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Tying a Sensible Knot: A Practical Guide to State-Local Information Systems

Abstract

Acknowledgments

Executive Summary

Chapter 1. Understanding the State-Local Environment

Chapter 2. Principles for Working in the State-Local Environment

Chapter 3. Best Practices

Appendices
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Chapter 3. Best Practices

Train thoroughly

Mastering a new computer system can be a tricky business for even the most proficient users. Of course, the ideal system design is so elegant and simple to use that little training is necessary. This simplicity is seldom possible, however. Complex, interconnecting systems may not permit the ease of use that a single purpose system does. For example, a system that connects health care providers with local governments and insurers demands different training strategies than one that involves only the account clerks in a single finance office. Both need excellent training, but the integrity of the system and its information is far more vulnerable to error in the first than in the second. In both cases, the users are not technical experts, but are professionals in other fields who must use the system to accomplish some part of their responsibilities. Training needs to demonstrate not only how the system works, but how it fits in this larger picture. "User-friendly" training is crucial, but "friendly" is often in the eye of the beholder; that is, what is friendly to the development team may not seem so easy to the user. The user’s needs and reactions should be the litmus test for the ease or difficulty of the system, and training should be developed around their needs.

When any user adopts a new information system, there is always some anxiety. The process of adopting a new system can be made much less painful by offering well-designed, user-oriented training sessions and reference materials. A thorough training program can help users be more confident in the system and allow them to approach the work more enthusiastically. It is often a good idea to offer training at various points in the system development process. Train those who will evaluate prototypes early in the process, give general orientation sessions to all participants in advance of implementation, and train thoroughly at the point of roll-out in each organization.

Training can take many forms from formal classes to written help materials, and it’s important to recognize that different staff members have different preferences and varying strengths in acquiring new knowledge. It’s helpful to present the same content several different ways to appeal to the different learning styles represented among employees. One person may be an excellent listener and can learn most easily through a lecture or by hearing a trainer talk about how to navigate through a new system. The person in the next seat could be a visual learner and would much prefer seeing the functions of a new system mapped out in geometric shapes with colors differentiating various options available. Others learn by doing and benefit most from hands-on exercises. Whatever the format, thoughtful user training conveys information and relieves anxiety - both critical to successful implementation.


Automated Dog Licensing: Get help from your friends

The NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, initiated peer tutoring for the Electronic Transfer of Dog Licenses. Town Clerks who have adopted the automated dog license process volunteer to train their colleagues from other towns in issuing licenses electronically.They are even willing to travel to other municipalities to do on-site one-on-one training. The experienced users also use the Municipal Clerks Association to spread the word about the automated process of issuing dog licenses. In our discussions with the local representatives for this project, they cited this volunteer training program as a real plus that encourages new users to adopt a system that is strictly voluntary. Good training is to the point, meets personal users needs, and comes from credible sources such as experienced users. Excellent training is customized to meet users immediate and long-term needs. The individualized training given by Town Clerks involved in the Automated Dog Licensing information system meets all of these criteria.


Aging Services System: Develop skills as you develop the system

Through the Aging Network Client Based Services Project, the State Office for the Aging (SOFA) is building a large and complex system to manage services to support the independence of elderly people. The project has started training sessions for the system even though the beta testing phase is not yet complete. Through the cooperation of the City of New York Department of Aging, a primary partner on the project, twenty-two people from twelve New York counties came together to learn about the system in preparation for the second round of beta testing. This group will explore the system capabilities and give feedback to the developers.

In preparation for the adoption of the new information system, SOFA sponsored a statewide interactive teleconference with 59 Area Agencies on Aging; 600 people participated. This training session was offered to alert practitioners to the information content that will be available on the system. The comprehensive information collection will allow case workers to develop complete care plans for aging individuals. This content training is just as important as the technology "how to" training. The case workers need to know what information and tools the system will contain in order to use it effectively to support integrated case management.

When the new information system is implemented SOFA will conduct regional training sessions and additional teleconferencing training in order to introduce the system to users around the state.

"Training needs to demonstrate not only how the system works, but how it fits into the larger picture."