OnDemand
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Introduction
OnDemand is a tool for creating web-based training simulations (exercises or demonstrations) for software applications. It can also be used for generating documentation.
Components and licenses
OnDemand consists of two separately-licensed products:
- Developer: This is the application used to capture and edit recordings;
- Player: This is the thing that displays the recording to the user.
Note that the recording is actually displayed via a standard Web browser (such as Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5.5 onward), and all files necessary to do this (HTML, JavaScript, CSS) are generated by the Developer when the recording is published. There are no add-ins, players, or other components required by the users.
OnDemand comes in four offerings, depending on the application being recorded, These are:
- SAP
- Peoplesoft
- Siebel
- 'Everything else' (This version is known as OnDemand Standard Edition)
The reason for application-specific versions is that OnDemand captures the context of actions, and uses this in the instructions it generates. For example, the SAP version 'knows' the name of a field, screen, or button, and uses this information in the following ways:
- To generate meaningful 'instructional' text ("Click the Save button" instead of "Click the button indicated");
- To provide context sensitivity when OnDemand is called from the application (for example, to go directly to the screen in the recording that relates to the screen in the application from which OnDemand was called);
- To allow automatic advancing of the instructions in Do It! mode (for example, OnDemand can detect when a person has completed the step in the application described by the OnDemand exercise, and can automatically advance the OnDemand exercise to the next step).
Cost
The use of OnDemand can represent a significant investment for an organization. A 'Developer' license (required to create OnDemand exercises) can cost anywhere between $10,000 and $20,000 depending on the version purchased (to record for a specific application all the way up to recording all possible applications). And this is for a single developer license. It also comes with a mandatory 20% 'maintenance fee' regardless of whether support is ever actually used.
On top of this, Global Knowledge demands named user licenses for the player, at $15 per license, plus the mandatory 20% maintenance fee. This may not sound like a lot, but for a corporation wanting to make exercises available to their entire corporation, it can soon add up. Bear in mind also that nothing, in terms of a player, plug-ins, or any other form of proprietary software, is actually required by the users - exercises can be played via the standard web browser (such as Internet Explorer or Netscape - both of which are free), which begs the question of exactly what this $15 is buying.
Development
OnDemand captures recordings by taking screen shots (as full-screen GIFs) of every screen displayed, and every keypress or mouseclick performed, when performing the task in the actual system. By displaying these screen shots back, and showing (or prompting for) the same actions, OnDemand provides a very realistic 'simulation' of the actual system.
It is important to stress that OnDemand performs 'discrete recording' - it records only when the developer presses PrintScreen, and not as a continuous video. The advantage of this is that editing (especially inserting missing steps, or providing alternative actions) can be done without re-recording the entire simulation. The disadvantage is that recording takes much longer, as the developer needs to consciously stop after every action (every muse-click, every field completed) and record the screen/action.
It is possible to build basic conditional branching into the recording (via alternate paths or decision frames), but the user must actively select an option. Although it is possible to automatically select a particular path based on (for example) which button a user clicks in the application, this takes significantly more effort to build, and can get very complicated very quickly, if the intention is to provide multiple options from multiple screens.
It is also possible to include 'informational' (i.e., non-action) steps to display additional information, to draw attention to specific information on the screen, or to acknowledge something before continuing.
The developer can also build in links (via hotspots) to other documents, or to URLs on the Internet or Intranet.
Content can be assigned to 'roles', which will allow the user to filter the content that is displayed, by selecting these roles. The role selection is stored in a cookie, so the user does not have to reselect their role every time.
Course structure
Recordings are created within a specific 'outline'. This consists of three levels, as follows:
- Module
- Lesson
- Topic
- Lesson
Simulations are always recorded at the Topic level, and all three levels must be used (it is not possible to create a module, and have topics within that - topics must be contained within a lesson). It is possible to provide a block of explanatory text at each of these three levels, and/or attach related documents (for eample, the PowerPoint presentation related to the mdodule or lesson).
Delivery
Simulations
This recording can then be played back in one of four ways:
- See it: This mode presents the user with a straight run through the recording. This is 'hands-free', and plays like a video recording, at a set speed (the speed can be set per recording or per screen - it is possible to have different speeds between each screen). This mode is best suited to use for demonstrations.
- Try it: In this mode, users are shown the screens and provided instructions, but they need to carry out the actions themselves. The player tells them exactly what they need to enter, and exactly which buttons to click, and will generate an error comment if the user makes a mistake (i.e., doesn't follow these instructions). This mode is best suited to providing hands-on exercises.
- Know it: This mode is similar to the Try It mode, but the payer does not give the user the instructions (although it can be set up to provide some instructions) and the user must carry out the required actions from memory. The player has 'built-in remediation' over four levels: The first time they do it wrong, it tells them they are wrong and asks them to try again. If they get it wrong again, the player tells them what they need to do. If they get it wrong a third time, the player shows them where to click or enter their text. Finally, if they get it wrong a fourth time, the player performs the action for them, and moves on to the next step. A user's execution of the exercise is scored, and a result displayed as a percentage (of steps performed correctly) shown at the end. The 'pass level' can be set per exercise. OnDemand is SCORM and AICC compliant, so results can be fed back into a Learning Management System. This mode is best suited to providing assessments.
- Do it: In this mode, the recording is shown in a small panel that 'floats' over the actual application screen. the intention is that the user can refer to the (instructions in the) recording whilst they are actually carrying out the task 'live' in the actual system. Depending on the application, the instructions may advance (by step) automatically, or the user can manually advance the steps using a preconfigured key combination (chosen not to conflict with the native application). This mode is best suited to providing application support.
Simulations rely on a specific file structure. Publication of a simulation creates many, many files, which would normally be stored on a Web server. This format is therefore unsuitable for e-mailing to users, although it is possible to publish to a single 'player file', but this is in a proprietary format, and the users need to install a plug-in to be able to play it. An alternative is to copy the simulations to a CD-ROM and mail out this. This could then be used 'stand-alone', meaning that the user does not need to be connected to the network.
Documents
OnDemand can also be used to generate documents, based on the same single recording. Global Knowledge (the vendor) tout this as tool for rapid documentation development, but in practice recordings suitable for training are not suitable for end-user documentation without significant rework.
OnDemand can generate the following types of 'documents', based on a single recording:
- Business process document
- This is a user instruction document. Over and above the information provided by the recording, it is possible to enter additional information around which departments use the instruction, version control, compliance information, and so on.
- Test script
- This is very similar in content to the user instruction, but includes a 'checklist' so the tester can confirm that they could do what was required. Practically, though, it must have worked for the developer to be able to capture the recording in the first place, so I'm not sure what they would be 'testing'...
- Exercise guide
- This is more-or-less a printed version of the full exercise, and includes all screen shots. This version is useful for providing an instructor guide where the exercises are used as an integral part of classroom training.
- Job Aid
- This type of document does not include the screen shots, but does include the button images.
All documents are based on the Try It version of the simulation. They are created according to a provided OnDemand template, but you can change this template. Technically, the different documents are generated via XML transitions, and so a good knowledge of XML and XSL is required to be able to configure these templates.
All documents are initially generated as Word documents, but can be displayed to users as Word documents or HTML. Document generation requires Word 2000 or greater (but only for the Developers - users do not need this exact version).
The advantage of using the recording to create the documentation is that everything is 'in sync' because it is all created from the same source. Users will have documentation that exactly matches what they saw in training. However, this is also a problem, because if the simulation tells the user to enter a company code of 0102, then the job aid will also tell them to enter this. An alternative would be to change the text, but then the 'show it' simulations, etc wouldn't contain the correct information - and you wouldn't be able to test the user's skills. That said, the default template text does say say "For example..." so the user knows that this is an example, but in practice, users are quite likely to enter this example value - especially if they don't know the correct value.
Glossaries
Glossaries can be provided which allows user to display the meaning of a term in a pop-up by clicking on it. Glossaries are 'module-specific'. It is possible to have OnDemand automatically create a glossary hyperlink for every instance of that phrase within the recording, based on a straight text match. Alternatively, developers can enter the links manually.
Search functionality
From OnDemand version 8.5 onward, it is possible for users to perform a full text search of the implementation (presumably across modules). In version 8.0, this is limited to nominated keywords (i.e. keywords identified by the developer, and only to the points specified). Effectively, version 8.0 is providing an indexing facility and not a true search capability.
Linking to the live system
OnDemand can be linked to the actual system for which the simulations (or documents) have been created. For SAP, this is done by adding another menu option to the Help menu (via an OSS note). From OnDemand Version 8.5 onward this is context-sensitive, based on the screen tags in SAP - OnDemand knows which screen the user is on, and can tie this back to the transactions/screens used in the recordings.
Usage tracking
OnDemand provides reports to analyze whether or not users have referred to the documentation, or run simulations in a specific mode. It is also possible to report per user (or for all users) to monitor (for example) course progress for an individual. OnDemand ships with several built-in reports, and these can be easily customized.
See also the comments made under "Know It" mode (above) relating to the tracking of user's scores.
Links
- Global Knowledge: www.globalknowledge.com/
- OnDemand www.ondemandgk.com
See Also
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