Book Image

User Training for Busy Programmers

By : William Rice
Book Image

User Training for Busy Programmers

By: William Rice

Overview of this book

If you need to write a successful software training course and are unsure of how to start, then this book gets right to the point with clear, concise directions for developing an end-user software course. This step-by-step job aid walks you through the process of developing a successful, instructor-led software class. There are many good books on training theory. This book takes a more practical, condensed approach for when you don't have time to learn training theory. It is based on fifteen years of technical writing and training experience. In under 100 pages, the book guides you through the process of developing an end-user software course using a method that is tested, proven, and based upon sound instructional theory.
Table of Contents (13 chapters)

Develop Follow-up Materials


Earlier, you developed criteria that will be used to determine the course’s success. For example, you may have determined that the students need to do the following:

  • Pass a written test

  • Perform the process taught in front of an instructor

  • Perform the process taught while on the job

At this point, you should develop the tools needed to measure these criteria. That is, you should:

  • Write the test that the students must pass

  • Develop the task they must perform in front of the instructor at the end of the class

  • Write the form the students’ supervisors will use to evaluate the students’ on-the-job proficiency

You should get buy-in from the course sponsors on whatever test or form you develop. It is the sponsors who agreed to the course’s criteria for success. They should also understand and agree to the methods used to measure those criteria.

Example of a Follow-up Course Evaluation

Most course evaluations measure only the students’ satisfaction with the course. The evaluation...