Elearning - June/July 2008 - (Page 36) intoanotherworld ule is designed to simulate an activity of project management, such as resource allocation or performance evaluation. While the user performs the activity, the “game play” is interrupted by events or messages that require a decision. The activity cannot continue (and its goal cannot be achieved) until these decision points are settled. Each course has its own activity; however, the activity type, such as resource allocation, may be reused in two or more chapters if appropriate. Events are choreographed as a set of nested decision points; earlier decisions can affect the appearance of later events, and the user may not experience all events, depending on the choices he or she makes. User performance in the activity (and in the branching simulation that rides on the activity) is based on three project success variables: quality, number of features and employee commitment. Every action and decision that the user makes in some way affects his or her score in one or all of these variables. With SAP’s organized approach, the project took less than one year. The procourse, learners must pass the simulation. The LMS system generates automatic reports that go to managers and identify which of their employees have successfully completed the courses. Job impact was measured through surveys, which asked about skills and abilities from each course objective and were completed by the participant, his/her manager and his/her direct reports. The survey was done before, shortly after, and six months after the program rolled out. “We learned that this was an effective program and, if we had it to do over, we would probably not do anything differently,” McGonigal says. “It’s been built to last.” Learners report that the scenarios and puzzles are engaging, and at the same time they are learning how to be more effective managers and improve virtual team effectiveness and communication. As a result of the training using Managing Virtual Teams, SAP has seen a return on investment of nearly $2 million. In addition, when comparing scores from a questionnaire taken before and after the e-learning program, the ratings of team Screen shot of an SAP training program that takes place in a “virtual world.” Photo courtesy SAP and Bersin & Associates. so we addressed these differences by using characters with names and features from a variety of ethnicities and then mixing them up. We also made sure that no one location in our story matched a single location in reality.” INTERACTIVE CONVERSATIONS The content of the curriculum is framed within narrative, interactive conversations that tie the six courses together. Each module follows the same course structure: interactive conversation, interactive tutorials and activity. The modules are designed so that that busy developers can learn in chunks, with stop/start functionality and sophisticated navigation tools that remember where users leave off. The user participates in conversations with two fictional program managers that discuss distributed development at a fictional software company. These interactive conversations present the user with a relevant problem and rhetorical question. They provide a “real world” example of a project aspect that can be used to illustrate the concepts discussed in the interactive tutorials, which deliver the “meat” of the content. Flowing naturally from the conversations are interactive exercises, such as multiple choice, multiple select and dragand-drop activities. Activities at the end of each module include engaging games and puzzles in which the user applies the concepts learned and reinforces the learning objectives. Each mod36 June/July 2008 Elearning! ‘If we had it to do over, we would probably not do anything differently.’ —Nanci McGonigal, SAP Business One gram was launched through the SAP Learning Portal, with all six modules coming out within one week of each other. Enrollment is free and open to all employees in the organization. To create interest in the new curriculum, information was published through several internal communications channels. These included e-mails to development managers, an article in the internal newsletter, and an article on the landing page of the corporate portal. “We also found that a trailer was an effective way to build excitement surrounding the course,” McGonigal says. “In the grand development scheme, the trailer did not require much time to produce, but it was a valuable tool in creating interest in the course.” In order to successfully complete the leaders improved by 26 percent. These results were the same across all three regions (Americas, India and Germany), supporting SAP’s goal of providing training that would be equally successful within and across different cultures. “The Managing Virtual Teams curriculum has helped to make SAP a highimpact learning organization because it is fun and interesting but, most importantly, effective,” says McGonigal. “Learners enjoy following the stories throughout the modules and solving the puzzles at the end. But while they are enjoying themselves, they are learning how to be more effective managers and improve virtual team effectiveness and communication. This program is a great example of the major emphasis that SAP puts on training.”
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