Keep up with demands to develop more training

SmartBuilder enables you to rapidly create interactive e-learning without programming or scripting skills. It also provides a multi-user, shared platform that facilitates collaborative development and leverages the specialized skills of managers, trainers, media developers and subject matter experts, eliminating the inefficiencies that are inherent to desktop-based development.

In an independent study of 11 course development projects, a fortune 100 client found that SmartBuilder reduced course development hours by between 18% and 55% vs. their previous development process.

Source: Internal study conducted by a Fortune 100 Suddenly Smart client analyzing 7 courses developed using SmartBuilder vs. the previous development process. Efficiency improvements, measured by man hours, ranged from 14% to 50%.

Maintain and edit our courses more easily

SmartBuilder provides a suite of features to help you rapidly locate, update and distribute content. You can:

• Change media or lessons only once, and SmartBuilder will automatically update everywhere they are used.
• Enable subject matter experts to edit content in a table view so that they do not need to be trained in how to use the SmartBuilder authoring environment.
• Use master pages to implement changes across all pages of a lessons.
• Save multiple versions of media, lessons, and courses in the SmartBuilder library with version comments and roll-back capabilities.
• Employ "where used" tool to locate everywhere a media file or lesson is used to quickly understand the impact of changes.
• Change interaction logic quickly and easily using a point-and-click interface.

Enforce standards and share best practices

When training developers work independently using desktop tools, it is difficult to share resources and designs, or enforce standards. Using SmartBuilder, your developers can locate and re-use shared media, assets and templates. You can also create your own templates to enforce look-and-feel or instructional design standards.

Create your own templates for custom interactions or skins

Using SmartBuilder, you can "templatize" backgrounds, interactions or multi-page instructional design models that you'd like to share within your department or across your organization. This enables more experienced users to pre-package content that can be customized by less experienced users. SmartBuilder also comes with a library of pre-built templates to help get you up and running quickly.

Do more with new content, but still leverage old content

Almost any kind of third party content (.PDF's, .DOCs, .PPT's, etc) can by imported into SmartBuilder and integrated with new content. Third party content can be easily converted into SCORM compliant lessons, or launched in pop-up windows from within SmartBuilder lessons. Media file formats (.SWF's, .MP3s, .FLV's, and .JPG's) can be embedded with other SmartBuilder objects directly on the authoring stage.

Re-purpose courses for different clients or languages

SmartBuilder's translation feature enables users to create multiple versions of text and media within the same lesson. This enables you to rapidly re-purpose content for different customers, or for learners who speak different languages. Since translated versions are linked to a source version, updates to common elements such as layout or interactivity can be made in just the source version and then instantly applied to all translation versions.

Deliver training without technical headaches

SmartBuilder generates content in a Flash (.swf) format, which is cross platform compatible for different browsers and operating systems. The Flash player is free and is already installed on over 95% of browsers.

Easily integrate content with our LMS

SmartBuilder generates content that is certified by ADL to be SCORM 1.2 compliant and has been tested with major LMSs such as Saba, Docent, Thinq, SumTotal, Moodle and WBT Manager. SmartBuilder also provides advanced SCORM functions to enable deeper LMS integration than is possible using other authoring tools.

Make our training more relevant to learners

SmartBuilder gives you the flexibility to build unique navigation paths through lessons based on a variety of criteria such as learner role, demonstrated knowledge/skill level, self-reported knowledge/skill level, or learner interest.

Have our training sell itself to learners
Overwhelmingly, learners only care about training if it will help their performance and careers*. To impact performance, training must encourage learners to think more deeply about concepts and practice new skills.

While most authoring tools can only provide static content and simple assessments, SmartBuilder provides the capabilities to make learning engaging, relevant and effective. Using SmartBuilder, your team can build content that includes branching scenarios, multi-step interactions, delayed feedback, intrinsic feedback and other designs that will engage your learners and let them practice new skills.

* Source: Brandon-Hall poll: “In my organization, employees care less about pure instruction and more about their performance and careers.” 83% responded “Agree or “Strongly Agree”.

Streamline hand-offs of tasks between team members

SmartBuilder provides a shared content repository that makes it easy for multiple users to work on the same lessons or courses. Access control, check-in/check-out, and version control features eliminate confusion and rework and streamline the development process. SmartBuilder also reduces hand-offs, miscommunication and rework by empowering instructional designers to build more of their content themselves, without reliance on programmers or tool-specialists.

Empower subject matter experts (SME's) to build content

SmartBuilder provides a point-and-click authoring environment that makes it possible for SME's to contribute directly to the development of content, or build their own. The training time required to learn how to build basic content and use templates is approximately a half a day. SME's can also edit content in a table view so that they do not need to be trained in how to use the authoring environment.