5 Situations to Consider when Planning your PLM eLearning Projects

When planning your next PLM eLearning project as part of a PLM software implementation, below is a list of situations to consider in order to be ready with options or mitigation plans, should these situations exist or arise.

1.     RESOURCE CHALLENGES

Since PLM software implementations are major initiatives involving many tasks to be handled by the project team such as creating use cases, software testing, documenting issues, change management communications, and project management, it is common for those tasks to take priority over eLearning development tasks if internal shared resources are used. Will your eLearning development plan need to be altered due to resources being unavailable? Will resources you find to help have the PLM software and processes knowledge, as well as instructional design expertise required to create effective PLM eLearning modules? 

2.    TIGHT DEADLINES

Depending on your product program and project commitments to your stakeholders, it may not be possible to change your go-live dates if anything on the project goes awry. Therefore, you will need to come up with creative options to meet the target dates. To reduce the eLearning development time, you could assess the design of your eLearning modules, the amount of content, and type of components within the modules. For example, you could review the process of creating some of the components to see where time could be saved. Or perhaps some content can be developed at a later time after go-live if using additional resources is not an option.

 3.    CUSTOMIZATION REQUIREMENTS

Developing PLM eLearning materials that reflect your company's workflows such as Engineering Change Management processes involves consideration into what processes are needed to include in the modules and what is not necessary for go-live. You can analyze the tasks for each role and obtain feedback from the end-users ahead of time to help determine the need-to-know tasks and workflows to include.

   4.     BITE-SIZED LEARNING AND MOBILE-FRIENDLY REQUESTS

Bite-sized learning or microlearning is a popular request from end-users giving them the flexibility to learn in short amounts of time while still being able to keep up with their regular work. Mobile-friendly eLearning gives added flexibility for the end-user to learn anytime and anywhere with their mobile device. Knowing these two requirements when planning will allow you to build in the time needed for the development, including the time needed for testing of all required device sizes. 

 5.     HIGH QUALITY EXPECTATIONS

Not only are we finding that end-users are expecting bite-sized, mobile-friendly modules, they have high expectations on the quality of the modules.Time and expertise are required to create, review, update, and test the modules. Checks on functionality, formatting, grammar, and quality of multi-media and interactive content need to be performed to produce high quality modules.

In summary, if these potential situations are not considered in your planning, many can result in a stressful workplace and an overworked team with the quality of the eLearning modules lacking as well as the PLM adoption goals not being met. Planning for these situations and investigating your options can help ensure your PLM adoption is successful.  

About the Author

Product Lead – Learning Content Development<br><br>Barb's primary responsibilities include the design, development, and project management of courseware for Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) products such as Autodesk Vault, Autodesk Fusion 360 Manage, 3DEXPERIENCE, ENOVIA V6, and PTC Windchill. Her work also involves the development of custom training that is designed and configured to an organization’s specific environment, processes, and roles. Barb is a Professional Engineer and holds a degree in Aerospace Engineering. She is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and trained in Instructional Design.

Follow on Linkedin More Content by Barb Nash