Project Delivery Process D120

D120 - Plan, prepare and conduct project team training

DEFINITION

Analysis of the training needs for the project team prior to the design, and development of the system.  A training plan will be devised and agreed.  Appropriate training will be prepared or procured and conducted.

SUMMARY

Normally, team members need training in various aspects of the technical solution, or other necessary techniques and skills, before productive work can commence.  Training may also be appropriate for management and other staff working with the project team.

Training needs will vary depending on the architecture of the solution, background of the staff concerned and their intended roles within the project.  An analysis of individual training needs should be made.

The options for providing the required training should be considered.  Typically this will be supplied by standard training courses or by preparing custom training or coaching sessions.

A recommended approach will be devised and agreed in the form of a training plan.  It may describe precise details of training sessions, responsibilities for development of training sessions, attendees, per session, etc.  Attention should also be paid to the facilities needed, for example booking training facilities and arranging access to computer systems.  The availability of staff should be checked before finalising the schedule.

Training is then procured or prepared and given in accordance with the plan.

PATH PLANNING GUIDANCE

Optional - usually required where team members do not have the requisite experience in some aspects of the solution.

DEPENDENCIES

Prerequisites (Finish-Start):

• technical architecture defined

Prerequisites (Finish-Finish):

• finalisation of the high level design architecture/scope of project
• finalisation of the composition of the project team and individual roles

Dependent procedures (Finish-Start):

• design and development tasks

RECEIVABLES

• Delivery Approach Definition (DAD) or equivalent statement of overall design architecture
• Project’s scope, organisation and roles - Project Constitution (PCON) and Project Organigramme (PORG) or equivalent
• Path Plan and Segment Plan or equivalent planning information

DELIVERABLES

• Project Team Training Needs Analysis IP (PTTNA-IP)
• Project Team Training Plan (PTTP)

TOOLS

• various guidelines and examples
• skeleton IP
• TQ - Training Feedback Form
• Examples: Training Schedule (simple)
• Application Software Training List

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF TASKS

The training needs analysis and the approach to the training are considered in Implementation Paper format.  Training Needs are the requirements for the training plan.  The options and recommendations are reviewed and a detailed approach is devised and agreed.  The detailed scheduling of courses, personnel and facilities should be controlled in the Project Team Training Plan normally using the project’s chosen planning tools and approach.

Requirements - Training Needs

All aspects of the project and all personnel involved may be considered. It is not necessary for all members of the team to become experts in all fields of the work.  It is, however, necessary to make sure sufficient competence is available to address all work.

The training should address skills needed for the design, development and implementation of the system.  It will normally be relevant to full or part time members of the project team, and to external personnel with some direct participation in the project, eg some specialist staff in the client’s IT department may require specific training in new software environments or tools.

It is not normal to train non-participants at this time, although there may be some specific external needs, eg explaining some new concepts to user management who will be called upon to input their requirements or advice.  For example, it may be necessary to arrange management coaching in Activity Based Management concepts before collecting detailed requirements concerning the  reorganisation of management information.

Typical needs will be:

• Overview of the chosen solution
• Overview of the chosen software and tools
• Detailed understanding of appropriate aspects of the functional design and capabilities of specific software applications
• Specialist understanding of the technical construction of the tools and the consequent technical and operational needs
• Briefing in appropriate management techniques and approaches
• Understanding of the processes involved in the design, development and implementation of packages software
• Understanding the processes involved in the management and control of the project

Options

Options to address the training needs should be considered.  Typically there will be three main sources for training courses or materials:

• Project team members may be able to provide training.  This is typically the case with overviews and training concerning the methodology and project control matters.  It may also be possible for experts within the team to prepare training or coach others, however, this may not necessarily provide the most cost-effective solution.
• The suppliers of the software components frequently have a programme of standard training courses which may be given in public or custom sessions.  Typically this will be used for staff who need detailed understanding of the software.
• Public courses may be available to cover other specialist training needs such as maintaining a new database.

The various approaches or types of training should also be considered.  “Hands-on” courses to gain actual experience of building the system are particularly valuable, but can be relatively difficult to accommodate - particularly where access to a training system is not available locally.  Many alternative approaches to training can be considered, ranging from personal study of manuals to full-scale formal training programmes.  Many common specialist skills are covered by audio-visual or computer-assisted self-study training courses.

Recommended approach

The recommended options are stated and agreed.

Detail of recommended approach

Full detail of the recommended approach should be stated.  This should identify which types of training should be made available to which populations.  It should state in detail how this will be achieved.  The overall IP should be reviewed and agreed.

Project Team Training Plan

A training schedule should be devised.  In small projects it may be possible to create a simple schedule - see the example “Training Schedule”.  In more complex cases, there will be many training activities, dependencies and availability considerations, so a detailed plan will be produced, typically using the same planning tools as used for the project’s detailed planning.

Several different factors may need to be considered in detail, for example:

• Additional project team work may need to be scheduled to prepare for training courses
• It will frequently be necessary to finalise arrangements with the vendor or other external trainers.  These will be of a minor contractual nature so care must be taken.
• The availability of trainers, training facilities, training systems and documentation must be established.
• The availability of individual staff should be considered, particularly if a normal service has to be maintained at the same time as other staff are being trained.
• Where applicable, administrative procedures may be needed to control course scheduling and booking.
• Individuals will need to be assigned to specific training sessions as appropriate.

Any impact upon the overall Path Plan or Segment Plan should be considered and addressed as appropriate.

Conduct Training

Training will be conducted in accordance with the plan.  In larger projects formal techniques may be required to ensure that staff attend as planned, that they achieve an appropriate level of competence and that the overall quality of the course was of an acceptable standard.  In accordance with Quality Management principles, feedback should be given to trainers to help monitor and improve the quality of training.