I write a lot about publishing Training modules in Cassava, but what about the creation side of the story? How does your team approach creating in-house training programs for your organization?
The creation process is often fraught with uncertainty and indecision. Our mind works best in a non-linear stream of consciousness flow, making connections that seemingly did not exist a minute ago.
The trick in life is to lean into this natural process of creativity rather than to swim upstream against the apparent tide of unorder.
So, where, or better yet, how should you begin?
Mind Maps
Decomposing a problem into its constituent elements is a skill best suited to Mind Maps. These diagrams allow you to capture the essence of a problem and reveal hidden intricate connections.
If you spend any time in the area of self improvement, you will inevitably cross paths with the concept of SMART goals. Let’s use this paradigm to illustrate how you can mind map your way to a training module.
Below is a Coggle mind map of the SMART goal paradigm.
Take a minute to pan and zoom this highly interactive diagram.
From Mind map to Experience
An examination of the S.M.A.R.T goal mind map reveals an underlying structure that is composed of five top-level Disciplines:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Relevant
- Time-based
The decomposition does not stop with Disciplines, as we see by the appearance of Principles. Let us zoom in closer at the Measurable Discipline.
- How much?
- How many?
- How will I know it when it is accomplished?
- Trackable
- Realistic
Each Principle provides an opportunity to dive deeper into multiple aspects of what it means for a goal to be measurable.
Principles are where you make your content shine by including supporting material as Attachments and by adding Assessments to measure retention. The building blocks you see here form the basis of an Experience (i.e., Training module) in Cassava.
The anatomy of an Experience in Cassava is illustrated in yet another mind map shown below.
Carefully crafted custom content by you is sequenced with a schedule and published to an audience assembled from the members of your organization.
Today, you can build your audience by integrating Cassava with your Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Webex platforms, in addition to good old-fashion Email, with more distribution channels on the way.
Cassava presents a convenient workflow to transform the insights gleaned from a Mind map into an executable program that serves your needs.
Summary
The next time you need to create a Training module, reach for a mind-mapping tool to condense your thoughts, and while you are here, consider building and publishing it with Cassava.
As always, I welcome your feedback.
Michael
You no doubt have an opinion bubbling to the surface.