Book Image

Oracle User Productivity Kit 3.5

By : Dirk Manuel
Book Image

Oracle User Productivity Kit 3.5

By: Dirk Manuel

Overview of this book

As the complexity of software applications increases and the length of the implementation life cycles decreases, companies are looking for effective ways of training users in new applications, and the new releases of existing applications. Oracle's User Productivity Kit solves these problems by enabling the rapid creation of software application simulations, which are used for training purposes or to generate business documents. Although UPK provides such advanced features, nothing has been written about this application yet. This book provides a guided approach to building high-quality, re-functional simulations of tasks performed in software applications. With this book in hand, it is easy for organizations that are implementing or upgrading software to meet their full training and documentation requirements. This book explains how to harness all of the functionality provided by Oracle's User Productivity Kit, formerly known as OnDemand, to develop better quality training. It also covers the advanced topics of customizing UPK's built-in delivery formats, and defining new ones to extend the capabilities of UPK. This book explains how to make the most of Oracle User Productivity Kit's available functionality to create high-quality simulations. These simulations can be used during instructor-led training, self-directed learning, or refresher training. By following the approach described in this book, you will create world-class training material that your trainees will find useful, engaging, and informative. As a result, they will remember more of what they are taught, and will be better equipped to use the application on which you are training them. In turn, they will become more productive sooner, make fewer mistakes, and require less support. To ensure effective knowledge transfer through training simulations, it is necessary to add a business context to recordings, and to provide additional explanations. This book will teach you more than simple mouse-clicks and keystrokes.

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Oracle User Productivity Kit 3.5
Dirk Manuel
Sep, 2009 | 540 pages
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Table of Contents (21 chapters)
Oracle User Productivity Kit 3.5
Oracle User Productivity Kit 3.5
Credits
Credits
About the author
About the author
Acknowledgment
Acknowledgment
About the reviewer
About the reviewer
Preface
Preface
Free Chapter
1
Oracle User Productivity Kit
Oracle User Productivity Kit
What is UPK?
Why use UPK?
How does UPK work?
Deciding how you will use UPK
Summary
2
Organizing your Library
Organizing your Library
Accessing the Library
Working in the Developer screen
Choosing a structure for your Library
Creating folders
Changing the Library structure
Summary
3
Recording a Simulation
Recording a Simulation
How UPK captures a recording
Capturing actions
Planning your recording
Setting your content defaults
Our first recording
Setting your Recorder options
Recording drag-and-drop activities
Summary
4
Editing a Topic
Editing a Topic
Understanding the Topic Editor screen
Adjusting actions
Changing the Bubble
Adjusting your recording
Summary
5
Building an Outline
Building an Outline
Outlines versus the Library
Organizing your Topics
Building an Outline
Summary
6
Publishing Your Content
Publishing Your Content
Pre-publication checks
Testing your content
Previewing a Topic
Publishing your content
Publishing for online use
Publishing Documents
Integrating published content into other environments
Summary
7
Version Management
Version Management
Checking in a content object
Checking out a content object
Working with document versions
Restoring a deleted document
Exporting and importing content
Converting content from a previous version of UPK or OnDemand
Summary
8
Allowing Alternatives
Allowing Alternatives
Adding Alternative Actions
Alternative Paths and Branches
Stretching the envelope with Alternative Paths
Summary
9
Adding Value to Your Topics
Adding Value to Your Topics
Providing context through the use of Custom Text
Putting Web Pages to good use
Using a Glossary
Summary
10
Adding Value in the Player
Adding Value in the Player
Working with roles
Jump-in Points
Facilitating effective searches
Allowing trainees to change their Player options
Summary
11
Incorporating Sound into Your Topics
Incorporating Sound into Your Topics
Displaying sound properties for a Frame
Setting up your sound options
Recording sound files for Template Text
Recording custom text sound files
Importing and exporting sound files
Deleting sound files
Publishing sound
Summary
12
Configuring UPK
Configuring UPK
Configuring Template Text
Creating a custom template
Defining a new object type
Customizing deployment packages
Removing the ability to skip in Try It! mode
Customizing document formats
Summary
13
Localizing Your Content
Localizing Your Content
Foreign-language templates
Providing existing content in a foreign language
Replacing screenshots with localized versions
Re-recording the sound files
Summary
Installing UPK 3.5
Installing UPK 3.5
Installing the UPK developer environment
Accessing UPK for the first time
Installing the Topic Player
Summary
Object Types
Object Types

About the reviewer

Sjoerd de Vries is a senior e-learning consultant and project manager for customers of SMS implementation engineers (http://www.smsnet.nl) in The Netherlands. In his work, he combines e-learning, documentation, and change management aspects to "engineers" in larger ERP and CRM software-implementation projects, for customers like SaraLee, Philip Morris, Ericsson, ExxonMobil, Hunter Douglas, ABN-AMRO, Dutch Ministry of Defense, and many others.

In these projects, the users of the software will have an important place in "learning by doing" and increasing performance support within their company. One of the preferred tools for almost 8 years is OnDemand software, currently renamed as Oracle's User Productivity Kit (UPK) as well as Knowledge Pathways (UPK Pro), also by Oracle.

As the first Dutch partner of OnDemand Software, SMS implementation engineers have implemented, trained, and supported OnDemand Software in Europe since 2001. Since 2004 the company also became a partner of Oracle to support the User Productivity Kit that was created by OnDemand Software to support Oracle implementations only. In 2008 OnDemand Software was acquired by Oracle and SMS implementation engineers became a Certified Partner of Oracle and also won the Best Partner Award.

The many years of experience in implementing, consulting, training, and content creation means that OnDemand and UPK have hardly any mysteries for Sjoerd. He became an appreciated and highly involved member of the OnDemand Software community (currently transitioned to the Oracle Support and LinkedIn communities about the UPK). At the last UPK Users' Conference in 2008, Sjoerd also won an "OSCA" award in an UPK contest. For his years of contribution to OnDemand and the later UPK, Sjoerd was asked to contribute to this book as a technical reviewer. Because sharing ideas and knowledge is his main job, he gladly cooperated and hopes that the readers of this book also will learn to like the UPK and understand its big advantage as a training and performance support tool.

Sjoerd has a Masters degree in Science and graduated after his study at the "Vrije Universiteit" in the Netherlands as a teacher (1st degree). After several jobs as a Biology teacher he joined SMS implementation engineers in 1998 and became an e-learning expert. Sjoerd is also chief editor of a Dutch web site for E-learning & Education.

Sjoerd is a real Dutch name and since it is often asked, it is pronounced as "shoe 'rd". Feel free to contact him via his company or LinkedIn.

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/somdv.

I would like to dedicate this book to my children, Finn, Freya, and Gil, who are the reason why I still do what I do (even if they have no idea what that is).

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