Oracle UPK - Providing context through the use of Custom Text

The easiest and simplest way to add value to your Topics is to make good use of Custom Text in the Bubbles. We looked at how to influence the Template Text, and how to add Custom Text, in Chapter 4, Editing a Topic, so we will not go over the same information here. Instead, we will simply look at what you can (and should) do with Custom Text. If you need additional help on Custom Text, refer to Chapter 4, Editing a Topic.

The Start Frame

You may recall that the very first Frame in a Topic is the Start Frame. This is sometimes referred to as the Introduction frame, which is largely a throwback to OnDemand, as we shall see shortly. As this Frame is the first thing that a trainee will see when they carry out a Topic, coupled with the fact that this Frame is a "nonaction" Frame, in that the user does not need to actively do anything (other than pressing Enter to continue), it is a good place to provide some additional information to the trainee.

The first thing that you should explain in the Introduction frame is exactly what the trainee will be learning in the exercise. Certainly the title of the Topic should give them a clue, but this is not really detailed enough. A good source of information for this is the learning objectives of the course for which this exercise has been built, or the competencies, depending on your curriculum development process. For our sample exercise, we could use the bubble shown in the following screenshot:

This is a good start, but we can do more.

It is always useful, with training exercises, to use realistic business scenarios to explain what the trainee is doing, to put the keystrokes and mouse-clicks into a business context. Trainees are much more likely to remember information to which they can relate. Consider telling a story and walking the trainees through that story as they carry out the exercise. Although it is a fairly spurious example, we will continue with our sample exercise. Here, we could use the bubble shown in the following screenshot:

So now the trainee has a good idea of what they will learn, and they have an example that they can relate to. The text is also directed at the trainee, so the trainee will feel actively involved.

There is another strong argument for including a scenario in the form shown above. Consider the case where you are providing training for users in multiple locations (possibly countries) or departments, each of which has its own set of customers, products, and vendors. Users will always want to see exercises using their data: orders for their products, placed at their location, and so on.

To keep everyone happy, you would need to develop a separate, customized Topic for each location or user group. If the basic process (and, most importantly for us, the Actions in the recording) is the same in each case, this is clearly inefficient. However, if you create a scenario, and say something like "You are a Customer Service Representative in the Tampa Service Center. Customer SunCo has phoned through an order for 1,000 gallons of regular gasoline. You need to record this order in the system so that it can be fulfilled by Fuel Services." then trainees who are not at the Tampa Service Center will at least understand that this is role play. It is make believe, and they shouldn't be concerned that they don't see products that they don't supply at their own location. So set the scene with a scenario in the Introduction pane, and then build on this throughout the exercise.