Systematic develops distributed training solution

Systematic has developed an innovative e-learning programme to assist customers in training their SitaWare Headquarters users.

The e-learning course is designed to enable self-paced and distributed training to take place, permitting a soldier to learn in environments as varied as the comfort of their own home, on base, or even when on operational deployment.

The German Army is the first SitaWare customer to embrace this approach to training and tasked Systematic to deliver a German-language version of the e-learning package that is now providing a foundation for its SitaWare Headquarters users.

The SitaWare Headquarters e-learning programme was developed in early 2018, notes Jørgen Metzdorff, Systematic’s project manager for the effort, explaining its design and aims, “The course is designed around a realistic scenario and is intended to provide training in the functionality of SitaWare Headquarters, rather than stressing the students in a simulated operating environment.”

“The programme is designed to provide flexible, on-demandtraining and combines passive learning – in the form of explanatory videos –with active learning in the form of multiple-choice assessments and periods forreflection,” Metzdorff explains. “The course can be delivered in a day andconsists of seven 30-45 minute lessons, although it is recommended that thelessons are spaced out over a number of days to allow for more reflection onthe learning points.”

“The course can be considered to be a SitaWare Headquarters‘driver’s licence’, it provides the basic skills upon which users can buildtheir expertise,” Metzdorff says, noting that rather than replacinginstructor-based training, the course is intended to ensure a solid foundation forusers and enable resources to be best targeted.

The e-learning approach could be especially useful for large training audiences or when a general awareness of the C2 software and its capabilities are required, Metzdorff says. “SitaWare Headquarters is in widespread use and often features significantly during multinational training and operations. Even non-users are likely to interact with the software or depend on its capabilities, so an awareness of what it can deliver and how it works could be beneficial to all involved. The course could enable personnel to be introduced to the software ahead of participation in exercises or operational deployments, so they won’t have to learn on-the-fly.”

It is planned that the generic training course – which isfocused on a military response to a nuclear powerplant incident – will form thebasis for future audiences, however, bespoke scenarios to meet the specificgeographical and task requirements of customers could be developed.

The SitaWare Headquarters training package is now availableas a commercial off-the-shelf solution, and Metzdorff says that there isalready interest in developing similar packages for SitaWare Frontline. Thereis also the potential to develop courses targeted at more technical audiencesand the personnel tasked with establishing the SitaWare infrastructure.

The e-learning solution can be delivered in a number of ways. The default Systematic method is based on a multitenant software-as-a-service solution running in a secure private cloud server and utilises Microsoft’s Azure infrastructure, however, customers could also employ an on-premises capability.