Jun 11 2020

T&D: On-Boarding Before On-Going Development Example

This is one of my most favorite projects – which led to many more projects. For this target audience – and others across Network Systems and in other parts of AT&T.

Dude, What’s My Job?

THAT – in other words, was a question I was asked many times by Product Planners and Product Managers during Analysis – many who had been in the job for years – who felt comfortable showing their vulnerability to me.

So I had what’s nowadays known as EMPATHY – and made damn sure that I would help them each – figure it out – for themselves … and their staffs.

Good ISDers always had empathy … by the way.

And always focused on the Performance Requirements … by the way.

And not figure it out with some generic, one-size-fits all definition.

Our analysis efforts showed us that of the 800+ Product Managers/Planners – which soon became 1100 – almost every job was indeed different.

The core reason that many were worried that they weren’t doing the job – as every job was indeed different – based on their product and where it was in the Life Cycle – and their job assignment which was one or more Product management functions (which I would normally call Areas of Performance). And worse – one could “own” parts of a function in combination with parts of other functions – and those responsibilities varied by Products!!!

Yikes – indeed!

I am an Instructional Architect – and have been modularizing – architecting – Instructional Content since 1979.

Part of that is what later (in the mid-late 1980s) a 5 Tier set of Instructional Content. Mostly so that I could impact the ReUse of Content either “as is” and/or “after modification.” Something that engineers and manufacturing folks appreciated IMMEDIATELY.

And I was able to ReUse many modules from this effort in a design of a CAD for AT&T Microelectronics two years later, in 1988.

There was a blend – after demystifying the Enterprise, AT&T, and the business groups within AT&T, and then the SBUs of Network Systems and then the local Product Management functions within Marketing within each of the 5 SBUs – Strategic Business Units of Network Systems.

Network Systems was the old Western Electric organization – the manufacturing arm of Ma Bell, as AT&T was often known.

There Are Many Rule #1s

And one of those is to “allow no surprises!”

The 1st Module of the Modular Curriculum

This was the first client I got to agree to using video as the first module! In 1986, after I’d been doing these as a consultant since 1982. And this CAD effort was my 16th as a consultant.