Identifying appropriate structures

• How is HR and training organised and delivered in your organisation and who is responsible?

Identifying HR issues

• Needs Analysis tools
• Forecasting tools

• What are the specific HR /training issues you are trying to address?
• How were these issues identified? By whom? Through what processes? Top down or bottom up?
• Who does the HR /training problem or need affect and in what way?

Identifying contextual issues

• Requirements of examining and validating bodies, chambers of commerce etc.
• Negotiation with relevant trade unions

• Are you addressing initial or continuing training issues?
• Does the learning outcome need to be certificated /accredited /validated
• Will learners be rewarded
  • Financially?
  • Through job enhancement?
  • Through promotion?

Recognising and building on previous work

• Scoping study
• Position Audit
• Organisational IT policies

• Who is doing what else to try and solve this problem in the organisation?
• What other measures have been tried in the past and to what effect?
• What other approaches (both ICT based and non-ICT) to similar issues are being tried or have been tried elsewhere and to what effect?
• What previous experience does your organisation have of e-learning?
• What policies and strategies for e-learning are already in place in your organisation?
• What existing infrastructure and resources exist which can be used to support e-learning? (e.g. networks, resource bases, ICT technical support , trainers etc)

Handling relationships

• Training department staff skills audit
• List of external providers

• Who takes the decision to introduce a particular e-learning program, who else must be consulted and who has to approve it?
• What is the level of management support for this program?
• Is the program conducted in partnership with any other agency or organisation?

Finding out what technology and e-learning content exists

• What range of ICT options were explored in terms of
  • Availability of technology
  • Shelf life of the technology
  • Competence in the technology
  • Availability of e-materials and content
  • Need for back up and support

Finding out what it all costs

• Cost benefit analysis tools
• Implications of choosing vendors /technologies e.g. technology lock-ins

• What are the costs associated with
  • Providers?
  • Technology?
  • Materials?

Establishing what is and what is not possible at the moment

• What ICT based options were edited out and why
• What ICT based options selected and why?

Reviewing the planning process and focussing the programme

• What organisational constraints are or were imposed?
• What compromises were made?
• Why and how were these judgements made?

Focussing the programme

• What HR problems will remain? (i.e. what HR problems are you not attempting to solve with e-learning)

Locating the e-learning in the training portfolio

• Is the e-learning part of an existing program, as an alternative to an existing programme running in parallel or exclusively available through e-learning?
• Is it expected that the learners will be learning from home or on-site or across several sites?
• In whose time will the learning take place?

Establishing whether we can afford it

• Potential for ramping up the system in the future
• Depreciation on capital equipment
• Company procurement policies
• Implications of choosing particular vendors and particular technologies e.g. technology lock-ins
• Planned obsolescence programme

• What is the level of financial, technical and human resourcing?

Matching e-learning and budget profiles

• Potential for ramping up the system in the future
• Depreciation on capital equipment
• Company procurement policies
• Implications of choosing particular vendors and particular technologies e.g. technology lock-ins
• Planned obsolescence programme

• How does expenditure break down into
  • capital
  • revenue
• What are the restrictions?
• What is the expenditure profile on e-learning likely to be?
  • What percentage of the budget was "start-up"?
  • What percentage of the budget is for continuation?
• Was the resourcing sufficient or were compromises made?
• If so what compromises were made and why?

Identifying the e-learning solution

• Copies of Examination and Validating Body requirements
• List of training the trainer opportunities
• Copy of standards documents
• Rules and requirements for qualifications

• How and what decisions were made about the media /technology?
• How and what decisions were made about the e-product /e-learning opportunity?
• How and what decisions were made about the duration, depth, and breadth of the learning program?
• What commitment are learners expected to make (time, mode of attendance, resources etc)
• How were decisions made about the pedagogy?
• Were the trainers already trained in the pedagogy and application of e-learning? If not, did you provide training?
• Is the program /learning opportunity purpose built/adapted/off the shelf?
• Is the e-learning program and materials interoperable and compatible with existing e-learning in the organisation?
• Is the e-learning materials compliant with e-learning standards (e.g. SCORM, Learning Design etc.)
• What is the duration, depth, and breadth of the learning program?
• How are the trainees identified and selected and by whom?
• Is there a prerequisite qualification or skill level?
• How are the learners supported and 'tracked'?
• How are the learners assessed?
• How will the learning outcome be certificated /accredited /validated and by whom?

Applying skills and knowledge

• How is the learning to be applied in the work place?

Reviewing the process

• What influenced the above choices?
• Would different choices be made next time?

(collecting and acting on feedback)

Progress checking

• Institutional monitoring and quality assurance system documentation

• What feedback /monitoring mechanisms were set up?
• How were they designed and implemented and by whom?
• What was /were the purposes of the monitoring system?
• Who made these decisions and why?
• How effective were the monitoring / feedback systems?

Setting up feedback systems

• What feedback was there to and from learners?
• What feedback was there to and from organisational managers?
• What feedback was given to and from trainers, support staff, technicians, other employees?
• How was this feedback provided and by whom?

Dealing with operational problems

• Methods for identifying critical success factors

• How much flexibility in the program was possible/How much did you allow yourself?
• How much room was given for responsiveness?
• Were problems dealt with on the spot or recorded for next time?
• What problems occurred and what solutions were found?
  • Did the technology work?
  • Were the learning materials relevant, appropriate and effective?
  • How did the learners respond to e-learning?
  • How did the trainers/ facilitators respond to e-learning

Feed forward mechanisms

• Any institutional knowledge management systems documentation.
• Methods and tools for recording and disseminating lessons learned
• Methods for identifying critical success factors
• SWOT analysis

• What revisions were needed as a result?
• What didn't occur that was expected?
• What occurred that was not predicted - positive and negative
• Why did this happen?
• What issues or problems were not solved?
• What problems or constraints were self-imposed?
• What were the reasons for this?
• What were the main barriers to success?
• What were the main contributors to success?

(helps to inform future decisions and developments)

Measuring the results

• Comparisons with trainee results from equivalent traditional learning programme
• ROI analysis
• Cost benefit analysis

• How well were the original HR /training issues addressed?
• What were the specific results/attainments of the program in terms of trainee success?
• What (quantitatively) was the return on investment for the learner, company and others e.g. employees?
• What (qualitatively) were the immediate benefits for the learner, company and others e.g. employees?
• What were the drawbacks/downsides for the organisation and the learner?

Assessing the impact

• Impact Analysis
• Change management tools

• What aspects of the program were unexpected?
• What additional / new training needs have been generated as a result of the program
  • For learners
  • For management and other staff?

Sustainability

• Availability of future support and resources
• Market survey

• What should be done with the program after it has run its course?
• What is the sustainability of the particular program in the institution
  • Do you need to repeat it?
  • Do you want to repeat it?
  • Can you afford to repeat it?
• What should you do less of next time? Why?
• What should you do more of next time? Why?
• What should you do differently next time? Why?
• What additional know how is necessary?
• How is this going to be achieved?
• What further investment is necessary?
  • In personnel?
  • In technology?
  • In material?
• How can this be organised?

Transferability

• Information about what networks and organisations exist
• Access to e-learning communities

• Could the model and lessons learned from this program be transferred to other parts of the organisation?

Mainstreaming

• What measures need to be taken to make this program part of the mainstream provision (if applicable)

Dissemination and knowledge development

• What could benefit the organisation by being disseminated outside the organisation?
• How is this going to be done?
• What new e-learning developments would you now want to explore?
• What new partnerships would you want to develop?