The Challenge

To ensure that its software development teams followed their strict procedures when creating new products or upgrades, Omgeo originally offered instructor-led classroom training.“This required us to travel extensively throughout the world,” said Siobhan Curran, Manager of Instructional Design for Omgeo, “It meant having the instructor travel to remote offices, including Asia, or having our 70-product development team members and new hires travel to our Boston headquarters — a significant expense for the company.”

In order to provide the same effective training while eliminating travel costs, Omgeo launched an online training program.In searching for the optimal solution, the company needed to satisfy two technical requirements:the use of Dreamweaver software and avoid potential security risks.“Our internal staff already knew how to use Dreamweaver software from Macromedia,” Curran said, “So we wanted to maintain that as our front-end application for content management.We also needed to avoid the use of server-side technology and end-user plug-ins, which create potential security risks for us, as well as our financial-institution customers. Thus the solution needed was to utilize straight HTML programming.”

In launching the new training program for its software development teams, Omgeo sought to accomplish four objectives:

• Obtain the ability to train worldwide employees — without requiring travel to and from the Boston headquarters location.
• Create and disseminate dynamic courseware quickly as new training needs arise.
• Develop an online training web property designed to enhance the corporate image.
• Simultaneously develop a training platform for other departments, such as Human Resources and Marketing, to provide new-hire orientation and to present Omgeo products to worldwide prospects via Internet connections.

The Solution

Omgeo found the answer to these objectives and to their overall online training needs in the eTraining offered by BRIDGELINE Software.

BRIDGELINE created a custom eTraining application that allows Omgeo’s internal staff to create topic-based training programs. Each program displays up to 20 topics and sub-topics with up to 14 pages per sub-topic. The template includes sections such as resources, glossary, help, and feedback with a total capacity of nearly 1300 pages — providing unlimited capability to add documents, resources and links.

“We chose BRIDGELINE because they presented a clearly-defined framework and process for exactly how they would achieve the final deliverable,” Curran said, “We strongly preferred this approach compared to the ad-hoc approach that other development companies tend to use.”

BRIDGELINE also impressed Omgeo with well thought-out template designs during the proposal stage. “They presented the most comprehensive proposal,” says Curran, “It gave us a clear idea of their interpretation of the design because they had already started working on our solution before winning the job.”

BRIDGELINE further impressed Curran by designing the templates based on direct input from Omgeo. “They valued the instructional-design philosophies that we preferred, and they recognized that we are the experts,” she explained, “Their designer understood the vision we wanted and the needs of our training audience. BRIDGELINE truly combines technical savvy with superb design capabilities.”

While BRIDGELINE developed the core technology and templates for the new training site, Omgeo created the content. BRIDGELINE then inserted the content into the new templates and launched the system. Omgeo now has the capability of creating future courses on its own.

“The project stayed on schedule and within the budget,” added Curran, “BRIDGELINE also adapted to our special needs. For example, we needed to use images from PowerPoint presentations so BRIDGELINE worked this into the templates and formatted it properly so that we did not have to invest in new artwork.”

Bridgeline’s services group provided strategists, information architects designers and Flash professionals to ensure a compelling and effective user experience.

The Results

Omgeo now has a modern, online training program that course participants have found visually appealing. The site provides graphically-rich objects with which students interact, as well as flash motion-graphics on the homepage that set the overall tone of the program. The flash is generic to the application, so Omgeo can use it in each of its program. Created with HTML programming, the product allows all the navigation to be dynamic using a JavaScript navigation system that does not require any server-side technology or end-user plug-ins. A generic template-set without content allows Omgeo to create new programs using the blank set and to enter content into generic templates.

“The feedback from students and instructors has been very positive,” Curran said. “The information that we need to convey has been absorbed effectively, and we no longer spend time and money traveling. Everyone can take the course from their desktop on their own schedule and at their own pace. This leaves more time for everyone to focus on their main job responsibilities.”

Curran added that the design of the eTraining site has also enhanced Omgeo’s corporate image. “Whether we train employees or demonstrate products to customers,” Curran said, “the BRIDGELINE solution will help build a positive corporate image because of its professional design.”

The new solution feedback has been so positive that other Omgeo departments plan to launch eTraining programs soon. For instance, Human Resources will create courseware to orientate new hires and to inform the current 500 employees of new policies; the Marketing department plans to create presentations that will help the sales staff demonstrate Omgeo software to future prospects.

“For a company like ours, with offices throughout the world, BRIDGELINE’S eTraining allows us to effectively communicate training, corporate and product material to audiences as quickly as the need arise,” Curran concluded.