The Most

Dangerous
Issues Facing
Corporations
Today
and How to

Guarantee the

Best Return

on Your
Corporate
Training Dollar.

DACG
DACG
CG
Solutions for people and technology
™
 DACG
DACG
CG ™

The reason for this projected surge in Systems are monolithic, one-size-

A
ccording to the latest
Gartner report, SAP ranks
number one in the world in
ERP, CRM and SCM. The reason
for this is, "SAP is continuing to
successfully position themselves as
the safe choice and the big stable
market leader," said Jim Shepherd,
Vice President of Research at
Boston-based AMR Research Inc.
But without trained employees, SAP
becomes a nightmare to implement,
use, and maintain. One of the main
problems is, training can not be just a
one time event. Training’s all about
knowledge transfer and making
investments in the next year is due to
improvements in the global economy
that are now allowing companies to
shift their IT focus from cutting costs
to creating revenue and improving
operational efficiency. Corporations
of today face a global economy that
is changing on a daily basis. They
are exposed to continued pressure to
keep up with the changing economic
environment and increased pressure
from global competitors. So, where
can companies invest in
improvements that can
have a dramatic
fits-all, transactional, clunky, difficult
to customize, hard to use. Learning is
a social experience where people
work collaboratively to analyze
information and make decisions.
They live in the real world where
stuff happens; exceptions are the
norm. While the systems take a
happy path, people need to deal with
all the mess that happens around the
fixed processes."3 The goals of this
paper are to look closer at the role
knowledge transfer plays in
developing a long
term sustainable

“
permanent changes in process, impact on maintaining learning environment
57% of SAP
procedures and people’s behavior, at and increasing their and how DA.
customers don't
the speed of change. The fact that competitive position Consulting Group’s
believe
57% of SAP customers don't believe in their respective (DACG, INC.)
they have achieved
they have achieved a positive ROI markets? The answer ‘Cornerstone’
a positive ROI
and 40% of the ERP systems is to invest in the right learning methodology
and 40% of the
implemented experienced adoption people and insure that can play an essential
ERP system
problems points out the difficulties of they have the right part in the future
implemented
implementing this very complex skills, tools and success of any
experienced

system. Yet, according to Boston
1 resources in order to
based ARM Research, over 70% of
organizations surveyed plan to
increase their ERP spending in the
next year and plan to spend an
average of $5.1 million on all ERP-
related activities to improve revenues
and operational efficiencies.2
adoption problems
capture new
opportunities and
remain competitive in the market. To
make significant strides in this area,
corporations will have to bridge what
Javed Silkander, the Director of
Industry Architecture at Microsoft,
calls the ‘Result Gap’. "The ‘Result
Gap’ is the gap between how 'people'
work and the way 'systems' work.
”
company.
In the early 1900’s,
management viewed workers as units
and, as a result, productivity was flat.
As new thoughts in management
evolved, we learned that productivity
and employee satisfaction improved
dramatically when management
showed interest in their daily work.
This has evolved over time into

1
Nucleus Research, The Real ROI for SAP, Research Note, D23, 2003 Nucleus Research, Inc.
Wellesley MA 02481 www.NucleusResearch.com.
2
AMR Research Inc., Microsoft Press Release, AMR Research Report Shows Microsoft Business Solutions Top Choice for Enterprise Resource
Planning Solutions in Market Poised for Huge Growth
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2006/jan06/01-24MBSTopChoicePR.mspx
3
Javed Sikander Director, Industry Architecture DP&E, Microsoft Corporation, http://blogs.msdn.com/javeds/archive/2006/06/09/624553.aspx

D A C O N S U LT I N G G R O U P, I N C . W W W. D A C G . C O M 215.338.8505 PG.2
 DACG
DACG
CG ™

organizations trying to get more out and my costs down?" The answer is the training program that may
of their employees through employee always the same. Better trained impact the company?
involvement in shared values, employees perform at higher levels
mission and vision statements, and can provide companies with a 3. What were the results of the
development of new systems and the higher earnings ratio per employee – employees’ feedback through
continual search for not just once but year comment sheets and
productivity

“
after year. But the participation?
improvements so The "Result Gap" continuing debate
that the company is the gap among executives in the 4. Did the training have an
continues to be corporate board rooms impact on increasing
stronger in this new between how 'people' is, "How and where can knowledge, skills and change
and evolving global we make an immediate of attitude?4
work and the way
economy. Are these investment in our

changes becoming
just words and
wasted efforts in the
changing marketplace?
Management surveys continue to
support overwhelmingly the premise
that people are the most important
resource that any company has in
order for them to maintain a viable
company in a competitive global
marketplace. Not just any people –
skilled, retrained, energetic,
motivated, and fully engaged
employees who are being asked to do
far more with fewer resources.
However, executives are faced with
an ever-shrinking pool of financial
resources, and this lack of resources
causes management to think far more
creatively than ever when answering
such questions as, "Where can I
focus money and resources that will
give me the best return on my
investment, driving my revenues up
”
'systems' work. workforce that will give
us a short term increase
in market share and
shareholder’s value?"
In 1959, Donald Kirkpatrick
developed a four-level model for
evaluating training programs that
continues to be the gold standard.
This model was designed to better
understand and evaluate the success
of training programs as they related
to changing people’s actual day to
day behaviors. The basic premise of
his model is to add structure to the
training process so that the
executives in the company can more
clearly understand the successes and
short comings of their goals. The
Kirkpatrick model was developed to
better address these four questions:
1. Did the training result in a
change in behavior?
2. What final results occurred in
All four questions are a necessary
part of the learning process and need
to be addressed by the entire
organization prior to an investment in
any major enterprise software
product purchase and roll out. To
better address these issues,
companies considering an investment
in these software productivity and
process systems should seek external
expertise to help them facilitate the
knowledge transfer to the end users
and insure that the enterprise system
is used and maintained effectively.
DACG has developed and tested a
training approach and solution that
provides an ROI that gives
sustainable and measurable results
throughout all levels of the
organization now and into the future,
as systems continue to evolve and
change. Cornerstone Sustainable
Learning is the solution that can
provide the organization with a more
effective knowledge transfer and
stronger return on the training dollars

4
Donald L. Kirkpatrick, Evaluating Training Programs, Second Edition. Copyright 1998, Berret-Koehler Publishers, Inc. , San Francisco, CA 94111

D A C O N S U LT I N G G R O U P, I N C . W W W. D A C G . C O M 215.338.8505 PG.3

Cornerstone Sustainable Learning
invested in a shorter time span than
any other approach on the market
today.
T
housands of companies
use SAP to manage their
business processes. SAP
has proven to be one of the most
effective business improvement tools
available to companies in this
decade. However, it also has proven
to be one of the most complex
systems for everyone in the
organization to learn, understand,
effectively use and, most importantly,
maintain. To complicate matters, two
key factors contribute to the cost and
difficulty of maintaining a smooth
day to day operation.
1. SAP is a dynamic system that
continues to change and
improve. Each upgrade and
each improvement requires
retraining of the organization
in order to maximize the return
on the investment.
2. The employee base is ever
changing, which makes it
difficult for new hires to
quickly grasp and begin using
these productivity systems on
day two. Companies must
develop methods to ensure that
these employees can quickly
assimilate and use these
complex systems. Knowledge
D A C O N S U LT I N G G R O U P, I N C .
transfer must be a sustainable
process that does not rely on
asking the experts or getting
inside help. The process must
support the organization, not
rob it of resources.
To effectively solve these problems
DA Consulting Group, Inc. (DACG,
Inc.) has developed a process called
Cornerstone Sustainable Learning,
which has been proven to be an
effective learning methodology, to
address the needs of organizations
and to keep pace with ever changing
business requirements and the
subsequent training needs of
employees as the SAP platform
continues to evolve.
Routine
ornerstone Training
W W W. D A C G . C O M 215.338.8505
DACG
DACG
CG
™
Cornerstone Sustainable Learning is
a methodology and process that
provides a training road map to
address the organization’s ultimate
goal of changing each employee’s
behavior, leading to measurable
business improvement in the shortest
time with the highest ROI.
Cornerstone Sustainable Learning
begins by understanding the goals
and objectives that your organization
is trying to accomplish and how, in
part, these goals and objectives can
be met through the training process
and the establishment of a
sustainable learning environment.
This involves an in depth analysis to
identify those specific business
processes, procedures and
Specific
erston
orn
C
PG.4

transactions that make the operation
of your organization unique among
all other companies in your market
space (Diagram A). The
Differentiators are what we call your
organizations’ ‘Cornerstone’. They
are those sets of
unique and specific
“
business processes,
‘Cornerstone’
procedures and
transactions that is the "secret sauce"
differentiate your that provides your
company from all
company with its
others in how you
manage and operate competitive edge in
your business. It is the marketplace.
the "secret sauce"
that provides your
company with its competitive edge in
the marketplace. Georgia Pacific is
an example of a company that
continues to be the market leader in
commercial tissue and continues to
maintain low cost manufacturing
excellence. The question becomes,
“What business processes,
procedures and transactions allow the
55,000 employees at more than 300
locations to sustain this competitive
edge?” Getting this part right is one
of the essential differences of the
DACG, Inc. Cornerstone approach.
Most training companies and internal
company training staff focus on
accomplishing the routine operations
that represent 90% of the day to day
transactions and processes. While
DACG recognizes that the 90% is a
necessary and a very important part
D A C O N S U LT I N G G R O U P, I N C .
of the process, it is also the area
which is the easiest to implement
because all of the educational
materials have been fully developed.
It is the routine part of every
company’s day to day operation.
Cornerstone
Sustainable Learning
addresses the 90%.
However, DACG’s
unique approach
identifies and
documents your
specific 10%, and
designs the training
initiatives to insure that
”
your ‘Cornerstone’ is
integrated into the
other 90%, or routine training
process.
Knowledge of the unique
‘Cornerstone’ of your organization
empowers DACG, Inc. to design a
training program that effectively
targets your specific needs and
determines the most effective method
to provide a training process that is
both time efficient and makes good
economic sense. While you may be
familiar with these principles from
previous training initiatives, it's
beneficial to consider how DACG’s
approach can be uniquely applied to
your training program. Let's examine
two of the ‘Cornerstone’ principles.
W W W. D A C G . C O M 215.338.8505
DACG
DACG
CG ™
Individualization
This could also be called the
Snowflake Principle, since it
highlights that no two organizations’
‘Cornerstones’ are the same. The best
training program for your
organization will target your specific
weaknesses, address past failures,
provide sufficient time for behavior
change, and be structured to provide
the greatest output for the available
training input. Since there is no other
‘Cornerstone’ quite like yours, there
is no other ‘Cornerstone’ focused
training that can provide optimal
results other than the one specifically
designed with your 10%, your
“secret sauce”, in mind.
Specificity
The Principle of Specificity may be
the most important of all for
organizations looking for business
improvements to heed. It simply
states that the more specific a
training activity is to a given business
function, the more it will contribute
to increasing performance of the
overall company. Therefore, for a
business function to produce
meaningful gains in the long term
growth and performance of the
company, the training has to be
tailored to be markedly similar to
those business functions that
individuals in the organization need
PG.5

to get the job done on a daily basis.
Obviously, training exercises that
involve simulated training tools and
exercises targeted at actual day to
day business transactions are the
most specific and will have the
greatest transfer to the learning
process and performance.
Effective training must also target the
specific ‘Cornerstone’ business
processes and transactions most used
in your business. As
“
an example, when
Georgia Pacific
Corporation acquired
Fort James provider - not just
Corporation, DACG,
Inc. was contacted to
assist in the Systems
Integration Project.
Through its
acquisition of Fort James
Corporation, Georgia-Pacific
Corporation continued its ongoing
transformation strategy to become
the leading paper tissue provider,
serving customers across North
America and Europe from the
world’s largest tissue-manufacturing
base. The Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer remarked, "The
combination gives Georgia-Pacific
the capability to deliver
low-cost manufacturing excellence
and superior marketing and
brand-building expertise."
The acquisition made it imperative
that Georgia-Pacific consolidate and
D A C O N S U LT I N G G R O U P, I N C .
improve business practices, processes
and applications in order to deliver
on the promise of "low-cost
manufacturing excellence." The
resulting Systems Integration Project
presented new training challenges for
Georgia-Pacific as they began to
integrate four software platforms
(SAP® R/3, SAP APO, McHugh
Transportation, and Manugistics
systems) across a large, diverse and
geographically
dispersed audience of
For us, DACG over 2000 end users.
is a solution The goal of the
Systems Integration
a training Project was to create
company. one system for the
Georgia-Pacific single organization. In
”
order to do that,
DACG worked with
Georgia Pacific to identify their
‘Cornerstone’, or the 10% of their
unique business processes that would
allow the combined organization to
maintain their position as low cost
manufacturer and brand leader.
DACG, Inc. recognized the need to
produce Georgia-Pacific specific
training materials with content
general enough to be used by the
entire organization, but also targeted
at integrating the ‘Cornerstone’
transactions and processes
throughout the combined
organization. With this
understanding, DACG, Inc. was able
to creatively apply their
understanding of Georgia Pacific’s
W W W. D A C G . C O M 215.338.8505
DACG
DACG
CG ™
unique business processes across
multiple platforms. DACG, Inc.
helped Georgia-Pacific leverage its
previous investment in system
support and was able to develop a
complete training solution - including
system tasks, job aids and process
flows. The result was a solution
targeted at achieving the company’s
key business goals.
Cornerstone Sustainable
Training Continuum
With the identification of the
organization’s ‘Cornerstone’ and the
routine business processes, the
Cornerstone Sustainable Training
Continuum begins with the
development of a training
methodology that focuses on the 10%
differentiators and integrates this into
the 90% routine. Throughout this
whole process, the goals are to
provide a long term sustainable
learning environment that
concentrates on two of Kirkpatrick’s
key measurement outcomes.
1. Did the training result in a
change in behavior?
2. What final results occurred in
the training program that had a
positive impact on the
company?
PG.6

DACG, Inc. recommends that a
company develop a plan that is
focused on creating both a short-term
and long-term learning and support
environment that will increase
efficiency and productivity of the
SAP user community.
Implementation of the plan provides
companies with a sustainable
learning environment. At the heart of
the plan is the creation of a learning
infrastructure. This infrastructure
consists of state of the art tools
which will allow for rapid training
material development and
maintenance methodologies. These
tools and methodologies become the
foundation for the corporation’s
learning and performance support
environment. It is the responsibility
of training companies to work with
rnersto
Co
D A C O N S U LT I N G G R O U P, I N C .
your organization’s staff to impart the
necessary knowledge to maintain this
solution for both short and long term
success. To do this requires a
commitment to a time tested system
and approach to the training and
implementation process as outlined
in Diagram B. The first step in the
process is to understand your 10%
how your 10% influences
development of the remaining 90%
to maximize the knowledge transfer
and provide a sustainable learning
environment.
Training Assessment
Once the organizations ‘Cornerstone’
has been identified, a more
comprehensive training assessment
should be conducted to better
understand the needs of the
ne
W W W. D A C G . C O M 215.338.8505
DACG
DACG
CG ™
individuals in the organization. It
has been our experience that most
users feel that they have very little
knowledge of how their efforts fit
into the overall business process.
Although SAP provides some of
these courses during the initial
training, DACG has found that the
users’ understanding of where they fit
in the overall organization is the least
understood and the most critical
element in the successful adoption
and implementation. To better
understand the critical roles that each
person plays in the organization, they
have to be provided with process
flow charts. These charts provide
each individual user with the
"upstream" and "downstream"
understanding of the business process
in relation to their specific role. In
addition, during the training
assessment phase, the company
should develop a plan to address the
following organizational issues.
• Change management strategy
and approach
• Project plan with
development milestones
• Training curriculum
• Training standards and
template
• Training delivery methodology
• Training tool recommendation
• Cost and resource estimate
• Management Workshop
PG.7

Prototype Design and
Development
An important aspect of this step is to
insure that the SAP materials are
made available in a "context
sensitive" fashion by creating an
Electronic Performance Support
System (EPSS). This method allows
the user to access supporting material
from within SAP. For example, if
the user is executing SAP transaction
code MM01 and needs help, they
would simply click on Extended
Help on the SAP Toolbar, giving
them access to all supporting
material for MM01. The benefit of
this type of support system is that the
users will find what they need
quicker and easier. Users will rely
less and less on Project Team
members, help-desk staff or co-
workers for support. The result is a
self sufficient work force saving
money and increasing productivity.
DACG, Inc. accomplishes this
through the use of two options:
1. Use of a Rapid Authoring tool
that generates material and
context sensitive help: This
dramatically reduces the time
needed to create and update
material. In addition, it provides
context sensitive help for the
user community. The Rapid
Authoring tool is designed to
D A C O N S U LT I N G G R O U P, I N C .
be easy to design and to deliver
documentation and support to
the people who need it. It is
easily adapted to fit the
organization’s unique business
requirements. Users can
access the help they need with
a click of the SAP help menu,
which means the entire project
team can be more productive
because users require less
support.
2. Provide a Learning Center:
The DA Learning Center does
not create material, but takes
existing material and makes it
available on-line, including
context sensitive help like
Word documents (within SAP).
The Learning Center provides
for integration of process
documents, work instructions,
simulations and courseware by
employee roles. The solution
allows for dynamic linking of
all related documentation,
Concept of Blended Learning
W W W. D A C G . C O M 215.338.8505
DACG
DACG
CG ™
allowing users to access
content from multiple points
of entry. In addition, the
documentation is deployed
context sensitively from SAP,
allowing for just-in-time
performance support at the
point of application.
Delivery
Blended learning is considered the
strongest approach to knowledge
transfer and a long term sustainable
learning environment. Researchers
Heinze and Procter developed the
following definition for Blended
Learning. " Blended Learning is
learning that is facilitated by the
effective combination of different
modes of delivery, models of
teaching and styles of learning,
and founded on transparent
communication amongst all parties
involved in a course" or training
event. The diagram below is
PG.8

a modification of the Heinze and
Procter diagram of blended
learning and incorporates the
DACG, Inc. process.
Post-Go-Live
One of the key elements to a
successful and sustained knowledge
transfer is the post-go-live phase of
any implementation. It is the opinion
of most training managers surveyed
that post-go-live support is, and
continues to be, an important part of
the user’s day-to-day interaction with
the SAP system. That is why time
needs to be spent working with
Project Team members to focus on
developing a structure to support the
user community during the early use
of the system and beyond. This
structured support addresses the
ongoing needs of the end user and
the ability to
maintain a
continuum of
knowledge
transfer.
D A C O N S U LT I N G G R O U P, I N C .
Reassessment
The reassessment phase goes back to
Kirkpatrick’s key measurement
outcomes.
3. Did the training result in a
change in behavior?
4. What final results occurred in
the training program that had a
positive impact on the
company?
These questions must be continually
evaluated during the process to insure
that the training is effective and
provides a long term sustainable
learning environment that results in
day to day behavioral change for
both end users and new users. Once
these measurement adjustments to
the sustainable long term learning
environment are made and additional
training modules designed to address
further knowledge transfer in the
organization, the result will be a
measurable return on the invested
training dollar.
W W W. D A C G . C O M 215.338.8505
DACG
DACG
CG ™
Conclusion
Seventy per cent of organizations
surveyed plan to increase their ERP
spending in the next year, spending
an average of $5.1 million on all
ERP-related activities to improve
revenues and operational efficiencies.
But without trained employees, SAP
is a nightmare to implement, use and
maintain. It’s all about knowledge
transfer and making permanent
changes in process, procedures and
people’s behavior. But to be most
effective and to give your company
the best return on your training
investment, the focus needs to
address the ‘Cornerstone’.
Knowledge of the unique
‘Cornerstone’ of your organization
empowers DACG, Inc. to design a
training program that effectively
targets your specific needs and to
determine the most effective method
to provide a training process that is
time efficient and provides you with
a strong ROI.
PG.9

About DA Consulting Group, Inc
F
or over 18 years, DA
Consulting Group, Inc.
(DACG) has provided
knowledge and training
solutions to organizations
implementing complex business
software such as SAP, Siebel,
PeopleSoft/JD Edwards and
other applications.
We have been engaged on over
750 SAP implementations
worldwide with a client list
of over 100 of the Global
Fortune 500.
DACG, Inc. is dedicated to
helping organizations make
the most of their technology
investments through user and
workforce performance
D A C O N S U LT I N G G R O U P, I N C .
DACG
DACG
CG ™
solutions. With innovative
solutions, proven methodologies
and leading-edge tools, we
enable our clients to master each
new technological milestone.
Our expertise in providing
solutions across the entire
business application space helps
us provide comprehensive,
customized user education and
performance support for all
facets of the enterprise. DACG’s
solutions, which address a
broad spectrum of needs,
comprise a combination of
change communication,
business process mapping,
documentation, learning content
development, end-user training
and performance support.
W W W. D A C G . C O M 215.338.8505 PG.10