Our entry specifically highlighted three new features in our latest release that are intended to address the needs of organizations to keep content current:

• Apply content retention periods to trigger notifications to authors to review and update content. This functionality can also be configured to automatically remove old content.
• Deliver change notifications to inform authors when transactions or screens change in the documented application.
• Provide extended collaboration functionality from anywhere in the ANCILE uPerform learning portal to allow end users to submit tribal knowledge and sustain learning content.

By monitoring the ‘freshness’ of content and by ‘listening’ for target application changes, authors can more easily keep content up to date. By enabling collaboration between authors (subject matter experts) and end users (consumers of learning material), organizations can improve business processes and the quality of learning content via direct feedback from the users of the system.  These latest features in ANCILE uPerform specifically address many of the challenges faced by organizations today:

• Organizations invest money – time, software licensing – in developing and delivering initial learning content. To preserve this investment, content must be actively managed to ensure it remains current and supports use of business systems. Retention periods, change notifications, and employee collaboration automate many of the formerly manual tasks related to content update.
• Organizations have new employees to train – new hires, successions. To respond to emerging training needs, the learning team must be confident that content is up to date. Failure to do so results in a lack of confidence in both the system and training that can be hard to overcome. New ANCILE uPerform features take the guesswork out of content audits.
• Organizations’ business systems change – sometimes with no advance notice to the learning team. Authors must respond quickly to incorporate changes in training materials to ensure employees continue to succeed. By automatically capturing configuration changes in enterprise systems such as SAP, learning teams no longer need to hope that administrators inform them of system changes. With ANCILE uPerform, authors and other subscribers are automatically informed when transactions or screens change.
• An organization’s content library grows as multiple authors add documents over time.  Administrators need to automate the process of identifying and acting on old content. By instituting retention periods, the learning team can choose from two automated paths to address the issue of old content: author notifications to review and update content or removal of old published content from the ANCILE uPerform website.

You can find our press release announcing our latest award in our Press Room.

Elkridge, MD, February 08, 2012—ANCILE Solutions, Inc., a global company that develops learning and performance software products, won a coveted Brandon Hall Bronze award for excellence in the Best Advance in Content Authoring and/or Content Management Technology category. The winners are listed at http://www.brandon-hall.com.

Organizations face a major challenge in keeping their learning content current after project or event completion. The award recognized three ANCILE uPerform™ features designed to ensure that learning content reflects current business systems and processes:

• Content retention periods to trigger notifications to authors to review and update content.
• Change notifications to inform authors when transactions or screens change in the documented application.
• Extended collaboration functionality from anywhere in the ANCILE uPerform™ learning portal to allow end users to submit tribal knowledge and sustain learning content.

“It’s very gratifying for ANCILE to be recognized with our sixth Brandon Hall award,” said Frank Lonergan, CEO of ANCILE. “Organizations need to be able to count on content freshness to retain employee confidence in the learning content, support new hires, and address compliance requirements. Our 2011 award confirms the ability of ANCILE uPerform to meet these business needs.”

Said Mike Cooke, CEO of Brandon Hall Group, “2011 provided us with a unique viewpoint of how organizations are driving business results and performance improvement through technology. Most impressive to our judges was an underlying theme around collaborative relationships, a deep understanding of client needs and how technology can be leveraged to create opportunities and operating efficiencies for organizations of all sizes. I am proud to announce these first-rate solution providers as award winners in the most competitive year yet.”

A panel of veteran, independent senior judges evaluated the entries along with Brandon Hall Group’s industry expert analysts and leadership.

About ANCILE Solutions, Inc.

ANCILE Solutions, Inc. is a global software solutions company specializing in the development and support of learning and performance products. ANCILE products support mission-critical business applications by providing solutions that increase employee productivity and proficiency. ANCILE products are used across all industries and in thousands of organizations globally, including half of the Fortune 100. ANCILE develops, sells, supports, and services ANCILE uPerform™, ANCILE uPerform™ Express, ANCILE uLearn™, ANCILE uBenchmark™, and ANCILE Info Pak™. ANCILE is headquartered in Elkridge, Maryland. For additional information, please visit http://www.ancile.com.

About Brandon Hall Group

Having worked with more than 10,000 clients globally and after 20 years of delivering world-class solutions, Brandon Hall Group is the preeminent research and analyst organization focused on developing research-driven solutions to drive organizational performance for emerging and large organizations. Brandon Hall Group has an extensive repository of thought leadership, research, data and expertise in Learning and Development, Talent Management, Sales Effectiveness, Marketing Impact, and Executive Management. (http://www.brandonhall.com)

HP will use ANCILE uPerform™ Express – rebranded as the HP Adoption Readiness Tool (“ART”) – to enable their customers to easily customize, create, and publish rich eLearning content. The product’s interactive courses, step-by-step procedures, and simulations will help users get the most out of their HP software. The first HP-built content products available for purchase will be HP Service Manager ART, HP Quality Center ART, HP Portfolio and Program Manager ART, HP Asset Manager ART, and HP Quick Test Professional ART.

You can find more information about the partnership in our press release.

Elkridge, MD, January 26, 2012 – ANCILE Solutions, Inc., a global provider of best-in-class learning and performance software solutions to more than half of the Fortune 100, today announced it is working with Hewlett-Packard Company (“HP”) to provide ANCILE uPerform™ Express software to HP clients. ANCILE’s innovative ANCILE uPerform™ Express software, a content creation and performance support tool, enhances the way clients learn to use HP products. ANCILE’s existing customer base has seen a decrease in content development costs of up to 50 percent through the use of ANCILE products.

“We are excited to work with HP to deliver innovative features and functionality, like our XML-based single-source approach, to benefit both ANCILE and HP clients,” said Frank Lonergan, Chief Executive Officer of ANCILE. “We look forward to adding HP software users to the 12 million users in 88 countries currently using ANCILE software.”

The ANCILE uPerform™ Express product, rebranded as the HP Adoption Readiness Tool (“ART”), provides customers who do not have any programming experience the ability to easily customize, create, and publish rich eLearning content. The product’s interactive courses, step-by-step procedures, and simulations help users to get the most out of their HP software. The first HP-built content products available for purchase will be HP Service Manager ART, HP Quality Center ART, HP Portfolio and Program Manager ART, HP Asset Manager ART, and HP Quick Test Professional ART.

Content is designed to be used throughout the application lifecycle, beginning with configuration decisions and extending into performance support for users on the job.  Show Me, Try Me, and Test Me simulation modes allow for demo, practice, and knowledge checks. The simulation-based learning content can be used straight out of the box or clients can take advantage of the “single capture-multiple output” recording and content development tools to personalize the material to match their unique implementation of HP software.  The ANCILE-developed software provides users the flexibility to record not only HP software, but virtually any Microsoft Windows- and web-based applications to create a single-source document and learning simulation that can be reused and rapidly deployed globally in over 30 languages.

“Strong user adoption is critical for realizing business value from software investments,” said Hans Peter-Klaey, Senior Vice President, Software HP.  “The HP Adoption Readiness Tool allows clients to easily create and consume engaging and relevant custom content learning materials to drive adoption and reduce errors and costs.”

ANCILE uPerform™ Express allows organizations to rapidly and easily create, edit, and publish documents, simulations, and eLearning courses, and then quickly deploy the content directly into the hands of the entire workforce via the web. Using ANCILE uPerform™ Express’ unique combination of authoring, publishing, and performance support, organizations can reduce content development and maintenance costs while delivering targeted, high-quality learning content to improve overall user performance.

More information on the ANCILE uPerform™ products, including a brief video presentation of the software, can be found on the ANCILE website at www.ancile.com.More information on HP and the ART software can be found at http://h20546.www2.hp.com/main/news.cfm?go=ART.

About ANCILE Solutions, Inc. ANCILE Solutions, Inc. is a global software solutions company specializing in the development and support of learning and performance products. ANCILE products support mission-critical business applications by providing solutions that increase employee productivity and proficiency. ANCILE products are used across all industries by over 3,500 customers and 12 million users in 88 countries. ANCILE customers include more than half of the Fortune 100. ANCILE develops, sells, supports and services ANCILE uPerform™, ANCILE uPerform™ Express, ANCILE uLearn™, ANCILE uBenchmark™, and ANCILE Info Pak™. ANCILE is headquartered in Elkridge, Maryland. For additional information, please visit http://www.ancile.com.

Media Contact:

Marianna Noll, ANCILE

Marianna.Noll@ANCILE.com

443-561-3916

Our annual ANCILE Info Pak and uPerform Users Group (IPUG/uPUG) events brings together ANCILE product users for several days of user interaction and product information sessions. You’ll get detailed information from ANCILE experts and case studies from fellow customers to maximize your product investment. Along the way, there’ll be many networking opportunities and fun activities, as well!

Last year’s attendees shared some great feedback:

• “This is my first ANCILE conference and overall it was a wonderful experience. I really thought the agenda included a good mix of content and activities.”
• “As usual great conference, I always learn and pick up new useful ways to save time on creating documents with uPerform.”

We want to welcome as many of our product users to the event as possible – so rates will remain the same as last year and we’re introducing a ‘super-early-bird’ rate this year.

Our Advance Program and online registration site will be available in February, as well as a call for your abstracts. In addition, we’ll be sharing news on IPUG/uPUG events in other areas of the world soon.

Questions about IPUG/uPUG 2012? Send an email to info@ancile.com.

Several of the performance support sessions were moderated by Bob Mosher and Dr. Conrad Gottfredson.  Their 2010 book, Innovative Performance Support: Strategies and Practices for Learning in the Workflow, is a compilation of their collective experience. Their Five Moments of Need model does a nice job of articulating the difference between formal training and performance support:

1. When Learning for the First Time
2. When Wanting to Learn More
3. When Trying to Remember and/or Apply
4. When Things Change
5. When Something Goes Wrong

The first two moments center on acquiring knowledge; the last three focus on applying that knowledge.  Performance support can supplement formal training (the first two moments) and is particularly ideal for assisting in applying knowledge on the job (the remaining moments).

Perhaps the attention on performance support is being driven by the heightened focus on user performance in today’s workplace. The ability to respond to change and competition with limited or reduced resources – and without taking users away from their tasks for an extended time – is a key driver of the move to embedded learning.

If you can frame the performance support discussion and your business case around solving business problems and getting users on board with new implementations as quickly as possible – you’ve got a good chance at incorporating performance support in your organization. Attendees at the sessions at Learning 2011 were encouraged to think beyond “I need a course for training” to “I need performance support to ensure accurate and efficient job execution”.

Just as important as understanding the need and the value – and translating this into your business case – is the need to ensure your users take advantage of the system you deploy. Your performance support solution should be introduced in parallel with instructor-led training and introduction of the new system. Beyond just access to data, your data must be relevant, accurate, timely and available at the point of need (ideally via context-sensitive delivery). Providing just-right, just-in-time, and just-enough support while the worker is ‘in the moment’ is key to getting results and ensuring users come back when they have questions AND when you make future changes to the system.

An increasingly challenging business climate – and the realization that content and context must come together in the form of performance support and context-sensitive help – might just make 2012 the year of performance support.

by Marianna Noll

We’ve added many new team members over the past year. We asked a few new employees some basic ‘get-to-know-you’ questions.

Kym Dillon

What’s your job role at ANCILE? I’m a Product Consultant, and I’m based in Australia.  I’ll be delivering uPerform and uPerform Express implementation and training services in Australia and New Zealand.

Tell us about your educational background. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, a Diploma in Computer Programming, and a Certificate IV in Training Workplace and Assessment.

Any interesting hobbies? I participate in competitive obedience dog training and Flyball competitions. I’ve represented the Sutherland Obedience Dog Club in several major Australian events.

Guido Heinz

What’s your job role at ANCILE? I’m the Channel Sales Director for the DACH region, and I’m based out of our German office in Walldorf. I work closely with our partners in sales, business planning, and forecasting.

What did you do before coming to ANCILE? I started my career as a tax auditor, and then moved into consulting and sales.

What do you like to do for fun? I love to stay in my second home in Spain. I also like swimming, walking, and bicycling.

Angiena LaBarrie

What’s your job role at ANCILE? I’m ANCILE’s Senior Tax Specialist;  I handle domestic and international tax compliance issues and questions.

Tell us about your educational background. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics; my Master’s Degree in Taxation will be completed at the end of this year.

Any interesting hobbies? I’m on the Board of Directors for Figure Skating in the City in Baltimore City. And I run local 5k races.

What’s your New Year’s Resolution? To pass the remaining 3 parts of the CPA exam by the end of the summer (4 parts in total)!

Elkridge, Maryland, January 12, 2012—ANCILE Solutions, Inc., a global company that develops learning and performance software products, today announced highlights of 2011, the company’s first full year of operation since its divestiture from RWD Technologies. Key successes include industry recognition; opening a new headquarters in Elkridge, Maryland; and the addition of nearly 1 million new users to its install base.

ANCILE develops, sells, implements, and supports ANCILE uPerform™, ANCILE uPerform™ Express, ANCILE uLearn™, and ANCILE uBenchmark™. During 2011, ANCILE licensed more than 920,000 new users of its products and welcomed an additional 330 new customers. A sampling of new or additional license purchases in 2011 include the following customers: Lockheed Martin Corporation, Tyco Electronics Corporation, Cardinal Health, Hydro Québec, Tyson Foods, Inc., Abbott Laboratories, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Estée Lauder, Inc., Kraft Foods, Inc., PSEG Services Corporation, Teléfonos de México, Banco do Brasil, Reckitt Benckiser Group, Electrolux, YKK Corporation, Essar Steel, MediaCorp Pte Ltd., and Singapore Power Ltd.

In addition, ANCILE received numerous industry and local awards, including:

• Recognition as a Baltimore Sun Top Workplace for 2011
• 2011 Developing Economic Value Award from the Howard County (Maryland) Economic Development Authority
• Finalist in The Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Maryland Chapter’s 2011 Deal of the Year Award competition
• Best Advance in Learning Management Technology for External Training, Brandon Hall Excellence in Learning Technology Awards, Bronze award
• Best Advance in Learning Management Technology for Small- and Medium-Sized Business, Brandon Hall Excellence in Learning Technology Awards, Silver award
• SAP Solution Extension Partner Award from SAP. SAP resells ANCILE uPerform™ and ANCILE uPerform™ Express as SAP Productivity Pak and SAP Productivity Composer, respectively.

“Our employees delivered outstanding success in 2011,” said Frank Lonergan, CEO of ANCILE. “A highlight for me personally this year was our selection as a Top Workplace in Baltimore. We take great pride in our talented team and the recognition from our employees is particularly gratifying. We added more than 30 employees across the globe in 2011—it’s these new hires and our existing team who will be key to another great year in 2012.”

About ANCILE Solutions, Inc.

ANCILE Solutions, Inc. is a global software solutions company specializing in the development and support of learning and performance products. ANCILE products support mission-critical business applications by providing solutions that increase employee productivity and proficiency. Our products are used across all industries and in thousands of organizations globally, including half of the Fortune 100. ANCILE is headquartered in Elkridge, Maryland. For additional information, please visit http://www.ancile.com.

1. Send manual or automatic change notifications to content authors or subscribers to alert them of impacts to documentation, such as changes to transaction codes or iView IDs in SAP. Change notifications allow you to actively maintain content as changes occur in an application.
2. Move learning content from ANCILE uPerform to a Learning Management System (LMS) using the Package Exchange Notification System (PENS).  Using PENS to transfer documents, simulations, and courses created with uPerform eliminates the manual steps formerly required to transport learning content between an authoring tool and an LMS.   For more information, customers can refer to ANCILE uPerform and PENS on the Product Support Center.
3. Create binders of learning content for training classes by building Student Guides within the ANCILE uPerform client. Student Guides combine multiple files related to a series of tasks or processes into a single booklet that can be published to a Microsoft Word document.
4. Build test scripts by publishing ANCILE uPerform documents and uploading them to HP Quality Center. ANCILE uPerform allows the same content to be re-used by publishing to different outputs, providing single-source testing and learning content that can then be uploaded to HP Quality Center.  For more information, customers can refer to ANCILE uPerform and HP Quality Center: Managing Quality and Learning Across the Application Lifecycle available from the Product Support Center.
5. Edit the Recorder Tuning Options to specify how the recorder processes certain actions during the recording process.  Recorder tuning options include:  target recognition, image processing for control recognition, text capture options, and screen shot capture delays.
6. Capture and track assessment scores.  Assessment scores can be captured on the ANCILE uPerform server and displayed in the Assessment Performance Report.  The Assessment Performance Report is a built-in report that can be run on a per-project basis.  The report includes detailed information on the project, the name of the user who took the assessment, and the user’s score.
7. Use ANCILE uPerform with SAP Solution Manager to eliminate re-work by providing all project team members with a single destination to access content. When paired with Solution Manager, uPerform can help ensure more accurate and complete end user content by coupling the standardization and polished look of uPerform outputs with the project information from the implementation team.  For more information, customers can refer to ANCILE uPerform and SAP Solution Manager: End-to-End Support for SAP in Your Enterprise available from the Product Support Center.
8. Provide multi-lingual content from your original source language documents with Guided Re-Record functionality. Guided Re-Record allows you to recreate steps from an original document into a new document, as well as capture translated screen images and graphics. During the process, uPerform “guides” you through the creation of the new document by providing an on-screen script.
9. Provide context-sensitive help for end users within enterprise systems, generic web pages, and Microsoft Windows- and web-based applications. ANCILE uPerform documents can provide specific help content to end users as they perform a task.  For more information, customers can refer to Context-Sensitive Help Solutions Using ANCILE uPerform and uPerform Express available from the Product Support Center.
10. Provide accessibility support for courses and simulations by publishing ANCILE uPerform content to a completely text-based output. This allows all users to navigate and interact with courses and simulations using keyboard navigations and screen readers.  For more information, customers can refer to ANCILE uPerform Accessibility Support for Course and Simulation Outputs available from the Product Support Center.

by Rebecca Jenshak