving outcomes that meet individual and organizational goals.
Evaluating the results
To ensure continual COMET content accuracy, relevancy, and currency, each COMET page provides users with the opportunity to rate its effectiveness. COMET ratings use a single rating scale and the following questions and responses:
“I expect to improve my job performance by applying what I learned on this page.”
- Strongly Disagree
- Disagree
- Somewhat Agree
- Agree
- Strongly Agree
Benefits
Feedback from the field has been positive. In worldwide Train-the-Trainer sessions, COMET received a rating of 4.2 out of a possible 5. Here are some sample comments regarding COMET.
“EPG is deploying a new readiness
tool called COMET — it is really excellent and will revolutionize how people
get their content.” — EMEA (Europe, Middle
East,
“COMET content is solid ... it has what I need to deploy.” — EPG Business Manager
Preliminary field findings on COMET usability and adoption are also positive, and indicate that COMET is considered four to five times more effective in retention and transference to the job than just employing traditional readiness methods. The findings also indicate a significant reduction in training time. For example, COMET cut to four hours what an instructor-led course typically took eight hours to accomplish.
Feedback from train-the-trainer sessions
Table 1, below, summarizes feedback from Train-the-Trainer sessions conducted worldwide. In preparation for the rollout of the CRM software and related applications, trainers around the world had exposure to the various readiness tools they would have at their disposal — instructor-led training materials (Content/Materials), Web courses, and COMET resources — and they evaluated the overall learning effectiveness of this blended approach. This feedback shows the value of COMET from the perspective of field staff with firsthand familiarity with providing effective readiness training.
|
Train-the-Trainer Evaluations |
Total |
|
|
N |
Avg |
|
| Comet | 73 | 4.28 |
| Content/Materials | 75 | 4.01 |
| Web courses | 73 | 4.22 |
| Learning effectiveness | 75 | 4.26 |
It’s important to remember that COMET, while an important and innovative part of the readiness solution, is not positioned as a solution unto itself. It offers the advantage of 24/7 availability, is part of the learner’s natural work environment, and is easily maintained to remain current and relevant, but it is only part of a comprehensive readiness strategy.
Access methods
In addition to accessing COMET through Outlook, users can also access COMET through several other methods. These include going directly to the COMET URL from tools such as CRM (typically through Help Files), and other support tools.
Next steps
EPG Worldwide Readiness and Mosaic are gathering feedback, investigating other content management efforts within Microsoft, and exploring additional ways to improve efficiency, consistency, and usability. For example, user feedback has prompted the development of an expanded set of visual icons that will allow users to identify quickly the type of content (Job Aid, Quick Guide, or Simulation) that is available through COMET.
Another specific area of focus is the automation of content collection and management. Current plans are to leverage InfoPath as a means to deploy templates that will provide a fundamentally sound information structure. These templates will support the collection of Quick Guides by enabling subject matter experts to regionalize content more efficiently. This will also automate content management processes, providing additional efficiency and improved management.
Our next steps include identifying ways to gather additional data regarding the usefulness of COMET content through the page evaluation method described earlier in Evaluation Methods, as well as getting feedback from field sales management, and investigating a “COMET Mobile” version that will enable sales staff to access COMET content using devices like phones and PDAs. The augmentation of COMET’s tracking and reporting capabilities is also of great interest to the EPG Worldwide Readiness team. The objective of this focus area is to ensure that COMET is able to provide region-specific, contextually rich reports on the users, the usage, and the quality of content.
Summary
Today’s work environment demands that workers adapt to change rapidly and are committed to continuous learning. Business leaders and leaders in the human performance field have been calling for new ways to meet the needs of learners. COMET is a compelling example of how technology supports real-time solutions that allow learners to stay productive while developing new skills and knowledge. COMET is a key component of a comprehensive approach that gives Microsoft’s Worldwide Enterprise sales force a “natural” readiness solution. Wrapped in Outlook and available offline, COMET is a solution that means improved productivity, increased customer face time, and, ultimately, increased revenues for Microsoft.
For all of its potential success as an application, it is important to recognize COMET as part of a coordinated solution that includes all components of EPG’s Worldwide Readiness Strategy. Based on a solid audience analysis and developed within an aggressive schedule, COMET blends technology with leading-edge instructional design and human performance improvement practices to provide effective just-in-time readiness support.
