====== Training ======

Spending time and resources to produce training materials for an unresponsive prospective user community will actually impede the adoption and long-term success of your knowledge base.

===== Usage =====

Wiki contributions are down or stagnant. You recognize an abundance of [[Do It All]], [[Leech]], [[Wikiphobia]], and possibly [[ContributorForHire]] people anti-patterns. People complain that it's too difficult to get their ideas into the shared knowledge base. You (or your established IT infrastructure) responds by addressing their apparent demands for more **training**, simpler examples, and more technical documentation.

==== Example ====

  * wiki [[Champion]] resources are spent making training pages, duplicating or simplifying application documentation, and making walkthrough videos or presentations (especially in 3rd party tools rather than the wiki itself)
  * users attend training sessions, but this does not translate to contributions
  * users don't even attend training sessions but complain that the application is 'non-intuitive' or 'complicated'
  * despite training, users panic when asked to add an attachment or comment to an ongoing discussion, and revert to email / fax / smoke-signals

==== Problem ====

  * it's too early in the adoption process for widespread training
  * training addresses technical questions of interface and application (the How), but does not demonstrate philosophical differences or encourage cultural change (the Why)
  * armed with temporary and unmotivated technical knowledge, users will fail to practise
  * eventually, users will lose interest and conclude the system is not useful for them or does not 'work' in their local 'culture'
  * some IT solutions are about technical training rather than 'teaching'. 'learning' happens when the student has the triad of //motivation// , //information// , //practice// . You are lacking //motivation// and perhaps //practice// . These can't be mandated easily, but rather encouraged.

===== Alternatives =====

  * Use peer tutoring, encourage (wiki [[Champions]])
  * Use [[Magnet]], [[Scaffold]] or other adoption patterns to demonstrate utility and encourage use.
  * Be patient.
  * Encourage resource spending on training in **response** to user demand only, not as a means to promote usage.
  * Consider targetting 'philosophy' campaigns directed at problematic trend-setters rather than technical training

===== Related Patterns =====