Learning Blueprinting through a virtual workshop, e-learning, web-conferences, software and Blueprinting Center.
You may have seen "parachute" workshops... where the trainer drops in for a few days and wishes everyone good luck at the end. The training usually doesn’t “stick” does it?
New Product Blueprinting is implemented through a “blended” approach that combines a) a two half-day virtual "kickoff" workshop, b) self-paced e-learning, c) in-team web-conference coaching, and d) advanced software & job aids.
The kickoff workshop can be public or private. If a business has just one or two teams to train, they typically send them to one of AIM's public workshops. (For a schedule of these events, see www.blueprintingworkshop.com. In these two back-to-back half-days, the teams join participants from other companies... including a one-hour interview role-playing session on each day. For more on this option see the "Team" plan in the matrix at www.blueprintingtraining.com.
The kickoff workshop can also be a private affair, where only employees of the client company attend. This option is often selected when 20-50 employees are to be trained at the same event. The content is virtually identical, although client executives typically introduce the session, and it's possible to discuss confidential information. This is described in the "Business" plan in the matrix at www.blueprintingtraining.com.
In either case, real project teams are launched immediately after the workshop. These are multi-functional, typically with 4-6 members drawn from marketing, product management, technical, and sales. These teams proceed with Discovery interviews and then Preference interviews, working on their "real" project.
The goal is for each team to proceed rapidly toward completing its Market Case. This is a document generated from Blueprinter software (PDF and PPT) used in stage-gate reviews to enter the development stage. For a sample, see www.marketcasesample.com.
The key to success is AIM's in-team coaching program. A highly-qualified AIM Coach "joins" the team in most of its normally-scheduled web-conferences. During these calls, the Coach helps with project scoping, planning interviewees, more role-playing, and much more. For a description of all the ways an AIM Coach supports a new Blueprinting team, see www.blueprintingcoaching.com.
Blueprinting learners access all their resources in one place: www.blueprintingcenter.com. Here they find Blueprinter® software, e-learning modules, BlueTools® aids, and BlueHelp® knowledge center. For a short video on how New Product Blueprinting is learned, visit www.NPBtraining.com.
Keywords: Virtual workshop, getting started, in-team coaching, New Product Blueprinting, blended learning, Blueprinting training, Blueprinting Center, Blueprinter software, BlueTools, BlueHelp, web-conference coaching, training model, virtual training model