Knowledge Sharing Eases Adoption of Technology on a Grand Scale
How do you train and support 1,500 designers on new civil engineering CAD design software without breaking the budget? The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service found the solution they needed with a scalable knowledge management and delivery system.
When the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) made the switch to AutoCAD® Civil 3D®[i] for the design, drafting and management of a wide range of civil engineering projects, they quickly realized that they faced a significant implementation and training challenge.
The economies of providing hands-on training and ongoing technical support to 1,500 designers who would be using the software on a nationwide-basis simply did not make sense. In the search for an alternative solution, the agency determined that a powerful combination of pre-written, custom and live training video vBooks from Retrieve Technologies provided the right combination of user-paced training, knowledge share and expertise to ease the agency’s transition to AutoCAD Civil 3D. More than just online books, the solutions introduced the agency to the concept of knowledge share, growth and management on a scale that ensured they got the best return on their technology and resources investment for years to come.
Pre-Written vBook Library
vBooks are online virtual training books with downloadable datasets that show lessons in video format. To equip the agency with the right tools, each NRCS user was provided with his or her own vBook library (Figure 1) that contained a suite of pre-written vBooks that addressed the core features and functionality of AutoCAD Civil 3Di, along with several custom vBooks created specifically for NRCS and its civil engineers.
To provide a comprehensive asset, other pre-written vBooks in the user’s libraries included AutoCAD®i, Map 3D®i, AutoCAD® Land Desktopi and AutoCAD® Raster Designi.
Custom vBook Library
In addition to pre-written vBooks, each NRCS user was provided with several custom vBooks, all accessible via their vBook library interface.
The first custom vBook – NRCS AutoCAD Civil 3Di Drawing Template vBook – provided to each USDA NRCS civil engineer, highlights the drawing template (DWT) and offers video instructions on the inner workings of all Civil 3D object and label styles in the NRCS AutoCAD Civil 3D drawing template. Furthermore, the most current version of the drawing template can be downloaded directly from the vBook. NRCS CAD managers tasked with maintaining the standard can upload the latest version of the drawing template to the custom vBook and, directly from the vBook itself, send out a notification to all subscribers when a new version has been created. This makes it very easy to create and disseminate a standard to a large number of people.
“The economies of providing hands-on training and ongoing technical support to 1,500 designers who would be using the software on a nationwide-basis simply did not make sense.”
Another custom vBook is the USDA NRCS Drafting & Drawings National Engineering Handbook – which is a standards vBook. This vBook also allows Standards Managers to make changes and notify subscribers when an update to the standard occurs. The vBook replaces the standards manual and becomes the actual standards document.
The third custom vBook is the USDA NRCS Custom Civil 3Di Training. This vBook offers instructional knowledge on AutoCAD Civil 3Di that discusses the technology in the context of NRCS projects. There is no sense in showing parcel functionality if the NRCS does not use parcels. This vBook was prepared as a collaborative effort between the NRCS, Autodesk Consulting and APW-CTS Professional Services. Users can access the vBook and learn how to apply AutoCAD Civil 3Di to projects typical of their day to day work activity.
Live Training vBooks – Classroom Level Training & Quick Information Retrieval
In addition to pre-written and custom vBooks, NRCS also took advantage of live training vBooks, accessible via the user library interface. Each live training vBook was custom recorded in a live training session, the vBooks were then populated with the content from these video recorded sessions. This means that 1,500 people will be able to sit through an entire training class offered by professional instructors. Furthermore, vBooks are equipped with technology that allows indexes and tags recorded videos with keywords so that segments of a video are searchable. The entire solution saves time for the agency, with designers having the ability to quickly search and retrieve information without sitting through 90 minutes of content.
The Helpdesk – Technical Support for Optimized Research & Knowledge Distribution
The powerful virtual library searching mechanism provided within vBook allows users to organize volumes based on user defined shelves, or categories. Users can then browse or search across any of the open shelves (books can be moved and organized onto different shelves) or even search directly within a single vBook.
If a user can’t retrieve the answer, they can submit a question along with a dataset to the Retrieve Helpdesk. Support staff addresses any queries directly through the vBook library interface. Oftentimes new content is generated, including video, text or graphics, and is posted to the appropriate vBook (pre-written or custom). Users are then alerted by update notification sent to all subscribers directly from the system. New content can then be searched by other users of the system. As a result, the system continues to grow with knowledge.
Knowledge Management, Knowledge Share & Knowledge Investment
The entire solution adopted by NRCS centers on knowledge management. Knowledge is an asset that an organization invests in through training and seminars. This asset, however, is lost when people either forget or move on to other positions. The Retrieve concept centers on being able to capture that knowledge so that the investment stays with the organization and is never lost. The result is a system of training and technical support that users can access 24/7.
The entire project was made possible via a collaborative effort among USDA NRCS, DLT Solutions, Autodesk Consulting, Retrieve and APW-CTS Professional Services.
Andrew Walther, P.Eng., Partner, APW-CTS Professional Services
Originally published in [acronym] magazine, Issue 7
[i] Originally published in [acronym] magazine, Issue 7, 2008. Products referenced in article refer to 2008 versions.
vBooks are online virtual training books with downloadable datasets that show lessons in video format. To equip the agency with the right tools, each NRCS user was provided with his or her own vBook library (Figure 1) that contained a suite of pre-written vBooks that addressed the core features and functionality of AutoCAD Civil 3Di, along with several custom vBooks created specifically for NRCS and its civil engineers.
To provide a comprehensive asset, other pre-written vBooks in the user’s libraries included AutoCAD®i, Map 3D®i, AutoCAD® Land Desktopi and AutoCAD® Raster Designi.
Custom vBook Library
In addition to pre-written vBooks, each NRCS user was provided with several custom vBooks, all accessible via their vBook library interface.
The first custom vBook – NRCS AutoCAD Civil 3Di Drawing Template vBook – provided to each USDA NRCS civil engineer, highlights the drawing template (DWT) and offers video instructions on the inner workings of all Civil 3D object and label styles in the NRCS AutoCAD Civil 3D drawing template. Furthermore, the most current version of the drawing template can be downloaded directly from the vBook. NRCS CAD managers tasked with maintaining the standard can upload the latest version of the drawing template to the custom vBook and, directly from the vBook itself, send out a notification to all subscribers when a new version has been created. This makes it very easy to create and disseminate a standard to a large number of people.
“The economies of providing hands-on training and ongoing technical support to 1,500 designers who would be using the software on a nationwide-basis simply did not make sense.”
Another custom vBook is the USDA NRCS Drafting & Drawings National Engineering Handbook – which is a standards vBook. This vBook also allows Standards Managers to make changes and notify subscribers when an update to the standard occurs. The vBook replaces the standards manual and becomes the actual standards document.
The third custom vBook is the USDA NRCS Custom Civil 3Di Training. This vBook offers instructional knowledge on AutoCAD Civil 3Di that discusses the technology in the context of NRCS projects. There is no sense in showing parcel functionality if the NRCS does not use parcels. This vBook was prepared as a collaborative effort between the NRCS, Autodesk Consulting and APW-CTS Professional Services. Users can access the vBook and learn how to apply AutoCAD Civil 3Di to projects typical of their day to day work activity.
Live Training vBooks – Classroom Level Training & Quick Information Retrieval
In addition to pre-written and custom vBooks, NRCS also took advantage of live training vBooks, accessible via the user library interface. Each live training vBook was custom recorded in a live training session, the vBooks were then populated with the content from these video recorded sessions. This means that 1,500 people will be able to sit through an entire training class offered by professional instructors. Furthermore, vBooks are equipped with technology that allows indexes and tags recorded videos with keywords so that segments of a video are searchable. The entire solution saves time for the agency, with designers having the ability to quickly search and retrieve information without sitting through 90 minutes of content.
The Helpdesk – Technical Support for Optimized Research & Knowledge Distribution
The powerful virtual library searching mechanism provided within vBook allows users to organize volumes based on user defined shelves, or categories. Users can then browse or search across any of the open shelves (books can be moved and organized onto different shelves) or even search directly within a single vBook.
If a user can’t retrieve the answer, they can submit a question along with a dataset to the Retrieve Helpdesk. Support staff addresses any queries directly through the vBook library interface. Oftentimes new content is generated, including video, text or graphics, and is posted to the appropriate vBook (pre-written or custom). Users are then alerted by update notification sent to all subscribers directly from the system. New content can then be searched by other users of the system. As a result, the system continues to grow with knowledge.
Knowledge Management, Knowledge Share & Knowledge Investment
The entire solution adopted by NRCS centers on knowledge management. Knowledge is an asset that an organization invests in through training and seminars. This asset, however, is lost when people either forget or move on to other positions. The Retrieve concept centers on being able to capture that knowledge so that the investment stays with the organization and is never lost. The result is a system of training and technical support that users can access 24/7.
The entire project was made possible via a collaborative effort among USDA NRCS, DLT Solutions, Autodesk Consulting, Retrieve and APW-CTS Professional Services.
Andrew Walther, P.Eng., Partner, APW-CTS Professional Services
Originally published in [acronym] magazine, Issue 7
[i] Originally published in [acronym] magazine, Issue 7, 2008. Products referenced in article refer to 2008 versions.
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