Agence Nationale pour la Rénovation Urbaine (National Agency for Urban Renewal)

The flexibility of the solution, its adaptability to the agendas of the people being trained and its availability at all times make it an ideal tool for continuous training, consolidating and securing the transformation. N.M. Deputy Managing Director, in charge of transformation projects for the ANRU Agency

‍Project challengesand requirements

The Agence Nationale pour la Rénovation Urbaine (ANRU - National Agency for Urban Renewal) is a public industrial and commercial establishment (EPIC) which finances and supports local authorities and social landlords to implement large-scale renovation projects in the most vulnerable neighborhoods throughout France.

The challenges of the ANRU project were to achieve the digital transformation of the major version of the IODA business application. This Contract and Grant Management software is developed in-house by ANRU.

The objectives of ANRU's Strategy and Support Department were tosupport users before and after the roll-out of the 3rd module of the main IODA business application, and at the same time to ensure that IODA was successfully adopted and used by their partners.

Context

ANRU commissioned the 1st IODA module in 2018 and the 2nd module in 2019.

The training of users on module 2 was carried out in the form of :

• 1 to 2 days of classroom training on PowerPoint and demonstration of the tool in a dedicated environment
• Complemented by a "static" e-learning case
• 15 video training modules.

Feedback and scoping study conducted by DXC Technology and the project team from ANRU's Strategy and Support Department highlighted weaknesses in the support provided to users during these deployments.

An impact analysis, field interviews and a satisfaction survey were used to define training methods for internal staff and external players. All training courses had to include a practical component to enable participants to consolidate their theoretical knowledge.

As it was not possible for the IT department to provide users with a "school base" type environment, the ANRU project team, supported by DXC Technology integrated this constraint into its thinking on the most appropriate support strategy, and defined a "support project" start-up date for the 3rd quarter of 2020.

The solution was designed to :

ANRU management

Ensure that all our stakeholders are fully conversant with the IODA tool, as well as with regulatory developments in a context of internal transformation.

The project team

To be able to deploy quality support in a short timeframe (large population to be supported before deployment) and to be supported afterwards.

Users

To be trained both face-to-face and remotely, using the application in an environment equivalent to the screens and processes of the target software - 3rd module and subsequent releases -
To be supported and guided over time, and to be able to easily find teaching aids (or management rules) once in a real working situation.

The IS Department

To find an alternative to the environment, maintenance, recurring reinitializations and impact on third-party applications of a possible school database, considered time-consuming, cumbersome and de facto expensive.

Two distinct internal and external target populations:

130 in-house staff, mainly Financial Officers and Territorial Officers, who monitor and support contract drafting, grant applications and related payments.

1,500 occasional users who are ANRU partners: Délégations Territoriales, Collectivités locales, Bailleurs Sociaux, Organismes HLM... each playing a very specific role in urban renewal projects and therefore in the IODA tool.

Project-specific constraints / specifications

The project imposed tight deadlines for preparing training content, which was due to start in November 2020, with the tool scheduled to go into production in February 2021, bearing in mind that IODA module 3 was still being finalized in November.

Selected solutions

Recommended by DXC TechnologyANRU quickly selected K-STUDIO, the Application Simulator, to train all users.

ANRU also decided to carry out a Proof Of Concept (POC) with K-NOW, the GPS Application, in order to measure the feasibility and benefits of the solution for internal and external users once in a real working situation. The ANRU validated the POC and confirmed the widespread deployment of K-NOW.

Project organization

Designing training content

Supported by DXC TechnologyAfter a quick training session with Knowmore, the ANRU project team formalized the training and support scenarios they then produced.

The production of the various contents began with a scoping phase to list and prioritize the exercises needed to deliver relevant training within the tight deadlines. Next, design workshops were held with the project team and business experts to refine the storyboards and pedagogical objectives. Finally, the actual content production was carried out by teams trained in the K-STUDIO authoring software.

Remote training for users and partners

An initial series of 10 K-STUDIO SCORM training modules, posted on the extranet, has enabled us to start training future users in the practical application of the new major version of IODA.

Given the current situation, ANRU has decided to train users remotely, and to date has trained 50 employees and 300 external partners.

Results

1. Hands-on training in :

• Optimizing classroom and distance learning time
• Reducing knowledge loss after training
• Dynamic, contextualized access to multimedia reference documentation (business rules, regulatory information)
• Enabling independent training on the workstation in real-life situations

The Learner has the feeling of practicing in the real application. Training or self-training: modules are available on server, LMS or USB key.

• He can train without constraints
• He has the right to make a mistake
• It can self-correct

The trainer alternates sequences without worrying about the management and quality of the data sets.

• It includes all statements and exercises in a single, comprehensive format
• It can decide to display a choice of statements
• It alternates between media consultations and exercises.
• In the middle of an exercise
• It recognizes the year-end result without fear for the production database.
• He can track the progress of exercises played

Up to now, the training courses have met participants' expectations in over 90% of cases, and the exercises carried out on the simulator are a real success factor. Indeed, when asked what employees and partners thought worked well, they replied:

• "The implementation of distance activities (exercises) that allowed us to put our knowledge into practice and maintain our attention throughout the training."
• "Practice through online exercises."
• "Using the IODA simulator (K-STUDIO) with the help of the virtual assistant (K-NOW)."

1. Employee buy-in and digital adoption in :

• Guiding users through their activities while respecting business processes
• Reducing procedural errors
• Informing through the application of changes in procedures and business rules in force

Once trained, in a real work situation in IODA, the user will find some of the processes seen in training.

K-NOW supports both internal and external users in their day-to-day use of IODA, providing guidance and messages to help them process and track their grant management files.

Outlook

According to the same methodology, many other complementary contents are planned to be added over the course of 2021 to enrich the training courses as they go along, and above all to enable users to train independently on complex cases. These will be easily updated as new versions of IODA are released.

In addition, real-time guidance and context-sensitive help will gradually be added to IODA using the K-NOW solution, to provide on-the-job assistance.

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The availability of simulator exercises during training sessions enables participants to appreciate the simplicity and ergonomics of the tool. These exercises, which will be made available even outside training sessions, are a real asset for users who do not necessarily work with IODA on a daily basis. A. B. Change Management Project Manager. DXC Technology

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