Selecting the Best Application Training Methods for Your AM/FM/GIS Project

Any organization planning to implement an AM/FM/GIS project will face the following issues:

Confidence in the effectiveness of GIS by staff at all levels. When GIS is untried and may mean change to their job description, staff may question the benefits and improvements that it will bring both to the organization and the employees. They may also doubt the ease with which they will be able to make use of the technology to enhance and improve both the quantity and quality of their productivity.
Motivation to implement GIS and to persist in learning how to use, apply, improve and develop it. Motivation itself is usually driven by conviction, particularly when a clear indication can be seen of the benefits that are likely to accrue to the individual and the organization. If the perceived long and short term benefits are not made apparent, motivation will be low.
Skills necessary for computing, designing and constructing maps, translating jobs into GIS functionality, interrogating and interpreting spatial information, and decision making that is based on new types of information.
Knowledge of spatial systems and their behavior; geographical characteristics associated with social, economic, and environmental information and their interaction, and an understanding of the errors intrinsic to spatial data and how these errors influence its use.
Experience in thinking problems through in a spatial context; with using the “new tools” associated with an AM/FM/GIS system, and with the problems which may be encountered as a result of adopting these new practices.

Managers in large organizations need to recognize how crucial these issues are in determining the success of a venture and how deficiencies in one area may limit the overall effectiveness of the project. For example, motivation rests on confidence, and it may be undermined by a lack of experience, training, or communication. To overcome this problem, manager must govern the complex relationships between these parameters. It is only through the effective education of the work force that the integration of new technologies and new methods will be accepted by individuals who make up the organization.

The two main options for organizations when they wish to train AM/FM/GIS application users are instructor-led training programs and independent study programs. The instructor-led training method includes formal and informal training. Formal training is conducted in a classroom environment with all the required AM/FM/GIS applications installed onto the training workstations. This method allows the instructor to deliver lectures interactively and enables the students to have hands-on practice with the AM/FM/GIS application software. Informal training can be conducted in a conference room or a traditional classroom. This type of training includes presentations, workshop/demonstration, or interactive distance learning (or video conferencing).