Overview

I designed, developed, and deliver Workday training to the campus as part of go-live installation goal.  Workday will replace our aging on premise PeopleSoft ERP.

The Workday HCM, Financials, and Payroll modules go live April 2023.  For users of these modules,  their current ways of understanding and performing their jobs will completely change.  The Student module will go live January 2024.

In support of my director’s vision, my design, development, and delivery goal for the project was to create a culture of engagement and adoption by gradually guiding users through levels of Workday proficiency in preparation for their campus role.

In the next few paragraphs I’ll walk through what I did and how I did it.

Design

I was very involved in gap analysis, where we organized training production into hierarchical skill groups, with increasingly Workday specific user skill sets.  We segmented the campus into three groups.  

Taking the long view, I wanted to develop a culture of engagement and adoption. To get there I am building a hands-on, gradually immersive experience into the training while also providing multiple points support at go-live.  

And, since not everyone needs trained to the same level of proficiency,  a three-phase training process will scaffold each campus user toward the correct level of proficiency.  We use the results oriented approach of “I do. We do. You do.”

Here’s how it’s getting done.

In Phase I are those needing the most general knowledge of navigation and search. Faculty, staff, students – everyone needs this training.  All of campus will receive Phase I training. 

The Phase II audience includes employees who need Workday to view their pay slip, check their paid time off balance, or register for benefits but do not use Workday for their day-to-day role.

Phase III development is focused on the hundreds of university workers whose jobs involve using Workday to perform a business process, for example open a requisition, submit expense reports, or begin a new hire.

Phase III users will experience the most change.  I know our campus population and, based on my Workday experience to date, saw the changes users were about to experience to be drastic.  At this point in design, I decided there was way too much new information for users to retain in the moment they would need to recall it. 

I Supplemented ADDIE with the 5 Moments of Need Design Framework

To my thinking, learning Workday linearly was too slow and the traditional, terminology first, then ‘Basics’, and then ‘Intermediate’ course progression did not connect our users with the new Workday tasks.  With these kinds of titles and structure, what would a user learn and why even attend?  There was too much ‘about Workday conversation’ and not enough hands-on, experiential stuff.   

For Phase III users especially, comprehensive training modules in every detail of their new Workday role, will have too much to recall on day 1.  It would overload most anyone.  Monolithic, one and done courses were not the answer.  We needed readily available tools that will refresh the memory.  We area achieving this goal with performance support.  From the literature, we have these needs:

The five needs occur:

1. When learning for the first time
2. When wanting to learn more
3. When trying to remember and/or apply
4. When there is a change in process
5. When the unexpected occurs

5 Moments’ Performance Support

Using a results oriented approach of, “I do. We do. You do.”, all three phases will have an instructor led component to ease users into this new enterprise platform.

For employees wanting to learn more, all phases will have 24/7 online self-paced LMS based courses, with job aids, video demonstrations, and a demo tenant that enable self-learners to update skills, refresh skills, or accommodate a non-traditional schedule.

Instructor led courses will also include training tenants and job aids to provide experiential learning in how to apply Phase I-III skills.

All of our business process will change.  Looking for performance support in that moment you need it should be a simple thing.

I answered this need when I built the Workday training website. It serves as a central  location, a training catalog, for all Workday performance support content.  Even the campus Support Desk will reference the training catalog during their support calls.  From the training catalog page, users are linked out to the correct LMS courses or job aids (all Workday content must be behind a log in).

The website will be an easily updated, single source of reference and training material for the campus.  It is a public site, viewable here: https://www.uakron.edu/workday/training/

To solve problems our users will encounter during go-live, I proposed a ‘war room’, staffed by the same project team that is installing Workday, provide live Teams chat support.

How I Developed the Phase I Course

I used these five tools for development: 

1. Storyboard: a word processor
2. Screen recorder: ActivePresenter, an eLearning authoring tool
3. Audio production: Ableton Live and Bitwig Studio, digital audio workstations (DAW)
4. Video and audio compositing: DaVinci Resolve  
5. Graphics work: when I need to customize a screenshot or create an asset, I used Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer. 

I used Storyboards to plan course content and structure

 

For each course, I first created a detailed storyboard (the above example is from a 17-page storyboard)  and map the slide number, topic, audio script, animation and screen content for each slide.  Every screenshot, emphasis animation, transition, and spoken word was carefully planned and documented in detail.  I review this first draft for organization and consistency, cohesion, gaps, logic errors.  I iterate until I’m satisfied the story is clear, complete, and concise. 

For the first course, I was also the subject matter expert.  I wrote the content, designed the course and completed development in less than two weeks.  The final video was 10 minutes long and is an important part of its LMS course.

Authoring tool

I use ActivePresenter for primary screen capture and cursor edits.  Its slide deck format is convenient and familiar.  I prefer it to recording directly to video because it is often necessary to make edits and corrections afterwards, like changing the cursor position, removing unnecessary cursor movement, or making minor edits to a dialog box, all of which ActivePresenter supports.  Having only a video, I can’t just pick-up and move the cursor, it’s necessary to record the video again.  

I build slides following my storyboard.  At this point, the hard work is in the storyboard.  It’s my recipe and I just follow the steps: add a new slide, add the audio, add the graphics, add emphasis animation, add cursor movement, synchronize  timings, and compare against the storyboard.  I repeat until the deck is done.  I don’t get lost in a moment, forget what I was doing, because I always have my reference document, my recipe.

To keep editing later simple, I make simple slides.  A slide does one thing, then moves on.  This practice also works well with storyboarding. Edits to a storyboard translate easily to the slide deck. I also name each slide object for easy reference later.  I re-use a lot of elements, which keeps me efficient.  For this Workday project I created a small library of elements I knew would get lots of use in the deck and stored them in the project template.  Instead of creating elements again or hunting for ‘which slide was that on?’, I just pulled them from the library.

I also customize keyboard shortcuts to speed my workflow.  Inserting media, calling-up the library, reviewing the project, are tasks completed more quickly in every project.  

I have used Articulate for many projects.  At the time I switched, Articulate also offered a deck format, but I could not edit cursor position or add cursor emphasis like I can using ActivePresenter (yellow highlights, concentric click rings, ease-in/out cursor speed).  When ready for the next step, video editing, I export the project to MP4 format.

 

Why I create a separate audio track

Once the storyboard is ready, I can record the audio track.  I record audio at my home studio, where I have professional equipment and a good recording space.

The audio step is kept separate because I want the control and features of professional tools.  I don’t present in-person, so it’s important I sound like I am sitting next to the listener, having a conversation with them.  I do not use a ‘talk at’ tone and firmly believe the difference greatly improves engagement.  When recording, I paste a picture on my office wall of the kindest person I know, my wife, and we have a conversation.

I record using a Shure SM58 microphone into a professional digital audio workstation, Bitwig Studio.  Another reason I record into a DAW is quicker editing.  When reading the storyboard script, I get most of it the way I want but occasionally flub a word or want to change the pacing or emphasis of a sentence or phrase.  It’s a simple matter to re-record only what needs changed, overwriting the flub.

I use the DAW to enhance tracks: removing any room reverb, adding some bass to my voice, removing pops and sharp s-sounds, and making even the overall highs and lows.  The result is a professional audio track ready to layer into the video.

Recently, I began adding a music bed.  It’s a separate track, that plays under my voice, where it’s audible but very quiet.  I’ve observed the practice in many YouTube tutorials and like the energy music can add overall, while also putting texture in the quiet spots to give listeners something to hold on to.  Surveying campus users, the result is improved engagement.

As each track is completed, I label its sections to match the slide in which slide it’s layered.  I record the whole presentation on one track, so the room noise is the same, the tone is consistent, and enhancements are easier.  When ready, each section is exported to a WAV file for use in the authoring tool.

How did I use a video editor to increase engagement?

I use the video editor DaVinci Resolve to compile the exported video, audio tracks, the music bed (if used), and add transitions.  The design choices have the goal to get and hold attention in the first 30 seconds, increasing viewer engagement.  

Why?  Today, people are used to at-hand screens, filled with continuous engaging content that is far less work to consume than a training video.  Increasingly, we are a visual people and I must compete for viewer attention.  So I use DaVinci’s broadcast quality video effects and audio layers to increase viewer engagement.

How?  First, I use the more interesting/less common transitions, not available in other business software.  DaVinci’s broadcast quality transitions and titles are far more engaging than the wipes, covers and reveals we have seen far too many times.  There are two samples in the GIF below: the noise dissolve from black and white to color and the text box swipe in.  Many viewers of training video have seen every flavor of transition and animation PowerPoint has to offer.  Presented with a new experience, I have their attention.  My introduction of the course is full of energy and urgency, then hands the work off to the riser (green audio track) and noise dissolve.  I made the riser to build tension that resolves into the beginning of the software demo.  Now, viewers have heard and seen something new, so they are interested!  

My content is now designed to be short in length, so there is no need to say, ‘In this course, you’ll learn these 15 things.’, because the content is structured now the way people like to view video.  It’s short. One video, one topic.  The first was less than 10 minutes.  The second and later video are less than 5 minutes.  People want to get in and get out.  Learn the thing and move on.

I often add a quiet background music track.  I automatically control the volume of the music, and lower the volume when there is speaking (duck under the spoken audio) and raise it when there is a period of not speaking.  The idea is called ducking and when set up correctly, the background music is controlled automatically.  It’s not a manual process.

I do all of this to grab user attention in the first 30 seconds. 

When completed, I export the video for posting to either YouTube or the Office 365 Stream application.  I generate an embed url for the LMS.

 Increased user engagement with DaVinci Resolve’s visual effects.

Delivery

I use instructor led and video-based methods to deliver Phase I training.  Instructor led is currently demonstration only, consistent with our goal to gradually introduce campus to the new work environment.  The video work product detailed above is included as part of an Introduction to Workday LMS course.  Also included in the course are Workday provided job aids.

Incentivizing Participation Encourages Engagement

Anticipating some hesitancy, I thought encouraging Phase I participants to continue learning by registering for Phase II.  The move was a high profile, early win, for the training effort.  Change is painful for many and exciting for some so I decided to incentivize, gamify, completion of Phase I & II courses.   The excited people needed no encouragement!

The incentives offered are three levels of completion badges, one for each training phase, signifying early adopter status.  A limited number of badges will be available, in an effort to further encourage early adopters and establish training production momentum.  Badges are permitted for email signature line usage but only for participants.  

I designed and developed three separate badges using Affinity Designer.  Each included the traditional badge elements of a banner, circle, and scalloped outer edge. To these I added ‘status elements’ further incentivizing completion of the different levels.  The status symbols included the call sign from our radio station, our mascot, a soccer element representing our Top 10 soccer team, and a generic blimp, which regularly fly the city skyline.

My inspiration for the design was an earlier badge I noticed for use in a campus communication.  I saved time, modifying a graphic from my service (all elements licensed for modification) to better approximate the mascot, created the radio call sign from scratch, and also modified a blimp from my graphic service.  The banner, scalloped edge and content circle design elements were best done from scratch in Affinity Designer.  Overall, I created three custom assets without starting from scratch.

 Incentivizing Participation

Closing

As of this writing we are three months into training, completing Phases I & II.  However early on, I sent a post course survey I developed using Office 365 Forms.  I was looking to calibrate the course against campus audience expectations.  I felt confident the course content, tone, and length were at a level that would engage and not overwhelm, while continuing steady progress through our three-phase plan.

Response has been positive.  Over 50% attending Phase I training registered for the next session before I finished the presentation.  Phase II training has even more registrations.

As of this writing, project leadership has begun work on the Workday Student module, itself a yearlong project ending in 2024.  I am currently meeting with project leadership and our implementation partner to strategize how I will support concurrent multi-phase projects.