4.11. ORGANIZATIONAL TRAINING

Purpose
The purpose of Organizational Training (OT) is to develop the skills and knowledge of people so they can perform their roles effectively and efficiently.

Introductory Notes

Organizational Training includes training to support the organization’s strategic business objectives and to meet the tactical training needs that are common across projects and support groups. Specific training needs identified by individual projects and support groups are handled at the project and support group level and are outside the scope of Organizational Training. Project and support groups are responsible for identifying and addressing their specific training needs.
Refer to the Project Planning process area for more information about the specific training needs identified by projects.
An organizational training program involves the following:
· Identifying the training needed by the organization
· Obtaining and providing training to address those needs
· Establishing and maintaining training capability
· Establishing and maintaining training records
· Assessing training effectiveness
Effective training requires assessment of needs, planning, instructional design, and appropriate training media (e.g., workbooks and computer software), as well as a repository of training process data. As an organizational process, the main components of training include a managed training development program, documented plans, personnel with appropriate mastery of specific disciplines and other areas of knowledge, and mechanisms for measuring the effectiveness of the training program.
The identification of process training needs is primarily based on the skills that are required to perform the organization’s set of standard processes.
Refer to the Organizational Process Definition process area for more information about the organization’s set of standard processes.
Certain skills may be effectively and efficiently imparted through vehicles other than in-class training experiences (e.g., informal mentoring). Other skills require more formalized training vehicles, such as in a classroom, by Web-based training, through guided self-study, or via a formalized on-the-job training program. The formal or informal training vehicles employed for each situation should be based on an assessment of the need for training and the performance gap to be addressed. The term “training” used throughout this process area is used broadly to include all of these learning options.
Success in training can be measured in terms of the availability of opportunities to acquire the skills and knowledge needed to perform new and ongoing enterprise activities.
Skills and knowledge may be technical, organizational, or contextual. Technical skills pertain to the ability to use the equipment, tools, materials, data, and processes required by a project or a process. Organizational skills pertain to behavior within and according to the employee’s organization structure, role and responsibilities, and general operating principles and methods. Contextual skills are the self-management, communication, and interpersonal abilities needed to successfully perform in the organizational and social context of the project and support groups.
The phrase “project and support groups” is used frequently in the text of the process area description to indicate an organization-level perspective.
Related Process Areas
Refer to the Organizational Process Definition process area for more information about the organization’s process assets.
Refer to the Project Planning process area for more information about the specific training needs identified by projects.
Refer to the Decision Analysis and Resolution process area for how to apply decision-making criteria when determining training approaches.

Specific Goal and Practice Summary

SG 1 Establish an Organizational Training Capability
SP 1.1 Establish the Strategic Training Needs
SP 1.2 Determine Which Training Needs Are the Responsibility of the Organization
SP 1.3 Establish an Organizational Training Tactical Plan
SP 1.4 Establish Training Capability

SG 2 Provide Necessary Training
SP 2.1 Deliver Training
SP 2.2 Establish Training Records
SP 2.3 Assess Training Effectiveness

SG 1 Establish an Organizational Training Capability

A training capability, which supports the organization's management and technical roles, is established and maintained.

The organization identifies the training required to develop the skills and the knowledge necessary to perform enterprise activities. Once the needs are identified, a training program addressing those needs is developed.

IPPD Addition
Cross-functional training, leadership training, interpersonal skills training, and training in the skills needed to integrate appropriate business and technical functions is needed by integrated team members. The potentially wider range of requirements and participant backgrounds may require relevant stakeholders who were not involved in requirements development to take cross training in the disciplines involved in product design in order to commit to requirements with a full understanding of the range of requirements and their interrelationships.

SP 1.1 Establish the Strategic Training Needs

Establish and maintain the strategic training needs of the organization.

Strategic training needs address long-term objectives to build a capability by filling significant knowledge gaps, introducing new technologies, or implementing major changes in behavior. Strategic planning typically looks two to five years into the future.
Examples of sources of strategic training needs include the following:
· Organization’s standard processes
· Organization’s strategic business plan
· Organization’s process improvement plan
· Enterprise-level initiatives
· Skill assessments
· Risk analyses


IPPD Addition
IPPD requires leadership and interpersonal skills beyond those typically found in traditional development environments. Specific skills emphasized in an IPPD environment include the following:
· The ability to integrate all appropriate business and technical functions and their processes
· The ability to coordinate and collaborate with others


Typical Work Products
1. Training needs
2. Assessment analysis
Subpractices
1. Analyze the organization’s strategic business objectives and process improvement plan to identify potential future training needs.
2. Document the strategic training needs of the organization.
Examples of categories of training needs include (but are not limited to) the following:
· Process analysis and documentation
· Engineering (e.g., requirements analysis, design, testing, configuration management, and quality assurance)
· Service delivery
· Selection and management of suppliers
· Management (e.g., estimating, tracking, and risk management)
· Disaster recovery and continuity of operations

3. Determine the roles and skills needed to perform the organization’s set of standard processes.
4. Document the training needed to perform the roles in the organization’s set of standard processes.
5. Document the training needed to maintain the safe, secure and continued operation of the business.
6. Revise the organization’s strategic needs and required training as necessary.

SP 1.2 Determine Which Training Needs Are the Responsibility of the Organization

Determine which training needs are the responsibility of the organization and which will be left to the individual project or support group.

Refer to the Project Planning process area for more information about project- and support-group-specific plans for training.
In addition to strategic training needs, organizational training addresses training requirements that are common across projects and support groups. Projects and support groups have the primary responsibility for identifying and addressing their specific training needs. The organization’s training staff is only responsible for addressing common cross-project and support group training needs (e.g., training in work environments common to multiple projects). In some cases, however, the organization’s training staff may address additional training needs of projects and support groups, as negotiated with them, within the context of the training resources available and the organization’s training priorities.
Typical Work Products
1. Common project and support group training needs
2. Training commitments
Subpractices
1. Analyze the training needs identified by the various projects and support groups.
Analysis of project and support group needs is intended to identify common training needs that can be most efficiently addressed organization-wide. These needs-analysis activities are used to anticipate future training needs that are first visible at the project and support group level.
2. Negotiate with the various projects and support groups on how their specific training needs will be satisfied.
The support provided by the organization’s training staff depends on the training resources available and the organization’s training priorities.
Examples of training appropriately performed by the project or support group include the following:
· Training in the application or service domain of the project
· Training in the unique tools and methods used by the project or support group
· Training in safety, security, and human factors

3. Document the commitments for providing training support to the projects and support groups.

SP 1.3 Establish an Organizational Training Tactical Plan

Establish and maintain an organizational training tactical plan.

The organizational training tactical plan is the plan to deliver the training that is the responsibility of the organization and is necessary for individuals to perform their roles effectively. This plan addresses the near-term execution of training and is adjusted periodically in response to changes (e.g., in needs or resources) and to evaluations of effectiveness.
Typical Work Products
1. Organizational training tactical plan
Subpractices
1. Establish plan content.
Organizational training tactical plans typically contain the following:
· Training needs
· Training topics
· Schedules based on training activities and their dependencies
· Methods used for training
· Requirements and quality standards for training materials
· Training tasks, roles, and responsibilities
· Required resources including tools, facilities, environments, staffing, and skills and knowledge
2. Establish commitments to the plan.
Documented commitments by those responsible for implementing and supporting the plan are essential for the plan to be effective.
3. Revise plan and commitments as necessary.

SP 1.4 Establish Training Capability

Establish and maintain training capability to address organizational training needs.

Refer to the Decision Analysis and Resolution process area for how to apply decision-making criteria when selecting training approaches and developing training materials.
Typical Work Products
1. Training materials and supporting artifacts
Subpractices
1. Select the appropriate approaches to satisfy specific organizational training needs.
Many factors may affect the selection of training approaches, including audience-specific knowledge, costs and schedule, work environment, and so on. Selection of an approach requires consideration of the means to provide skills and knowledge in the most effective way possible given the constraints.
Examples of training approaches include the following:
· Classroom training
· Computer-aided instruction
· Guided self-study
· Formal apprenticeship and mentoring programs
· Facilitated videos
· Chalk talks
· Brown-bag lunch seminars
· Structured on-the-job training

2. Determine whether to develop training materials internally or acquire them externally.
Determine the costs and benefits of internal training development or of obtaining training externally.
Example criteria that can be used to determine the most effective mode of knowledge or skill acquisition include the following:
· Performance objectives
· Time available to prepare for project execution
· Business objectives
· Availability of in-house expertise
· Availability of training from external sources

Examples of external sources of training include the following:
· Customer-provided training
· Commercially available training courses
· Academic programs
· Professional conferences
· Seminars

3. Develop or obtain training materials.
Training may be provided by the project, by support groups, by the organization, or by an external organization. The organization’s training staff coordinates the acquisition and delivery of training regardless of its source.
Examples of training materials include the following:
· Courses
· Computer-aided instruction
· Videos

4. Develop or obtain qualified instructors.
To ensure that internally provided training instructors have the necessary knowledge and training skills, criteria can be defined to identify, develop, and qualify them. In the case of externally provided training, the organization’s training staff can investigate how the training provider determines which instructors will deliver the training. This can also be a factor in selecting or continuing to use a specific training provider.
5. Describe the training in the organization's training curriculum.
Examples of the information provided in the training descriptions for each course include the following:
· Topics covered in the training
· Intended audience
· Prerequisites and preparation for participating
· Training objectives
· Length of the training
· Lesson plans
· Completion criteria for the course
· Criteria for granting training waivers

6. Revise the training materials and supporting artifacts as necessary.
Examples of situations in which the training materials and supporting artifacts may need to be revised include the following:
· Training needs change (e.g., when new technology associated with the training topic is available)
· An evaluation of the training identifies the need for change (e.g., evaluations of training effectiveness surveys, training program performance assessments, or instructor evaluation forms)

SG 2 Provide Necessary Training

Training necessary for individuals to perform their roles effectively is provided.

In selecting people to be trained, the following should be taken into consideration:
· Background of the target population of training participants
· Prerequisite background to receive training
· Skills and abilities needed by people to perform their roles
· Need for cross-discipline technical management training for all disciplines, including project management
· Need for managers to have training in appropriate organizational processes
· Need for training in the basic principles of all appropriate disciplines to support personnel in quality management, configuration management, and other related support functions
· Need to provide competency development for critical functional areas
· Need to maintain the competencies and qualifications of personnel to operate and maintain work environments common to multiple projects

SP 2.1 Deliver Training

SP 2.2 Establish Training Records

Establish and maintain records of the organizational training.

Refer to the Project Monitoring and Control process area for information about how project or support group training records are maintained.
The scope of this practice is for the training performed at the organizational level. Establishment and maintenance of training records for project- or support-group-sponsored training is the responsibility of each individual project or support group.
Typical Work Products
1. Training records
2. Training updates to the organizational repository
Subpractices
1. Keep records of all students who successfully complete each training course or other approved training activity as well as those who are unsuccessful.
2. Keep records of all staff who have been waived from specific training.
The rationale for granting a waiver should be documented, and both the manager responsible and the manager of the excepted individual should approve the waiver for organizational training.
3. Keep records of all students who successfully complete their designated required training.
4. Make training records available to the appropriate people for consideration in assignments.
Training records may be part of a skills matrix developed by the training organization to provide a summary of the experience and education of people, as well as training sponsored by the organization.

SP 2.3 Assess Training Effectiveness

Assess the effectiveness of the organization’s training program.

A process should exist to determine the effectiveness of training (i.e., how well the training is meeting the organization’s needs).
Examples of methods used to assess training effectiveness include the following:
· Testing in the training context
· Post-training surveys of training participants
· Surveys of managers’ satisfaction with post-training effects
· Assessment mechanisms embedded in courseware

Measures may be taken to assess the benefit of the training against both the project’s and organization’s objectives. Particular attention should be paid to the need for various training methods, such as training teams as integral work units. When used, performance objectives should be shared with course participants, and should be unambiguous, observable, and verifiable. The results of the training-effectiveness assessment should be used to revise training materials as described in the Establish Training Capability specific practice.
Typical Work Products
1. Training-effectiveness surveys
2. Training program performance assessments
3. Instructor evaluation forms
4. Training examinations
Subpractices
1. Assess in-progress or completed projects to determine whether staff knowledge is adequate for performing project tasks.
2. Provide a mechanism for assessing the effectiveness of each training course with respect to established organizational, project, or individual learning (or performance) objectives.
3. Obtain student evaluations of how well training activities met their needs.