Jul 31 2015

Final Friday of the Month: Part 7 – Assessing Your T&D/ Learning/ Knowledge Systems

In this month’s Final Friday Feature – for July 2015 – we will address…

6 O’clock: T&D Product and Service Line Development/
Acquisition System

6.1 T&D Product and Service Line Development and Acquisition Program Management Process

6.2 T&D Custom Development Process

6.3 T&D Purchased Product Acquisition Process

6.4 T&D Purchased Product Modification Process

6.5. Existing T&D Maintenance Process

Preface

This 12-part Blog series addresses the systems and processes of an organizational entity addressing T&D/ Learning/ Knowledge Management.

Original source is my 2001 book… T&D Systems View

Free Book PDF

For more on this model please see the free 400+ page book: T&D Systems View at www.eppic.biz – which is intended as both an analytic and design tool – here: https://eppic.biz/resources/free-book-pdfs/free-book-pdf-td-systems-view/.

The T&D/ L&D Clockface Model

We are “rockin’ round the clock” – so-to-speak – starting from the 12 O’Clock portion of the model – the most important sub-system in the system you have in place for T&D/ Learning/ Knowledge Management – IMO.

Your models and thoughts may vary. And may need to.

The T&D Clock-Face Model

The 12 clockface positions of the T&D Systems View model each represent a subset of the total system’s Processes of T&D. Not all are of equal consequence, and therefore, imporatnce – and then worthy of improvement efforts. Sometimes you need to live with it as it is and do the best given current realites. But othertimes you need to address the improvement potential inheirant in any poor practices, policies and processes.

The T&D Systems View model’s (sub) Systems are organized into three groupings. Each of the 12 Systems’ Processes – the target of your assessment/analysis and/or design/development of improvement efforts. The 3 groupings are:

– T&D Leadership Systems and Processes

– T&D Core Systems and Processes

– T&D Support Systems and Processes

Here is the “big picture” – with System Call-Outs – for your once over…

Back to the model…

6 O’clock: T&D Product and Service Line Development/
Acquisition System

6.1 T&D Product and Service Line Development and Acquisition Program Management Process

6.2 T&D Custom Development Process

6.3 T&D Purchased Product Acquisition Process

6.4 T&D Purchased Product Modification Process

6.5. Existing T&D Maintenance Process

T&D Product and Service Line Development/Acquisition System – This system’s processes organize the efforts to build, buy and use, or buy and modify T&D consistent with the performance-based requirements and the T&D product line architecture designs, as well as the services needed to meet the high-payback, critical business needs.

6.1 T&D Product and Service Line Development and Acquisition Program Management Process

Process Outputs and Their “Utilities”

The key outputs from the T&D Product and Service Line Development and Acquisition Program Management Process include the following:

Key Outputs	Key Utilities
Portfolio/program plans for developing and updating T&D content, reusing “content chunks” as appropriate	• For program/project management plans and budgets.• For ongoing deployment after pilot-testing.
Portfolio/program plans for purchasing T&D content	• For program/project management plans and budgets.• For ongoing deployment after pilot-testing and modification (as the license agreement permits with the copyright holder).

Is It Broken? Clues and Cues

Your T&D Product and Service Line Development and Acquisition Program Management Process may be broken if

You can’t measure positive return on investment and economic value add actuals against plans for T&D products/services.
T&D product and service development is being done because someone internal to the T&D system thinks it’s a good idea—the T&D portfolio is not being managed.
T&D products and services developed aren’t maintained due to T&D resource constraints.
Resources are not reallocated as needed based on changes in business direction.
You don’t know what to work on next if a project is completed early.
Projects are not sequenced to take appropriate advantage of synergies (e.g., similar content/subject matter experts between projects).

6.2 T&D Custom Development Process

Process Outputs and Their “Utilities”

The key outputs from the T&D Custom Development Process include the following:

Key Outputs	Key Utilities
T&D product “masters” for ongoing deployment (composed of content chunks)	• These are the products of the overall T&D product line.• The chunks, either shareable or unique, reduce overall life-cycle costs for the product and the entire T&D product line.

Is It Broken? Clues and Cues

Your T&D Custom Development Process could be broken if your

T&D does not meet the established objectives for transferring awareness, knowledge, or skills to the target audiences.
T&D development efforts are somewhat ad hoc, not in control, and not predictable in terms of their eventual costs or cycle times.
T&D development does not design and build appropriately reusable “chunks” of content for sharing with other target audiences.

6.3 T&D Purchased Product Acquisition Process

Process Outputs and Their “Utilities”

The key outputs from the T&D Purchased Product Acquisition Process are the same as for the prior process and include the following:

Key Outputs	Key Utilities
Purchased/licensed T&D products for ongoing deployment	These are some of the products of the overall T&D product line.

Is It Broken? Clues and Cues

Your T&D Purchased Product Acquisition Process may be broken if

T&D bought often doesn’t make the grade in terms of creating the awareness, knowledge, and skills as measured in the target audiences during/after the T&D deployment.
It takes too long evaluating and deciding on “low-value return”/“low-hanging fruit” T&D that you could simply purchase.

6.4 T&D Purchased Product Modification Process

Process Outputs and Their “Utilities”

The key outputs from the T&D Purchased Product Modification Process include the following:

Key Outputs	Key Utilities
T&D products for ongoing deployment	These are the products of the overall T&D product line.

Is It Broken? Clues and Cues

Your T&D Purchased Product Modification Process may be broken if

You have/have had any legal issues (lawsuits, complaints, or future risks) resulting from making modifications to copyrighted T&D materials.
The cycle times and costs for making modifications are not reliably predictable.
T&D bought and modified often doesn’t make the grade in terms of creating the awareness, knowledge, and skills as measured in their target audiences during/after the T&D deployment.

6.5. Existing T&D Maintenance Process

Process Outputs and Their “Utilities”

The key outputs from the Existing T&D Maintenance Process include the following:

Key Outputs	Key Utilities
T&D products for ongoing deployment	These are the updated products of the overall T&D product line.

Is It Broken? Clues and Cues

Your Existing T&D Maintenance Process may be broken if

T&D products are still being deployed that are in need of updating.
Updating cycle times and costs cannot be reasonably predicted.
You never stop updating.
Maintenance is not a resourced, prioritized project effort.

Part 7 Summary

If you don’t have a deliberate and flexible/responsive architecture of products and services via some master planning efforts in collaboration between customers and suppliers – the critical business issues will not be properly addressed because the T&D System may be aligned to something, but it is mis-aligned to the enterprise’ Critical Business Issues – CBIs. And done so in a manner that communicates to all areas and concerns. IMO.

6 O’clock: T&D Product and Service Line Development/
Acquisition System

6.1 T&D Product and Service Line Development and Acquisition Program Management Process

6.2 T&D Custom Development Process

6.3 T&D Purchased Product Acquisition Process

6.4 T&D Purchased Product Modification Process

6.5. Existing T&D Maintenance Process

For more on this T&D Systems View model – please see the free 400+ page book: T&D Systems View at www.eppic.biz – which is intended as both an analytic and design tool.

For the free PDF to download – or the paperback book for $20 – please go: here.

https://eppicinc.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/tdsv-book-2007-pdf.pdf

Prior Posts In This 2015 Series

Part 1: 12 O’clock: The T&D Governance & Advisory System – January 2015

Part 2: 1 O’clock: The T&D Strategic Planning System – February 2015

Part 3: 2 O’clock: The T&D Operations Planning & Management System – March 2015

Part 4: 3 O’clock: T&D Cost/Benefits Measurement System – April 2015

Part 5: 4 O’clock: T&D Process Improvement System – May 2015

Part 6: 5 O’clock: T&D Product and Service Line Design System – June 2015

Free Book PDF

Again – for more on this model please see the free 400+ page book: T&D Systems Viewatwww.eppic.biz – which is intended as both an analytic and design tool – here. It is also available as a $20 paperback.

Guy W. Wallace

Guy W. Wallace, has been an external ISD/HPT consultant since 1982, is the president of EPPIC Inc., and is a past president of ISPI – the International Society for Performance Improvement.

He has consulted with 75+ clients on Instruction and Documentation efforts since 1982, including projects with more than 45 F500 firms.