Learning and Knowledge management system

ITB2 Project
We have chosen the knowledge management(KM) system of Accenture Services Pvt. Ltd. Since Accenture is a Global giant, it is exceptionally difficult to explain the entire KM system in this project. Hence we have reduced our scope to concentrate on the Learning and knowledge management(LKM) module of the broad KM system. This has helped us to delve into the intricate details of the LKM system.

Group 6 Abhinandan Choudhury PGP-11-002 Hanish Dhume PGP-11-023 Nishita Tibrewala PGP-11-040 Prathamesh Joshi PGP-11-050 Rajat Varshney PGP-11-058

Learning and Knowledge management system

About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with more than 244,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the worlds most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become highperformance businesses and governments.

Workforces
The four workforces serve clients in the areas of consulting, technology, and outsourcing. Accenture employees always work in blended teams for a variety of reasons. Consulting: Focus on management consulting, process design work and the application of technologies to business. Responsible for sales, delivery, and leadership of most of Accenture's project-based work. Contains Accenture Technology Labs. Levels are Analyst to Senior Executive. Services: Most focus on outsourcing engagements in the areas of business operations, IT, applications development and maintenance, help desk services, and HR. Can also work on Consulting-led projects. Contains the Accenture National Security Services subsidiary which primarily services to US government entities. Levels are H through A (reverse alphabetical order, lowest to highest) and Senior Executive. Solutions: The Accenture Technology Solutions subsidiary focuses on the specific technology skills needed to deliver projects or outsourcing arrangements. Comprises the majority of Accenture's employees in delivery centers in developing countries like Brazil, India, and the Philippines. Levels are Programmer to Senior Executive, with slight regional variations. Enterprise: Focus on managing and supporting all activities across Accenture's business, including legal, security, facilities, marketing, and client financial management. Levels are Junior Assistant to Senior Executive.

Operating Groups
As most consulting firms, Accenture operates in a matrix structure. The first axis is dedicated to the operating groups, or industries of its clients. The five Operating Groups comprise 19 industry groups which focus on industry evolution, business issues, and applicable technologies. Communications, Media & Technology: Communications, Electronics and High Tech, Media and Entertainment Financial Services: Banking, Capital Markets, Insurance Products: Automotive, Air, Freight & Travel Services, Consumer Goods & Services, Industrial Equipment, Infrastructure & Transportation Services, Life Sciences, Retail Resources: Chemicals, Energy, Natural Resources, Utilities Health & Public Service: Health, Public Service

Top competitors of Accenture

Deloitte Consulting HP Enterprise Services IBM

Industry Overview
The US consulting services industry includes about 130,000 firms with combined annual revenue of about $140 billion. Major companies include Accenture, Bain, Booz Allen, HP, Deloitte Consulting (an affiliate of Deloitte Touch Tohmatsu), and IBM Global Services. The industry is fragmented: the top 50 companies account for less than 30 percent of total industry revenue. The worldwide consulting services industry generates more than $250 billion annually. Major international management consulting companies include PA Consulting Group (UK), Roland Berger (Germany), and Tata Strategic Management (India). The industry includes companies that provide management, scientific, and technical consulting services, including specialized services such as environmental, human resources, logistics, and marketing consulting. IT consulting, a related specialty is covered in the Information Technology Services industry profile.

Introduction of Learning and Knowledge management system

Learning and Knowledge Management (LKM) aims to deliver phenomenal learning experience to the employees of Accenture and, intend to become people developer by Building high performance teams by imparting right coaching Recognizing the need to develop employees to groom them to take up responsibility Grooming the upcoming generations to the status of thought leaders Recognizing the need to focus on learning and widening the talent pool Commitment to continuous learning through Technical Mentor

It strive to ensure that Accenture workforce remains the best in the business and is able to offer cutting edge, transformational services and solutions to the global clients in the market, thus ensuring High performance.

Broad Overview
Organization chart is as follows for the Learning and Knowledge management system:

LKM LEAD

Training Operations

Vendor management and IRC IDC Vendor management Team

Delivery excellence LKM

Knowledge management

Competence Evaluation

IDC Greenfield Lead

IDC Lateral Lead

MyLearning Coordinator

Trainers

ISCAN Coordinator

Trainers

Training Coordinators

IDC IRC Team

Training coordinators

Broad Process Overview

Lets have a look at each component of the learning and knowledge management system separately

1) Learning
Learning at Accenture is not only changing peoples lives, giving them more reason than ever to stay with them and grow both personally and professionally.

They offer training for entry-level professionals and advanced training programs for senior employees based on their project/capability requirement. The training locations are distributed across Accenture. They have incorporated it as a central component in their core curriculum program. They design and deliver for both classroom instruction and electronic learning. There are 3 core trainings which ensure employees efficient performance. Every individual will have deep expertise in one (Major) with some expertise in other two (Minor)

1.1 Greenfield Training Green Field Training is an entry level comprehensive training given to the fresh graduates covering business acumen, technical and professional skills development. This training is scheduled over 10-12 weeks and enhances knowledge in Technology, Process and Professional Development. The purpose of Green Field Training is to ensure that all individuals have the skills required to perform their assignments. The target audience being the ASE (Associate Software Engineer) and the inputs for these trainings come from projects in pipeline and the Scheduling Team. Greenfield Training provides a great learning experience to the new employees and also enables them to network experience in terms of networking with peer group and facilitators. It gives them an opportunity to explore skills and learn solutions and start building professional relationships. Foundation and Stream Training are the two major areas of Greenfield Training. Foundation training provides:

Basic Technology like Unix, Programming techniques, Rational Data Base Management System, Testing, Java and UML etc Process training like Software development cycle, Accenture methodologies, and Accenture Quality Standards. Professional Development for the smooth transition from Campus to Corporate, imparting good Written and Verbal communication and Team working skills

Stream Training It is provided depending on Technology like Data Warehousing, .NET, SAP, Testing, Client/Server, Java, Mainframe etc. This helps in foundational programming concepts and skills required for software development while being exposed to Accentures quality practices, standards and method with case studies. There is also competency evaluation in the areas of foundation training, technical specialty, soft skills and Comprehensive test. Process flow of Greenfield Training
Scheduling team Start

Pre-Training Initiation

Prepare training schedule Venue ( Internal/External) Trainer (Internal/Capability/External) Technical set up

Batch enrollment in MyLearning

During the GF training Conduct Test Declare Results (conduct re-test) Update MyLearning with Course Completion Feedback forms are filled Data Entry on ATST tool

Post GF Training Batch completion Certificate distribution

End

Process description for Greenfield Training The following sub-sections explain how the Greenfield training is initiated by Learning Team (LT). a) Pre- Training Initiation In the initial phase of the training activity, LT gets information from Scheduling team, about the number of ASEs to be trained. Location wise breakup of total number of ASEs joining should be informed before 4 weeks. Details about participants like technical streams, Enterprise IDs, Employee IDs etc, should be provided at least 4 days before the start of foundation training.

b) Training curriculum Greenfield Training (GF) curriculum is uploaded on the Accenture portal. It comprises of the following two categories: Foundation Training The duration of the Foundation Training is for 3-4weeks, which provides basis on Accenture processes, technologies and soft skills. Stream Training Stream training is specific to technologies like Java, .NET, Siebel, SAP. The duration of the training is 5-8 weeks, depending on the stream. c) Prepare and plan the schedule

The Batch Owner (BO) starts the preparations for the schedule; responsibilities of BO are as follows: 1. Based on the curriculum available on the Accenture portal, the detailed training schedule for foundation or stream training should be prepared and approved by the GF lead. 2. Identify the trainer: i)Mails are sent to identify internal and capability trainer. ii)Trainers are identified. If no internal trainers are available then contact VMT to identify external trainer. 3. The details are sent to the respective trainers/DU leads/capability/Vendor Management Team (VMT). 4. Create session code and enroll batch on MyLearning. d) Technical set up 1. For any additional technical setup the trainer (internal /capability/external) needs to inform batch owner / training coordinator about the technical (hardware and software) requirement, 5 working days before the training. Here the learning and knowledge management department has to interface with the technical support department. During the Training During the training BO and the Training Coordinator have the following responsibilities: a) b) c) d) Conduct the test through ISCAN and declare results. If required re-test is conducted. Update MyLearning with Course Completion and data entry is done in ATST tool. Feedback is taken from the participants at the end of each session through MyLearning. Conduct exit test and declare the results.

Post Training a) Mark Batch completion and Certificates are distributed. Evaluation process and policies The trainer should conduct the technical tests through ISCAN online tool. Tests are conducted in Foundation & Stream Training. There will be an exit test at the end of the Stream Training. The result will be sent to the participants and copied to Batch Owner, Greenfield lead, HR, etc. If anyone fails twice in the tests, Greenfield leads have to communicate to HR. (mentioned in Greenfield HR presentation in Accenture portal) Pass percentage for the tests is 60%. 1.2 Lateral Trainings & Cross-Lateral Trainings

Capability leads CoDP

SWF Curriculum

Start

Project Request

Pre-Training Input for Training Calendar Ad-hoc Training

1. Book the training room 2. Create the session codes and generate self enrollment link on MyLearning 3. Upload the training calendar in IDC portal 4. Announce the Calendar to the DU Leads

Types of training calendar: 1. Application Delivery 2. Technical Delivery

Types of trainers: 1. Internal 2. Capability 3. External

Prepare Training Calendar

Identifying the trainer

Inform VMT if internal/ capability trainers not available 1. Self Enrollment for all Courses.

1. Book the training room 2. Respective Course code and session codes are created in MyLearning

Course Announcement
Technical Set Up

Confirmation of training

During the training

1. 2.

Logistical issues Online Feedback links are sent to participants

Post Training

1.

Mark session as complete in MyLearning and ATST

End

Lateral Trainings and Cross-Lateral trainings are aimed at meeting the training needs of employees at all levels, based on the requirements from the project-Teams, Capability / skill enhancement and Mandatory training. Variety of training programs are offered at all levels based on SWF role based curricula, Business requirements, Capability development Plan, Process Training, Professional Training which helps employees build and acquire specialized skills faster. Competency based learning maps are provided to employees to identify specific skills they want to acquire. It helps our people to achieve their goals while building the knowledge and expertise. Lateral training process flow a) Pre- Training Initiation The pre training process triggers the preparation of lateral training calendar by the LKM. a.1) Training Calendar and Course Announcement a. Two types of lateral training calendars are prepared. i. Application Delivery Calendar (prepared quarterly) 1. LKM takes the inputs from myLearning and prepares a list of employees who need to undergo certain mandatory training based on their level. 2. Based on that input LKM prepares the training calendar. 3. LKM creates the session codes in myLearning and sends the link to the target employees with MyLearning self enrollment link. ii. Technology Training Calendar (prepared quarterly basis) 1. This process is initiated 6-8 weeks prior to the next quarter. 2. LKM reaches out to all the capability leads / DU Leads requesting for their inputs for the calendar. 3. The requested training program should have a valid course code in MyLearning. 4. If there is no valid course code present then the relevant course code is created by LKM team based on the request provided by the capability lead. b. The training rooms are booked by LKM team. c. Session code and self enrollment link is created for each training. d. Calendars are uploaded on to the Accenture Portal. e. Once the training calendars are uploaded to the Accenture Portal, LKM team sends mailer to all Accenture employees as announcement. a.2) Identifying the Trainer a. LKM reaches out to the concerned capability/Project for the trainer. b. If capability trainer is not available, then LKM identifies the internal trainer for the training. c. If internal trainer is also not available, LKM Sends a mail to delivery and ITP folks using a standard mail format to find the interested trainers. LKM also organize Knowledge transfer session for the trainers whoever require it. d. If capability/internal / delivery trainers are not available then LKM request VMT to outsource the training. i. The request should be sent with the approval of Manager / Sr. Manager ii. Request should be sent 2 weeks before the training.

iii. This request is submitted using the Trainer Request Form.xls. a.3) Update Trainer Master a. Trainer master is maintained to keep records of each trainer. This document is updated in following circumstances: i. ii. iii. Once in a quarter for all trainers. When a trainer upgrades to a new technology or complete any certification. When a new trainer joins LKM.

a.4) Confirmation/Cancellation of the Training b. Nominations are taken from MyLearning directly and the manual confirmation mail is sent to all the participants 5 working days before the training. c. LKM can cancel the training if the number of nominations is less than 65% of the capacity of the training room. d. If the trainers are unavailable i. LKM will update the concerned capability / project about the status at least 6 working days before start of the training ii. LKM will seek approval to cancel the training. e. If the training is going to be cancelled / rescheduled, then LKM will send mail to all the nominees informing the same, 5 working days before the start date of the training. a.5) Technical Setup a. For any Technical setup LKM refers to the technical setup requirements provided by trainer (internal /capability/external). b. LKM will raise the SunRise ticket for the required installation in the training room 5 working days before the training. c. LKM will work with the concerned capability / project to verify the technical setup at least one working day before the training. Here also training department needs to interact with technical support team. b) During the Training During the training lateral team have the following responsibilities: a. Take care of the logistics and ensures that the training happens smoothly. b. For the training conducted by external trainer, the trainers pass / identity card request will be raised well in advance and someone is present to escort the trainer to the training room. c. Will ensure that the attendance is taken during the training.

c)

Post Training Post training lateral team has the following responsibilities: a. Will collect the attendance sheet and update the batch completion in MyLearning and ATST within 1 working day after the training is completed. b. In case of outsourced training, lateral team will send the training completion report to the VMT, within 2 working days after the end of the training. c. If the feedback of the trainer is less than 4.0, lateral team will take the following actions: i. Will talk to the trainer and find out the reason of the poor feedback. ii. Inform all concerned people (capability / project lead) about the feedback. iii. If the trainer is from external vendor, feedback will be sent to the VMT for action.

d)

MIS and Reporting

Following metrics are published before 10th of every month and send to all capability and DU leads: AG/DU wise Employee report AG/DU wise Trainer Contribution report Capability wise training cancellation report AG/DU wise Absentees Report LKM has locally developed training portal commonly known as ATST (Automated Training System Tool) which provides various MIS metrics. System interface and integration of the learning module:
My Learning tool HR ATST

Tech support Learning

Vendor manage ment Tool (VMT)

Home Portal DU members

Training logistics

ISCAN

Figure 1: System integration

2) Delivery Excellence
Delivery excellence aims to evaluate the effectiveness of training efforts and to ensure that employee meets minimum competency standards. Quality training is ensured through constant analysis of the information and data available, in terms of analysis of the feedback ratings, analysis of the number of hours an employee has to undergo training, analysis of completion of trainings as on a set date. Management Information System is managed using the following tools:

MyLearning Automated Training Schedule Tool(ATST) an internal Tool

These tools are used to define and deliver the right kind of training for an employee for the required amount of time. It also provides access to different types of reports and data based on the requirement with respect to training. Further we also have well defined Training Process such as Lateral Training Process Document, Greenfield Training Process Document. These process documents ensure that the training requestors and the learning team members have the requisite information which helps to plan, organize and facilitate the successful conduct of training programs at Accenture. All the reports and data pertaining to this are available on the home portal as well as the Share point Portal.

3) Information resource center (IRC)

Information Resource Centre which is part of LKM started functioning since October-2003 with an intent to promote knowledge generation and application through effective dissemination to keep every employee aware on the latest developments in the field of Information Technology and it's related areas in and around the world.

IRC Objectives The Information Resource Centre operates with the following objectives:

To support the learning process of all the users through the provision of knowledge/information. To meet knowledge/information needs of the technical community to support their developmental/programming activities. To respond effectively where ever possible, to the knowledge/information and to provide innovative methods of learning including audio, video and online resources. To act as a repository for all the knowledge created within the organization for future development/innovation.

The Information Resource Centre therefore plays a vital role in rendering a wide range of services to its user community both through online and offline channels. LKM Vendor Management The LKM Vendor Management (VM) Function is an effort to have a focused approach towards managing the vendor training. The Vendor Management Function helps the projects and capabilities to avail the services of the vendor trainers to meet their training requirements. The VM team will help you to:

Identify Training Vendors to provide the required service Guide & help you in the various steps to be followed while availing the services from the vendor trainers Negotiate effectively to ensure potential savings Ensure adherence to all finance & procurement processes VM team will reach out to the global alliance team wherever applicable & get the benefits of the alliance.

The VM portal provides information on the various public classes scheduled by vendors. The portal will also provide information on the various vendors driven trainings conducted in Accenture.

4) Competency development and knowledge management

This module deals with developing the courseware for training and managing its content. It also facilitates competency development based on the training outcome. Each individual will be given a competency rating based on his/her result. The competency rating then decides the bonus component of the compensation plan. Mainly this module deals with managing the knowledge assets. The knowledge assets include white papers, training courseware, project assets etc. The system module should result into effective retrieval of any asset and also effectively maintain the same to avoid obsolescence and duplication. Traditional learning delivery methods are moving to a new balance of integrating formal and informal learning via Learning Chains, creating high business impact through sustainable competency building.

Informal Training
We have seen the already installed model of Learning and Knowledge Management. Future learning interventions focus on fostering and supporting informal learning as one time learning events have failed to deliver sustainable business value.

Refocusing formal and informal learning leads to a high business impact and is underpinned by the effective use of collaboration tools.

Benefits of the system

Learning and collaboration solution is seen as a key differentiator in driving business benefits. Increased Effectiveness Increase alternative delivery Time methods driving Implement on the Job role-based Increasedregulatory and Consistency comprehension and retention curricula tied to Skills-based Increase productive time on process excellence Curricula the job Workforce Agility Reduction in training time Best in class technology and Increased Capability provides workforce agility methodology Increased Retention Cost Efficiency Potential cost savings/investment allowance Decrease fixed training costs Access to on-shore & off-shore training resources Reduction in duplicative effort Implement rigorous forecasting, planning and prioritization Enabler of overall performance improvement programs Align learning programs and spend to objectives Reduce training cycle time and increase responsiveness Increase ease of tracking to meet regulatory standards Development Costs Delivery Costs Administration Costs Travel Costs Spend Accountability Results Focus Compliance Assuredness Increased Workforce Productivity Reduced Cycle Time Improved Attrition Rates

Shortfalls of the system & Recommendations

1. We see that the learning module (Greenfield training and Lateral training) is integrated with various systems as shown in Figure 1: System Integration. Hence the entire system is not totally automated and involves manual intervention. The manual interventions can result into errors and delay which would reduce the efficiency of the system. Recommendation: As the training is conducted using the MyLearning tool, Accenture should try to accommodate the other tools such as ATST, ISCAN and data from Home portal in the MyLearning tool. As the home portal is an independent entity, it cannot be discarded. Hence, the employee data of such entities should sync the data of the MyLearning tool.

Secondly, ATST and ISCAN are used for report generation and conducting the training. Such functions can be imbibed as customizable modules into the MyLearning system. Though the modularization concept will be hampered due to this change, it will help to reduce the cost required to maintain the consistency among the systems. It will also reduce the delay incorporated in syncing the systems. The question then arises is why to keep ATST and ISCAN as customized modules within MyLearning. It is possible that, a change requires to be done to the MyLearning system. Now if ATST and ISCAN were not customizable, Accenture would have to incur higher costs of creating a new ATST and ISCAN module for the changed MyLearning system. Hence, a customizable module would prevent such costs. 2. We have mentioned the process flow for training and how the LKM system interacts with other systems. However, one important aspect of Knowledge management system is the maintenance of the Knowledge itself which includes training material, knowledge assets etc. In our case, Accenture has to check that the training material present on the MyLearning tool is not redundant and obsolete. However this important aspect is not highlighted in the process flow Recommendation: It is evident that the training material will be checked for redundancy when a particular author submits it for approval. Thats stage 1 for checking redundancy in training material. As an additional step, we can check for redundancy and obsoleteness based on feedback given by the trainees. This can be illustrated in the modified process flow diagram as given below. Post training: Online feedback
Fetch data

Check feedback for redundancy and obsoleteness.

MyLearning database

Update

Yes

Redundant?
No Yes

Modify
data

Update

Obsolete?

Renew data

No

Proceed

The above change in the process flow will ensure that the data is updated dynamically and will also maintain its value. 3. Based on the work experience at Accenture, we have noted that the classroom trainings are just mentioned in the MyLearning tool. Once the classroom training is completed, it is updated to completed status by the training authorities. Thus it cannot be identified if the course has been actually completed by the trainee. Additionally, the course status updates can have human errors. Recommendation: A hard copy of course material is distributed for every classroom training program. If that is not given, then course material slides are shared with the trainees. So either the course material or the slides should be used as the course material on MyLearning tool. Thus the participant should be allowed to complete a course only by passing an exam on the MyLearning tool. Thus the status on the MyLearning tool will be changed to completed, only if the trainee passes the exam. 4. Currently the vendor network is contacted only when Accenture needs to conduct trainings. So the vendor network knows the training requirement only when Accenture contacts it. Such a relation may not be enriching in the long term as the vendor is not taken into consideration for generating the training requirement and at the same time, Accenture may lose out on a new technology/methodology which the vendor has knowledge about. Recommendation: Accenture should allow the vendors restricted access to the training schedule and project requirements, so that the vendors only get an idea about the technology that needs to be used in the project. Accenture should restrict from sharing any confidential information that is related to the client. Once this is done, LKM authorities should meet up with the vendor network to discuss on the probable views that they hold about the training requirements. This will help Accenture to gain insights into current industry training trends and also maintain a long term relationship with the vendor network.

References
1. http://www.slideshare.net/kreaume/knowledge-management-presentation-1425087 2. http://www.slideshare.net/penplusbytes/presentation-on-legal-knowledge-management-by-kwamiahiabenu-ii-2007?src=related_normal&rel=1425087 3. http://www.slideshare.net/sekretnay/knowledge-management-at-accenture 4. http://www.slideshare.net/KMChicago/km-chicago-measuring-the-impact-of-km 5. Based on past experience of working at Accenture (August 2008 to May 2011) 6. www.accenture.com