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Guest View: Training builds more than skills


By Matt Harp
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December 15, 2008 —  (Page 1 of 3)
Let’s face it: Any good salesperson is going to go for the up-sell or the add-on. If you’re like most people, your knee-jerk reaction is to say no.

Software training is one of those add-ons you’ve probably declined over and over again—and indeed, in many cases developers can get by without it. They don’t really need training for business or productivity packages. But when it comes to tools that are essential to the development process, such as application life-cycle management, you can’t afford to do without training.

In most organizations, training is considered an expense rather than an investment. Managers complain that time spent in a classroom is time stolen from more important activities. But that thinking is backward (and I’m not just saying that because I’m in charge of the customer training department for a software company). Investing in training upfront can save you from expensive support calls and rework later on.

It’s a simple fact: When it comes to ALM tools, developers need training. But managers often assume developers are smart enough to figure everything out on their own; after all, isn’t that what makes them good developers? And developers can make things worse by not asking for training, fearing that to do so would be an admission of weakness.

As a result, many developers learn to use a new ALM tool on the job, and that’s a problem for a number of reasons.

First, because they’re focused on understanding the basics, novices aren’t qualified to determine the best way to use a tool. When you’re learning to hit a baseball, you concentrate on simply making contact. You don’t yet have enough knowledge to time your swing and hit the ball to the opposite field. The same applies to learning a development application. Understanding how to create a branch in an SCM tool is much different from understanding the best branching methodology for your process.

Further, self-reliance causes needless tool turnover, but learning from best practices improves your efficiency quickly. It’s much more cost-effective to train on a tool before you use it on a project. If you rush in unprepared, you run the risk of having to redo work because you didn’t properly understand the tool.


Related Search Term(s): professional development

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