Can Captivate be used as a true simulation tool for training material?

Hi Colin,

I didn't mean to imply that simulations aren't valuable. Quite the opposite! I think they are a great way to replace a large portion of instructor led training. We've used simulations that allowed us to replace about 80% of the instructor-led class. The key was the "training" simulation where participants were able to practice and get intensive feedback. It's more effective and efficient because you can give more feedback to each learner via a simulation than a facilitator ever could in a large class.

Simulations  are really great for the portion of the training where your learners need more support. Where you're showing them small portions of the overall workflow/process and have them immediately practice. It's when you get to the "putting-it-all-together" activities, where creating a simulation becomes a bit more tricky.

Also, when I say 'tricky', it doesn't necessarily mean that it can be done. Most of the time it can, but you may have to build a simulation that has several 'branches'. That's where developing the course can become time intensive and thus expensive. It all depends on the size of your learner population and what kind of budget you have to create the training.

One thing to think about is doing both. Creating a simulation for training, as well have access to a training site.

I find software simulation very effective for demo and explanation, and then some initial, guided practice hands-on practice. Then often it's useful to bring participants together for some more advanced hands-on practice with an experienced facilitator, who can answer  questions.

Depending on the software application you're creating the training for, sometimes a user can do similar tasks in slightly different ways. and they're all correct.  That's where creating true-to-live simulation with Captivate get's tricky. You might be able to do it, but is it worth the effort to create it?

That's where I think a blended approach comes in handy. Use a Captivate Simulation to demo and some initial practice. Then give your participants access to a training site to give them a truly realistic experience.

For some applications it's probably ok to also have them practice in the production site. I create training for software where you don't want your participant to practice in the production site, because messing up anything in production, would be really really bad. That' s why we use a mix of captivate simulations and a training site.

You should make note of all possible interaction and you need Captivate to simulate to determine whether Captivate is your best option. I have found many little things that don't simulate my applications exactly and it is often frustrating. For example, the Text Entry Box is very much "out of the can" and is not very flexible in terms of getting the exact look and feel of your application. You may also need to program JavaScript or at the very least Advanced Actions in Captivate to simulate your application to best suit your needs.

Yes.  We've done this for clients on several large scale IT implementations.  It's a good tool for simulations, the smart way is to build an interactive FAQ, with captivate 'show and do' style guides against key transactions or tasks end users will have to do that they can serve at the point of need (when learning is best!). 

If you just want videos of people using the system, there are maybe better tools - but for the interactive simulations, then captivate (assuming it's in the hands of a good developer is a great tool for what you are looking to achieve.

Good luck with the ERP implementation.  I have deep scars on my back from having run a few of those before I did this!