Information Mapping Case Study
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Summary:
The SyberWorks Training Center Learning Management System Product Suite provides an end-to-end training management solution for training companies offering all types of e-Learning and traditional classroom based training.
Customer Profile:
Founded in 1967, Information Mapping, Inc. is a privately-held, international organization delivering Information Lifecycle Solutions through its three divisions: Information Mapping® Learning Programs, Professional Services, and Technology Solutions. Information Mapping is represented in over 30 countries servicing the international community in many languages. The Learning Programs division offers a variety of classroom workshops, publications to support workshops, and e-Learning programs to help individuals and organizations develop high-quality communications and documentation. Information Mapping delivers four online courses: The Information Mapping Starter Kit, Developing Business and Technical Communication, Making Web Content Work, and Making E-mail Work. They also run traditional classroom workshop that are help in public locations or privately at client site. Information Mapping employs a staff of full-time instructors, and more than twenty contract instructors.
The Problem:
The Information Mapping Learning Programs division was using one of the leading, tier-one e-Learning solution providers to do online instructor-led training, but the system had the following drawbacks:
- Companies, organizations, or individuals could only register online, but could not pay for their training online via a learning management system (LMS) integrated with an e-commerce mechanism.
- 3 to 4 different spreadsheets on various managers' computers were being used to manage instructors, seminar logistical information, and materials fulfillment for Information Mapping's training business.
- Managing enrollments, wait lists, and materials were being managed by a sales relationship database not intended for such use that was no longer supported and was having integrity problems.
- Information Mapping wanted to communicate with and schedule all the stakeholders, vendors, and various information points that are part of their training business through a centralized LMS, and be able to track the correspondence.
- Special promotions and discount programs were a headache and became an accounting problem, because there was very little evidence in the training sales channel to trace the origin of the discounts.
- Training supervisors regularly use surveys to monitor the effectiveness of their training programs. Information Mapping wanted online survey functionality built into the Learning Management System with the results stored by date in the LMS database.
Information Mapping's Learning Programs division needed an end-to-end training management solution that would reduce human error; decrease workshop delivery and production issues; and make it easier to track and manage all aspects of their online and traditional classroom training business.
Finding The Right Partner:
Information Mapping spent considerable time and resources assessing other Learning Management Systems and e-Learning Solutions. In evaluating other e-Learning Solutions providers, they found that the professional services, engineering, and customization costs associated with developing a solution to meet their exact needs were in most cases, very expensive. More often than not, exorbitant professional services, engineering, and customization fees dwarfed the actual cost of the software to be purchased.
The Solution:
The SyberWorks Training Center Learning Management System:
The SyberWorks Training Center Learning Management System is a robust and flexible, SCORM/AICC-compliant, Web-based LMS that manages and tracks all aspects of an organization's training programs. It delivers compelling and measurable e-Learning over the Internet and company Intranets, while also managing traditional classroom training and all types of e-Learning. SyberWorks Training Center fully supports a blended learning experience, including both online and offline options, such as e-Learning courses, self-study workbooks, classroom training, and so on. System security is ensured with six levels of user authority, IDs, passwords, and date range checks. A highly scalable system, a company or organization can start with a small pilot project and easily upgrade to a load-balanced, enterprise-wide solution.
SyberWorks Seminar Logistics, e-Commerce/Registration, and Online Survey Modules:
The SyberWorks Learning Management System Product Suite has seven add-on modules that can combine to provide various levels of functionality to meet a company or organization's e-Learning needs. Information Mapping's e-Learning solution was configured and augmented with the Seminar Logistics, e-Commerce/Registration, and Online Survey Modules.
SyberWorks e-Commerce/Registration Module:
The SyberWorks e-Commerce/Registration Module enables a company to sell e-Learning courses or classroom instruction online. The application has a convenient shopping cart interface where learners can peruse and purchase e-Learning courses. The system also offers various payment options, such as credit cards, purchase orders, and direct invoicing. It also can be used to sell other items online, such as books, CDs, study guides, or any other products that you wish to sell. The SyberWorks
e-Commerce/Registration Module automates registration and fully integrates with the Learning Management System database. It provides a custom, turnkey e-Commerce/registration solution for training organizations.
| *Full e-Commerce capability that allows companies and students to pay by credit card, purchase order, or generate an invoice from data stored in the LMS database. | *The system creates origin codes so an order can be tracked throughout the process and attributed to a specific reseller. |
| *Enrollment and wait listing information is tracked and stored in the LMS database. | *The system supports promotions, discounts, and coupon codes, with the information stored for accounting's use in the LMS database. |
| *An e-Commerce feature that allows you to include multiple students in a single course order. Useful for companies purchasing large volumes of training. |
SyberWorks Seminar Logistics Module:
The SyberWorks Seminar Logistics Module helps you plan, organize, and execute seminars with all the data integrated into your learning management system. The tool helps you stay in control of your offsite training events by keeping track of all the steps and materials needed to create and manage great learning events, like scheduling, staffing, enrollments, contacts, lodging, and materials.
| *Manages address and contact information for students, instructors, hotel information, and fulfillment vendors, with the information stored in the LMS database. | *Allows administrators or training managers to schedule instructors and all stakeholders in the training business channel, and to automatically notify them by email ticklers (automatic messages). Records of the notifications are all stored in the LMS database. |
| *Generates student, instructor and administrator calendars from the LMS database. | *Sends orders to materials fulfillment vendors so books and course supplies are delivered on time and provides shipment updates through the LMS database. |
| *Has hundreds of pre-programmed reports that help to manage training programs, including a class status report, and a custom reports writing feature. | *Sends frequent updates and notifications to all instructors by email ticklers. Specify a bcc to store copies of all notifications. |
SyberWorks Online Survey Module:
The SyberWorks Online Survey Module is a general-purpose tool that is fully integrated with the Learning Management System. All responses are stored in the LMS database for reporting purposes. Responses can be anonymous or limited to users in the system. Standard survey breakouts include course code, instructor ID, lesson numbers, and class ID. Any number of additional user-defined breakouts can be added to the survey - even after the results are already in the database. The dates of survey responses are automatically stored in the database, so you can see how results have changed over time. Surveys also are linked to your organizational hierarchy, so you can see how results vary by department, division, or region. Reports are available at survey levels by any breakout you choose. You can also see individual responses. Access to the data is limited to the administrator's span of control, so a division-training manager can only see results from his or her division and not those of another.
| *Sends out an email with a link to the survey in it. | *Sends out Learning Management System ticklers (automatic messages) with the survey link. |
| *Stores survey results by date so managers can track results over time. | *Creates and stores surveys in the LMS database. Produces public surveys by specifying anonymous users in the LMS. |
| *Supports five question types: short answer, long answer, single select, multiple select, and Likert scale. | *Generates and edits questions efficiently with intuitive drop-down boxes. |
The Results:
Rachael Amato, Marketing Manager at Information Mapping states, “The system has helped us to be better organized and to run our Learning Programs division smoother. We really like that our customers can go online and to purchase our courses, software and publications, whether they are an individual, or a training manager from an organization purchasing a large block of seats in a particular course or set of courses.”
Amato says, “We are able to manage and schedule our instructors more efficiently. The system has helped us to reduce human error, and provided opportunities for us to perform quality checks with various vendors along the way as we deliver our courses. The exception report is very useful and helps us spot any anomalies in invoicing, materials fulfillment, and in other important metrics that we track.”
Amato continues, “The system makes tracking registration easier. The wait listing feature helps to refill seats in a seminar if someone cancels. The person canceling their registration in the course is notified by email. They are given an opportunity to reschedule the seminar if they desire. The system keeps track of all registrations and cancellations. It notifies the training manager by email with any changes. Seminar participants are sent reminder emails about the upcoming seminar they are scheduled to attend. This feature has been instrumental in helping us to increase seminar attendance rates.”
The Benefits:
| Simplifies and augments registration sales by providing an e-Commerce interface for companies or individuals to register for online courses and seminars. | Improves payment processing and collection. |
| Seamlessly manages and schedules instructors, fulfillment vendors, site locations, hotels, and more. | Provides better quality control of the services delivered by the Training Division. |
| Reduces human errors. | Enhances communication in the Training Division by using online surveys and email follow-up on registrations, fulfillment processing, instructor scheduling, and more. |
| Helps the training business to be more organized and efficient. | And much more! |
