Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2009 - (Page 11)

LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES | RICK J. CROWLEY THE PROCESS TO RUN THE BUSINESS IS BEGINNING TO MATURE MANAGING KNOWLEDGE & CONTENT M any learning functions are being asked to add knowledge management and content management as important components of corporate learning. It makes sense, as the requirements for a learning function grow from training materials and instructors in classrooms to other ways to help people gather information and solve business problems (e.g., interactive online collaboration, blogs, etc). Standardizing the requirements around training content and processes is already a challenge. Add the cross-functional requirements of content and knowledge management and many learning professionals see that as overwhelming. But the process to run the business is beginning to mature, which is great news for the learning team. The opportunity now is aligning learning functions with processes that run the rest of the business.. Here are some ways to focus on the similarities between content and knowledge management: ■ What is learning content? Many have redefined learning to mean information, collaboration, communication and training. This definition covers most (if not all) of a company’s needs for disseminating information. ■ Learning content is a product. Learning functions are now starting to treat classroom training, white papers, blogs, interactive virtual meetings and certifications as products. Learning professionals can learn a great deal from the lifecycle management of any product and those processes could be leveraged to meet the learning function’s needs. Managing learning content through an LCMS is similar to managing all corporate information. There are a handful of attributes that could be used across the board. Seven attributes that could be tagged on any content are Name, Owner, Born on Date, End of Life/Review Date, Target Audience, Description and Total Running Time. Imagine the possibilities of just these seven attributes. There is now a systematic way to know if something already exists, if a piece of content that has been posted reaches its end of life. The system can automatically delete, reducing the “white noise” produced, and a consumer can see how fresh a piece of content is. The most important thing a learning professional should remember when it comes to supporting the business is as people move to SaaS (Software as a Service), the requirements will need to be aligned. To do this, learning leaders should look at the content and processes of other business functions. The future holds the opportunity to maximize operational productivity by removing redundancy and unnecessary differences across business functions. ■ Rick J. Crowley is an active consultant on learning technology and architecture. Prior to that Rick was senior director, learning systems, for NetApp University, a driving force behind Cisco's e-learning adoption and implementation and held the position of director of technology training for Oracle. E-mail Rick at editor@trainingindustry.com. 11 Training Industry Quarterly, Summer 2009 / A Training Industry, Inc. ezine / www.trainingindustry.com/TIQ http://www.trainingindustry.com/TIQ

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2009

Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2009
From Where I Sit
Contents
At the Editor’s Desk
Winning Organizations Through People
Learning Technologies
Performance & Productivity
What Lies Ahead: The Next Evolution of Learning Leaders
Publish or Perish: The Crucial Component of Communication
The Strategic Value of Customer Training
Newell Rubbermaid: A Fresh Approach to Learning
Four Keys to Developing Great Content
Closing Arguments

Training Industry Quarterly - Summer 2009