Course content development for business driven learning solutions

• US 20040002039A1
• Filed: 03/28/2003
• Published: 01/01/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Accenture Global Services Limited (Accenture PLC)
• Original Assignee: Accenture Global Services GmbH (Accenture PLC)
• Inventors: Stovall, Thomas Kenneth, Hubbell, John R., Draper, William Christopher, Foley, Christopher P.
• Granted Patent: US 7,860,736 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 434/118
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063 Operations research, analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/00 Electrically-operated educational appliances working with questions and answers G09B7/00; simulators G09B9/00; advertising or displaying in general G09F
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 7/02 of the type wherein the student is expected to construct an answer to the question which is presented or wherein the machine gives an answer to the question presented by a student
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 7/04 characterised by modifying the teaching programme in response to a wrong answer, e.g. repeating the question, supplying a further explanation

Abstract

Disclosed herein are learning solutions that utilize a content development module that is nested inside a total learning solution and identifies, develops, and manages required course content. A content development module is particularly adapted to assemble and compile custom learning content materials for use in the learning solution by appropriately taking business strategy alignment and other information into consideration. The learning content may be developed as a third party service in accordance with a service level agreement. A service level agreement is a contract between the learning solution services provider and the learner (i.e., outsourcing) organization that establishes the requisite quality and effectiveness levels of the learning solution services as measured by one or more performance metrics. In such cases where a service level agreement is present, internal performance metrics are constantly evaluated to ensure that the content development and management resources necessary for a given learning effort are properly reserved, allocated, and/or utilized.

Claims

1. A method for preparing course content and materials for instructing employees wherein said content and materials are be aligned with strategic business goals and priorities of an employer organization, said method comprising:

identifying business goals and strategies of the employer organization;

said business goals and strategies having priorities relative to one another by said employer organization;

generating learning effort proposals in light of requests for learning received from said employer organization, said learning effort proposals being derived from said learning requests so as to further said prioritized business goals and strategies;

designing a course in light of each said prepared learning effort proposal, said designing of said course comprising drafting a course topic outline, a development plan, and a work plan that are associated with one another and reflect said relative priorities of said goals and strategies, wherein said development plan describes subject matter of the course content and materials needed to fulfill said prepared learning effort proposal, and wherein said work plan defines production timelines and assigns specific tasks for the development of said content and materials described by said development plan;

developing course content and materials covering topics identified in each said course topic outline according to said associated development plan and said associated work plan; and

certifying that said developed course content and materials are consistent with said relative priorities of said goals and strategies of said employer organization.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said drafting of said course outline comprises:

performing needs, audience, role impact, curriculum impact, and certification impact analyses;

selecting an appropriate delivery method in light of findings from said analyses; and

organizing topics identified in said learning effort proposal in light of said selected delivery method to produce said course topic outline.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said drafting of said development plan comprises:

preparing a deployment plan for content and materials that must be prepared in light of said associated course topic outline;

preparing a cost and resource plan for said content and materials that must be prepared; and

utilizing subject matter experts to describe the subject matter of the course content and materials that must be prepared taking into account said cost and resource plan.

4. The designing method according to claim 1, wherein said drafting of said work plan comprises:

designing a test approach for said learning effort;

designing a certification testing plan; and

assigning project tasks to developers to develop particular items of content and materials that must be prepared according to said development plan.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein said work plan is a Gantt chart.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said course content and materials comprise sharable content objects, each object containing learning materials directed to a single topic area of instruction relevant to at least one learning effort developed for said employer organization.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein said developing of said course materials comprises building sharable content modules as identified in said work plan, and cataloging said developed sharable content modules according to their subject matter to facilitate reuse in later learning efforts.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the data repository may be searched for specific subject matter contained in said catalogued sharable content modules.

9. The method according to claim 6, wherein the said catalogued sharable content modules are stored in a data repository.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein certifying said developed course content and materials comprises administering instruction efficiency assessments following a limited delivery of said developed course content and materials to a focus group of said employees, and comparing the results of said administered efficiency assessments with predefined levels of acceptable performance.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein said method is outsourced from said employer organization according to a learning services agreement, said agreement detailing minimum service levels, and said performance metrics are utilized to gauge whether said produced course content and materials and resulting learning efforts are meeting said service levels.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein said identified business goals and strategies of said employer organization are used to define performance metrics reflected in said learning services agreement.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein said performance metrics comprise a development ratio that tracks production of course content and materials in light of expended costs and man-hours and elapsed time.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein said learning services agreement establishes a cost schedule that provides a pre-set standard set of charges for tasks performed during said developing of said course content and materials, and wherein said performance metrics are utilized to revise said cost schedule and manage quality of processing used in developing said course content and materials.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein said course content and materials are adapted for asynchronous delivery to said employees.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein said developing of said course content and materials comprises either purchasing or creating said content and materials.

24. The module for developing according to claim 1, wherein said course content and materials comprise sharable content objects, each object containing learning materials directed to a single topic area of instruction relevant to at least one learning effort developed for said organization.

25. The module for developing according to claim 24, wherein said developing of said course materials comprises building sharable content modules as identified in said work plan, and cataloging said developed sharable content modules according to their subject matter to facilitate reuse in later identified courses.

26. The module for developing according to claim 25, wherein the data repository may be searched for specific subject matter contained in said catalogued sharable content modules.

27. The module for developing according to claim 24, wherein the said catalogued sharable content modules are stored in a data repository.

17. A module for developing content and materials required to train members of an organization, said module adapted to operate within a learning solution adapted to provide training to the members of the organization, said learning solution comprising modules of interrelated and interdependent business processes including a business strategy alignment module containing related processes for recognizing and prioritizing business driven learning needs of said organization and implementing learning efforts to meet said needs, said module for developing comprising:

an interface with said business strategy alignment module to accept learning effort proposals therefrom, said learning effort proposals being generated in light of requests for learning by said organization, and said learning effort proposals being derived from said learning requests to identify courses that will further identified and prioritized business goals and strategies associated with said organization;

processes for designing a course in light of each said learning effort proposal accepted from said business strategy alignment module, said designing of said course comprising drafting a course topic outline, a development plan, and a work plan that are associated with one another and reflect said relative priorities of said goals and strategies;

processes for developing course content and materials covering topics identified in each said course topic outline according to said associated development plan and said associated work plan; and

processes for certifying that said developed course content and materials are consistent with said relative priorities of said goals and strategies of said employer organization.

18. The module for developing according to claim 17, wherein said drafting of said course outline comprises:

performing needs, audience, role impact, curriculum impact, and certification impact analyses;

selecting an appropriate delivery method in light of findings from said analyses; and

organizing topics identified in said learning effort proposal in light of said selected delivery method to produce said course topic outline.

19. The module for developing according to claim 17, wherein said development plan describes subject matter of the course content and materials needed to fulfill said prepared learning effort proposal

20. The module for developing according to claim 17, wherein said drafting of said development plan comprises:

preparing a deployment plan for content and materials that must be prepared in light of said associated course topic outline;

preparing a cost and resource plan for said content and materials that must be prepared; and

utilizing subject matter experts to describe the subject matter of the course content and materials that must be prepared taking into account said cost and resource plan.

21. The module for developing according to claim 17, wherein said work plan defines production timelines and assigns specific tasks for the development of said content and materials described by said development plan.

22. The module for developing according to claim 17, wherein said drafting of said work plan comprises:

designing a test approach for said learning effort;

designing a certification testing plan; and

assigning project tasks to developers to develop particular items of content and materials that must be prepared according to said development plan.

23. The module for developing according to claim 22, wherein said work plan is a Gantt chart.

28. The module for developing according to claim 17, wherein certifying said developed course content and materials comprises administering instruction efficiency assessments following a limited delivery of said developed course content and materials to a focus group of said employees, and comparing the results of said administered efficiency assessments with predefined levels of acceptable performance.

29. The module for developing according to claim 17, wherein said module is outsourced from said employer organization according to a learning services agreement, said agreement detailing minimum service levels, and said performance metrics are utilized to gauge whether said produced course content and materials and resulting learning efforts are meeting said service levels.

30. The module for developing according to claim 29, wherein said identified business goals and strategies of said employer organization are used to define performance metrics reflected in said learning services agreement.

31. The module for developing according to claim 29, wherein said performance metrics comprise a development ratio that tracks production of course content and materials in light of expended costs and man-hours and elapsed time.

32. The method according to claim 29, wherein said learning services agreement establishes a cost schedule that provides a pre-set standard set of charges for tasks performed during said developing of said course content and materials, and wherein said performance metrics are utilized to revise said cost schedule and manage quality of processing used in developing said course content and materials.

33. A method for developing sharable content modules of learning materials for employee courses that are aligned with strategic business goals and priorities of an employer organization, said method comprising:

receiving requests for new employee courses from said employer organization and identifying those that align with previously identified and prioritized goals of said employer organization; and

, for each request that is identified to align with said previously identified and prioritized goals;

drafting a course outline describing the topic content and delivery features for a course to that reflects the goals and strategies of an employer organization;

forecasting the consumption of production resources needed to develop sharable content modules consistent with said course outline, and reflecting said forecasts in a development plan;

defining a work plan to utilize said production resources to develop said content modules, said work plan assigning and reserving production resources necessary to produce content modules according to said development plan;

developing said sharable content modules using said reserved production resources in accordance with said course work plan;

monitoring the use of said reserved production resources consumed in said development of said sharable content modules; and

determining the difference between said forecasted consumption of said production resources with actual consumption of said production resources.

34. The developing method according to claim 33, wherein the said production resources are development man-hours.

35. The developing method according to claim 33, wherein the said production resources are financial costs.

36. The development method according to claim 33, further comprising:

revising said forecasted consumption of production resources in accordance with said determined difference between said forecasted consumption of said production resources and actual consumption of said production resources; and

allocating said production resources in accordance with said difference between said forecasted consumption of said production resources and said actual consumption of said production resources.

37. The development method according to claim 33, further comprising:

determining a production efficiency metric consistent with said forecasted consumption of production resources and said monitored actual consumption of production resources; and

allocating said production resources in accordance with said determined production efficiency metric.

38. The development method according to claim 37, further comprising:

revising said forecasted consumption of said production resources in accordance with said determined production efficiency metric.

39. The development method according to claim 37, wherein the said performance metric is a ratio of actual development man-hours to forecasted development man-hours.

40. The development method according to claim 37, wherein said performance metric is a ratio of actual development financial costs to forecasted development financial costs.