Custom PLM Training Development Part 6: Follow-up Activities

This blog is Part 6 in the “Custom PLM Training Development” blog series. If you would like to review the previous parts, you can access them via the links below: 

1. Initiation/Proposal/Kickoff
2. Planning
3. Storyboard Development and Review 
4. Module (or Chapter) Development and Review 
5. Publish and Delivery of Final Deliverables 
6. Follow-up Activities 

This blog addresses the follow-up activities that take place after the final deliverables have been sent to the client and the training has been delivered, whether via online self-paced delivery, online instructor-led delivery, in-person instructor-led delivery, or a hybrid of these delivery methods. This phase is essential to ensure a successful adoption of the Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software and ongoing productivity of its users.  

Keeping in mind that employee engagement and productivity increases are key metrics in determining PLM software Return on Investment (ROI), the follow-up activities after PLM training delivery can include: 

• Gathering feedback from the PLM software users during in-person face-to-face sessions. 

• Following up using a survey after a few months or more depending on the questions you want to ask. This can be an effective way to assess how much information has been retained from the training and determine what action needs to be taken to help the productivity of the PLM software users. This survey is different from the training survey and can include questions about the use and performance of the PLM software. This can bring out questions about new customizations added to the software and topics not required or ready to teach in the initial training. 

• Conducting Lunch and Learn sessions either online or in-person to communicate information about new customizations or other topics now ready or required to learn. 

• Posting updates regarding customizations in a central location and notifying users of the details. One way is to show news posts from your SharePoint site in a Microsoft Teams channel using the SharePoint News connector app. Then each time a news post is published, you can receive a notification about the post in your Team channel conversation. From this same data, you can generate a News Digest newsletter about the updates. We have helped clients set up the Teams/SharePoint site and News Digest newsletter. Information about one of these client projects is shown here in this case study.

This concludes the 6-part blog series on “Custom PLM Training Development” that stepped you through the process of how we work with our clients who are interested in a customized PLM training program for their PLM/PDM software, such as PTC’s Windchill products, Dassault Systèmes’ ENOVIA V6 and 3DEXPERIENCE platforms, Bentley’s ProjectWise software, and Autodesk’s Vault Professional and Fusion 360 Manage products.

Thank you for reading, and I hope that it has been useful to you! 

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 Lifecycle, 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.

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