The Lifecycle of Training in DesignLab

Training and learning solutions are prone to change as often as the technology that created them. Case in point—back when Flash was all the rage, we developed an authoring tool that was responsive and adaptable within the Flash environment. It worked really well until the bottom dropped out on Flash utilization and everything switched from Flash to HTML5. This sea change presented a very real problem for us and our clients, who suddenly faced an online world that could no longer accommodate our content.

This is only one example of how a training program can stagnate—regardless of how much love, effort, and attention to detail, a slight change in the learning environment or a generational shift in the learning population can render even the most well-conceived training programs obsolete. It’s something that we’ve seen several times in our experience. We’ve worked with clients who put everything they’ve got into one big training project. This is the pièce de résistance for their L&D team, a definitive resource that’s meant to last for years and years. And then…disaster strikes. The company splits in two. The brand changes. The terminology evolves. Suddenly, our client’s big investment in their training no longer seems quite as worthwhile.

Introducing Flexible Content Authoring in DesignLab

While no one can predict the rise and fall of technological and training trends, flexibility and adaptability are more important than ever. Indeed, it was the sudden realization that Flash would no longer be viable that prompted us to put these two concepts at the forefront of our thinking. To maintain our flexibility in the field of corporate training, we created DesignLab to help us work with clients to create custom training that can thrive in today’s HTML5 environment. With a customizable library of learning activities and a programming suite that allows us to incorporate client branding and imagery, we’re introducing our clients to a whole new world of possibilities.

Perhaps the most versatile aspect of DesignLab comes from our customizable library of learning activities. Each one has been designed to guide a learner through information gathering, interactive videos, and learning assessments, but each activity can be tailored to fit the aesthetic or brand that best suits the client. This means that if your brand, learning objectives, audience, or policies change, those changes can be easily implemented and published in real time.

At this point, you may be thinking something along the lines of, “Wait—that sounds cool, but it also sounds hard. Do I have to have a degree in computer engineering to use it?” The short answer is that anyone with basic internet skills can start building in Design Lab. You don’t have to be a certified expert to use it. While we’re happy to set up a consultation to see how our team can use DesignLab to help you get a training program off the ground, we’ll also soon be offering support packages through our DesignLab tool. With a DesignLab package, you can update your training yourself without having to engage with AllenComm resources throughout the process—though we’re always glad to help if you need us.

With its focus on adaptability, its ease of use, and its vast library of learning activities, DesignLab is among our proudest achievements. We’ve seen how its versatility can help improve the lifecycle of a training program—no longer will changes in a company’s infrastructure or branding mean creating new training programs from scratch. No longer will a change in learner demographics mean the end of a learning solution as you know it. With the help of DesignLab, your corporate training can adapt to whatever changes may come your way.

It’s easy to see that we’re extremely excited about DesignLab—keep checking back for more information!