Product Management – Workshop 1 (What Must Products Have to Succeed?)
The Appleton Greene Corporate Training Program (CTP) for Product Management is provided by Professor Fradin Certified Learning Provider (CLP). Program Specifications: Monthly cost USD$2,500.00; Monthly Workshops 6 hours; Monthly Support 4 hours; Program Duration 12 months; Program orders subject to ongoing availability.
If you would like to view the Client Information Hub (CIH) for this program, please Click Here
Learning Provider Profile
Professor Fradin has experience in building successful products and services since 1969, at organizations including Hewlett-Packard as well as Apple, where he was at the same management level as Steve Jobs.
Professor Fradin also heads a professional development company (Spice Catalyst, Inc) specializing in building insanely great products, product management, and product marketing and has trained thousands of managers throughout the world based on his experience at Hewlett-Packard, Apple, and across 75 products and services and eleven startups.
His clients have included Cisco, GameStop, Botswana Telecommunications Company, IDA Singapore, Pitney Bowes, Capital One Bank, Infosys, Cognizant, and many others.
MOST Analysis
Mission Statement
The mission of this workshop is to set the stage for the following 47 workshops in terms of understanding the rate of product failures and its associated cost. Also to understand what is a product and who is the person, the product manager, that is responsible for the product.
Another part of the mission is to learn about the six keys to product success.
First is the product market strategy which contains such elements as what is it that the customer wants to do, how do they do it, when do they do it, why do they do it, where do they do it, and how satisfied are they with the way it is being done now and how important is getting that thing done.
Additional elements are:
• Design thinking the process and how to do it, innovation: what is it and where does it come from,
• The value proposition or the product/market fit or what is the product going to do for the customer,
• Customer research and
• How to conduct it via observation, interviews, surveys and if big data is available the analysis of it,
• Market research including sources both first hand and second hand,
• Product positioning that is a stake in the mind of the consumer about the product and its relationship to competing products,
• Distribution channels that is how will the product be distributed: direct, through distributors, retailers, manufacturing representatives,
• Features/advantages/benefits: what features does the product have, what are the advantages each feature has over the competitor’s product and what are the benefits of each feature to the customer,
• Pricing strategy like a cash cow, skimming, gross profit, training plan in terms of who needs to be trained on what topics and by when and where, and
• Product roadmap laying out the development of the product and/or product line into the future
Lastly, the mission is to understand that product success is not just about technology.
The overall mission is for the participants to be able to have a structure or framework around which they can plan and implement what is necessary for a successful product or service.
The other 47 workshops go into these topics in greater detail.
Objectives
1. Understand the size and causes of product failure
2. Learn what is a product and a service and their differences and similarities
3. Learn about the role of the product manager in the success of the product
4. Learn the six keys to product success
5. Understand what goes into a product market strategy
6. Understand the importance of repeatable product development processes
7. Understand the importance of having the right information at the right time for product success decision making
8. Understand how important it is to understand your customers and to learn what it is that they want to do
9. Learn the key competencies or skill sets that your employees need to have in order to help ensure product
10. Learn about the information technology, software products, and systems that can be used to. track product management processes and success
11. Understand that success is not just the technology
Strategies
1. Read the section related to product failure
2. Read the section related to what is a product?
3. Read the section related to. the role of the product manager and discuss with the class Including how the role In your organization is similar or different?
4. Read about the six keys to product success and be able to articulate them
5. Read about the key elements of a product market strategy
6. Read about the importance of a repeatable product development process in order to avoid product failure
7. Review what product information is currently available and identify the steps necessary to acquire the additional information that is needed
8. Read about the process to learn about what your customer wants to do.
9. Read about the list of competencies required for product success and identify which of those you currently have and those in which you need additional training
10. Identify current systems and tools being used in the management of your product or service and which ones you should consider adding
11. Read about why technology is not the only factor in product success
Tasks
1. Select a product that recently failed and identify the factors that contributed to its failure. Identify what things could have been done to have helped predict success.
2. Identify five products and five services add decide whether or not they are a product or a service.
3. Based upon the role of the product manager described in the workshop discuss what additional responsibilities and authorities should be added or removed to your current product manager job description
4. Each member of the class should pick one of the six keys to product success and describe them in detail
5. Each member of the class should pick one of the elements of a product market strategy and discuss in detail
6. Pick a recent product failure and discuss whether it was a repeatable process that was used in its product management lifecycle
7. For product information that is needed for good decision-making, identify a methodology to Obtain the information that is needed
8. Identify the four cumulative ways of obtaining customer information
9. For those competencies you feel you need to acquire describe how you are going to go about acquiring them
10. For the tools you currently use in product management, identify each of their strengths and weaknesses
11. List the reasons why technology is not the only factor in product success
Introduction
This foundational workshop gives you a birds-eye view of the entire Product Management lifecycle and the key elements that make a product successful.
It briefly covers why products fail, what is a product, what a product manager is, and the six keys to product success.
Executive Summary
About 40% of all new products fail each year representing a waste of over USD 0.64 Trillion. But they don’t have to. This workshop and the next will give you the tools, skills, and competencies for consistent product success.
This workshop will cover:
• Product Failure and Its Impact
• Introduction to The Six Keys to Product Success
• What Is a Product? What is a Product Manager? Six Keys to Product Success The First is the Strategy or Plan or Product Market Strategy
• The Keys to Product Success
• The History of the Management of Products and its Organization
• What Distinguishes Products and Services?
• Business Model and Canvas
• Product Management Lifecycle and Framework
• Product Management Competencies
• Successful Management of Products in Startups
• Competencies Required for Successful Management of Products
• Product Management Focused Organizational Structure
Chapter 1: Product Failure and Its Impact
The actual product failure rate is about 40%. New products can fail for a variety of reasons—poor product-market fit, unanswered customer needs, or staunch competition, to name a few. The reasons are:
No Product-Market Fit because the product does not fit the needs of the market and thus has little to no value.
The product is solving the wrong problem. Sometimes there are just not enough potential users for that product.
Letting the perfect miss, the market window because it is taking too long to develop and build the product.
Ignoring the voice of the customer results in failing to update the product to current customer needs.
Failing to establish beforehand customer listening posts to hear what the customers think on a regular basis.
Moving too slowly, so the market passes by.
Misunderstanding your customers in terms of what they want to do and perhaps where they go to buy a product does not match your product’s distribution.
Having the wrong price could be another reason, like being too expensive for the customer to justify or afford. Or too cheap, so the customer doesn’t believe the product will do what its value proposition says at such a low price. Or a competitive product offers a better return on investment.
Another mistake is going after a market that is too small, or your research into the target market is flawed.
Sometimes the wrong area of business is invested in. For example, resources are spent on product features instead of gaining distribution where the market is located.
Intensively competitive markets can also result in product failure. Lastly, poor execution can affect product success. For example, wasting advertising funds before the product is distributed and the sales force is trained.
Chapter 2: The Six Keys to Product Success
The six keys to product success is Strategy, Process, Information, Customers, Employees and Systems.
The Product Market Strategy consists of up to 32 key elements, from clearly understanding what your customer wants to do, to market and competitive research, to the product’s value proposition, product positioning, product roadmap, pricing and distribution strategy, and more.
Repeatable and mature product development and marketing process is the second key.
Having the right information available for decision making is important too.
Understanding clearly and deeply what the customer wants to do and where they research and buy a product or service for that problem.
Having within your product managers all of the 130 competencies required for product success.
Plus having the systems and tools for getting the job done is the last key.
Chapter 3: What Is a Product? Who Is a Product Manager? Six Keys to Product Success The First the Strategy or Plan or Product Market Strategy
A product is an article or substance that is created or refined with the intention of being used. Typically, it is marketed to be sold and/or delivered. A product usually is tangible. Even though one cannot touch software, it is considered to be a product too, because people interact with it through their computers or other devices.
A service is an intangible product.
Therefore, the services that are developed and/or delivered by commercial or non-profit organizations, including government, are products too, and the foundations discussed in this workshop also pertain to them.
Who is a product manager?
In many organizations, the person or persons responsible for the success of a product has the title Product Manager or Product Marketing Manager. However, they also some- times go by different other titles—perhaps as many as a few hundred more titles—but they pretty much do the same things (or a subset of the same things) and need to have the same competencies.
Chapter 4: The Keys to Product Success
The following are the six keys to product and organizational success—in short, SPICES:
1. Strategy
2. Process
3. Information
4. Customers
5. Employees
6. Systems
Chapter 5: The History of the Management of Products
The concept of a Product Manager (which we will cover in more detail later) started in 1932 at Procter and Gamble (P&G) and spread, based on my research, from P&G to Hewlett-Packard, to Apple (and others) and then to many companies in Silicon Valley and around the world. This includes such places as Australia, Sweden, and recently Germany, Portugal, and India.
Chapter 6: What Distinguishes Products and Services?
A product is a tangible entity that satisfies a want or need. It could be something that has been made to be sold. You can touch it. It is considered inventory and might have value if it can be sold. You can feel it. It is usually measured in units.
Merchandise, raw materials, finished goods, commodities, project deliverables, and insurance policies are all products. Recently, the concept of non-physical, intangible data products has emerged as virtual data goods, which are virtual products. You cannot touch them, but they are there. JPG, MP3, video files, and in the future, more and more 3D representations or Star Trek’s Hologram are other examples of products.
For-profit organizations, which are typically corporations, manufacture and/or develop products for sale.
A service is an intangible product.
Chapter 7: Business Model and Canvas
A business model is a description of means and methods a firm employs to earn the revenue projected in its plans. It views the business as a system and answers the question: “How are we going to make money to survive and grow?”
A business model contains four parts: value proposition, organizational structure, organizational relationships, and operations.
There are many different business models to make money.
A business model canvas provides a one page summary of the business model.
Chapter 8: Product Management Lifecycle and Framework
Frameworks have started being used only recently to the management of products, based on software architecture frameworks. Some companies have tried to adopt frameworks from manufacturing’s lean or just-in-time architecture. Others have based their framework on the Six Sigma framework for quality assurance. Additionally, others have recently adopted agile framework, replacing waterfall or Toll-gate/Stage-gate processes.
The advantage of having an agreed-upon framework is that everybody in the organization knows what needs to be done and when it needs to be done. The disadvantage of a framework is picking the wrong one. If it does not match into the vision, values and culture of the company, the framework will contribute to failure. For example, if the company’s value is to build quality products, but the process drives getting the product out quickly to get sales and compromises on quality, there may be a conflict caused because of the differences between the two priorities.
Chapter 9: Product Management Competencies
A competency is the ability to do something successfully and efficiently. In this session, we will discuss the various things an organization needs to do successfully and efficiently to enable the successful management of products. We will also discuss the skills or abilities required in a product management team to manage the products successfully.
The list of personal competencies required for the successful management of products is long, detailed and very complex. Few organizations, let alone professionals, have all the necessary competencies. Even fewer have the required depth of knowledge and experience necessary. That is why the management of products requires teamwork and effective give- and-take as areas are explored, debated and decisions made.
For product success, it is essential that your organization has competencies in all the areas discussed here in terms of the activities that need to be performed in each area.
These competencies fall into the categories of organizational, foundational and individual.
Chapter 10: Successful Management of Products in Startups and Competencies Required for Successful Management of Products
While we discuss the product management lifecycle and framework, a question comes to mind—Do these also apply to startups, which typically seem to function a little differently from bigger organizations?
It is typical for entrepreneurs and those involved in startups to think that what they have to do is different from what organizations would usually need to do to successfully manage their products. Some of this understanding developed from the agile hacking together of a product—which is why the term ‘development’ was changed to ‘hacking’.
Trying to come up with product ideas and what they help do is being called by some as ‘innovation’, as if this is something that organizations have started doing recently, and in the past, it was a mystery.
Chapter 11: Competencies Required for Successful Management of Products
A competency is the ability to do something successfully and efficiently. In this session, we will discuss the various things an organization needs to do successfully and efficiently to enable the successful management of products. We will also discuss the skills or abilities required in a product management team to manage the products successfully.
The list of personal competencies required for the successful management of products is long, detailed and very complex. Few organizations, let alone professionals, have all the necessary competencies. Even fewer have the required depth of knowledge and experience necessary. That is why the management of products requires teamwork and effective give-and-take as areas are explored, debated and decisions made.
In addition to personal competencies, there are also organizational ones necessary for product success.
Chapter 12: Product Management Focused Organizational Structure
The organizational structure can affect the success of a product severely. In this session, we will understand which organizational structures support, and which do not support customer-centric products.
In this workshop, you will learn about a military or railroad top-down structure, a matrix structure, management by badgering, and a new enlightened approach as evidenced by Hewlett-Packard which makes the employee and asset not a liability.
Curriculum
Product Management – Workshop 1 – What Must Products Have to Succeed?
- Product Failure and Its Impact
- The Six Keys to Product Success
- What Is a Product?
- The Keys to Product Success
- The History of the Management of Products.
- What Distinguishes Products and Services?
- Business Model and Canvas
- Product Management Lifecycle and Framework
- Product Management Competencies
- Successful Management of Products
- Competencies Required for Successful Management of Products
- Product Management Focused Organizational Structure
Distance Learning
Introduction
Thank you for enrolling in Appleton Greene’s Product Management. We are sure that you will find this journey exciting and rewarding to both you as an individual and for your company as a whole.
The Product Management training program is a forty-eight-step process that is presented through Appleton Greene’s distant learning method. This method requires the participants who are involved in the various workshops to take more responsibility for their learning than in the more traditional training methods. With the distant learning method, you will be doing a combination of group classroom learning, individual and group study, and preparation outside of the classroom.
This method may take some getting used to because a lot of the learning will happen outside of the classroom. This being the case, to be the most successful you will need to hold yourself accountable plus you will be part of teams that will hold each other accountable. This Distance Learning Guide explains how this method works and what is required on your part to be successful.
You have been assigned an Appleton Greens Product Management facilitator. This person is responsible for supporting you and helping you achieve maximum benefits from the Product Management. Please see the following Tutorial Support section for further explanation.
As Individuals
In order to effectively implement the Product Management workshops, it is important that everyone involved in a workshop learn all they can prior to and during a workshop. This involves reviewing and understanding the materials presented during a workshop as well as preparing for the workshop by studying the material required prior to each workshop. All the materials available prior to, during and after each workshop are designed to reinforce what you learned during a workshop to help ensure that you are prepared for the next step in the process.
The Introduction material is designed to help each participant better prepare for the workshop so they learn more and are better able to contribute to the discussions during each workshop. Participation from everyone attending a given workshop is essential if you are to reap the most from the Product Management workshops. Some workshops will have exercises that the participants will be asked to complete prior to the workshop. If the material is not clear to you or if you need help to better understand the pre-workshop exercises you are asked to contact your Appleton Green Product Management facilitator for clarification and guidance. Please refer to the Tutorial Support section for guidelines concerning the process to be used when contacting your Appleton Greene Product Management facilitator.
As Team Members
In order to effectively implement the Product Management, it is also important that as a group everyone involved in a workshop learn all they can from the workshop and as a group be ready for your next workshop. This involves team learning and team accountability. Learning is individual but applying this learning is only beneficial if it helps the team.
Your individual learning is dependent on how you personally study and learn. Some of what you learn is applicable to you individually. Most of what you learn, however, is aimed at learning how to apply your individual knowledge to a team setting. The focus here is on making sure that everyone in a workshop understands the subject matter. If you are unclear or confused, you need to speak up and ask questions within the workshop setting. Your Appleton Greene Product Management facilitator is available to help you, or your team members clarify what is expected of you. This will need to be scheduled in advance and at a time that works for everyone involved, making it more productive for everyone and giving your facilitator proper time to prepare. Please see the Tutorial Support section for suggested timing requirements.
Self-Discipline
One of the challenges of receiving training through the distance learning method is that you are more on your own than if you are strictly working with a facilitator in a classroom setting. It is up to you to evaluate your progress. It is up to you to be truthful with yourself concerning your level of understanding of what you have been taught. If you are uncertain you need to reach out to your Appleton Green Product Management facilitator or talk with others who are in the same workshop as you. You will not be given any tests in order to move on to the next workshop. It is up to you to determine your level of understanding and to be sure to ask questions about what you do not understand. This can be a trying situation for some people who are used to being given clear direction concerning their job tasks. This can also be intimidating to those who do not have as much self-confidence as others. One of the main purposes of the Product Management workshops is to create synergy through effective teamwork throughout a company. Remember, everyone is in the same boat. You are all learning together. There is no reason for any of you to feel intimidated or that you lack what others may have. Everyone is different in varying respects and possesses different skill sets. These differences are in large part what makes teams so effective.
It is important that you discipline yourself to stay on track with what you are learning. If you do not stay current, you will not only hurt yourself because you are not gaining the type of understanding you need but you are also hurting the other members of your team.
Summary
The distance learning method allows you some freedom to study when you want and the ability to work around a more flexible schedule. However, it does require more self-discipline to ensure you stay on course. It also requires a more truthful self-assessment than if you are in a more structured learning environment. Not only does it require a more truthful self-assessment, it requires a more open atmosphere among the team you are part of. As team members, you will need to rely on each other to ensure that not only as individuals you are gaining the understanding you need but as teams you are gaining the combined knowledge necessary to make the Product Management workshops as successful as it can be.
Tutorial Support
Programs
Appleton Greene uses standard and bespoke corporate training programs as vessels to transfer business process improvement knowledge into the heart of our clients’ organizations. Each individual program focuses upon the implementation of a specific business process, which enables clients to easily quantify their return on investment. There are hundreds of established Appleton Greene corporate training products now available to clients within customer services, e-business, finance, globalization, human resources, information technology, legal, management, marketing and production. It does not matter whether a client’s employees are located within one office, or an unlimited number of international offices, we can still bring them together to learn and implement specific business processes collectively. Our approach to global localization enables us to provide clients with a truly international service with that all important personal touch. Appleton Greene corporate training programs can be provided virtually or locally and they are all unique in that they individually focus upon a specific business function. They are implemented over a sustainable period of time and professional support is consistently provided by qualified learning providers and specialist consultants.
Support available
You will have a designated Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and an Accredited Consultant and we encourage you to communicate with them as much as possible. In all cases tutorial support is provided online because we can then keep a record of all communications to ensure that tutorial support remains consistent. You would also be forwarding your work to the tutorial support unit for evaluation and assessment. You will receive individual feedback on all of the work that you undertake on a one-to-one basis, together with specific recommendations for anything that may need to be changed in order to achieve a pass with merit or a pass with distinction and you then have as many opportunities as you may need to re-submit project studies until they meet with the required standard. Consequently the only reason that you should really fail (CLP) is if you do not do the work. It makes no difference to us whether a student takes 12 months or 18 months to complete the program, what matters is that in all cases the same quality standard will have been achieved.
Support Process
Please forward all of your future emails to the designated (CLP) Tutorial Support Unit email address that has been provided and please do not duplicate or copy your emails to other AGC email accounts as this will just cause unnecessary administration. Please note that emails are always answered as quickly as possible but you will need to allow a period of up to 20 business days for responses to general tutorial support emails during busy periods, because emails are answered strictly within the order in which they are received. You will also need to allow a period of up to 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies. This does not include weekends or public holidays. Please therefore kindly allow for this within your time planning. All communications are managed online via email because it enables tutorial service support managers to review other communications which have been received before responding and it ensures that there is a copy of all communications retained on file for future reference. All communications will be stored within your personal (CLP) study file here at Appleton Greene throughout your designated study period. If you need any assistance or clarification at any time, please do not hesitate to contact us by forwarding an email and remember that we are here to help. If you have any questions, please list and number your questions succinctly and you can then be sure of receiving specific answers to each and every query.
Time Management
It takes approximately 1 Year to complete the Product Management corporate training program, incorporating 12 x 6-hour monthly workshops. Each student will also need to contribute approximately 4 hours per week over 1 Year of their personal time. Students can study from home or work at their own pace and are responsible for managing their own study plan. There are no formal examinations and students are evaluated and assessed based upon their project study submissions, together with the quality of their internal analysis and supporting documents. They can contribute more time towards study when they have the time to do so and can contribute less time when they are busy. All students tend to be in full time employment while studying and the Product Management program is purposely designed to accommodate this, so there is plenty of flexibility in terms of time management. It makes no difference to us at Appleton Greene, whether individuals take 12-18 months to complete this program. What matters is that in all cases the same standard of quality will have been achieved with the standard and bespoke programs that have been developed.
Distance Learning Guide
The distance learning guide should be your first port of call when starting your training program. It will help you when you are planning how and when to study, how to create the right environment and how to establish the right frame of mind. If you can lay the foundations properly during the planning stage, then it will contribute to your enjoyment and productivity while training later. The guide helps to change your lifestyle in order to accommodate time for study and to cultivate good study habits. It helps you to chart your progress so that you can measure your performance and achieve your goals. It explains the tools that you will need for study and how to make them work. It also explains how to translate academic theory into practical reality. Spend some time now working through your distance learning guide and make sure that you have firm foundations in place so that you can make the most of your distance learning program. There is no requirement for you to attend training workshops or classes at Appleton Greene offices. The entire program is undertaken online, program course manuals and project studies are administered via the Appleton Greene web site and via email, so you are able to study at your own pace and in the comfort of your own home or office as long as you have a computer and access to the internet.
How To Study
The how to study guide provides students with a clear understanding of the Appleton Greene facilitation via distance learning training methods and enables students to obtain a clear overview of the training program content. It enables students to understand the step-by-step training methods used by Appleton Greene and how course manuals are integrated with project studies. It explains the research and development that is required and the need to provide evidence and references to support your statements. It also enables students to understand precisely what will be required of them in order to achieve a pass with merit and a pass with distinction for individual project studies and provides useful guidance on how to be innovative and creative when developing your Unique Program Proposition (UPP).
Tutorial Support
Tutorial support for the Appleton Greene Product Management corporate training program is provided online either through the Appleton Greene Client Support Portal (CSP), or via email. All tutorial support requests are facilitated by a designated Program Administration Manager (PAM). They are responsible for deciding which professor or tutor is the most appropriate option relating to the support required and then the tutorial support request is forwarded onto them. Once the professor or tutor has completed the tutorial support request and answered any questions that have been asked, this communication is then returned to the student via email by the designated Program Administration Manager (PAM). This enables all tutorial support, between students, professors and tutors, to be facilitated by the designated Program Administration Manager (PAM) efficiently and securely through the email account. You will therefore need to allow a period of up to 20 business days for responses to general support queries and up to 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies, because all tutorial support requests are answered strictly within the order in which they are received. This does not include weekends or public holidays. Consequently you need to put some thought into the management of your tutorial support procedure in order to ensure that your study plan is feasible and to obtain the maximum possible benefit from tutorial support during your period of study. Please retain copies of your tutorial support emails for future reference. Please ensure that ALL of your tutorial support emails are set out using the format as suggested within your guide to tutorial support. Your tutorial support emails need to be referenced clearly to the specific part of the course manual or project study which you are working on at any given time. You also need to list and number any questions that you would like to ask, up to a maximum of five questions within each tutorial support email. Remember the more specific you can be with your questions the more specific your answers will be too and this will help you to avoid any unnecessary misunderstanding, misinterpretation, or duplication. The guide to tutorial support is intended to help you to understand how and when to use support in order to ensure that you get the most out of your training program. Appleton Greene training programs are designed to enable you to do things for yourself. They provide you with a structure or a framework and we use tutorial support to facilitate students while they practically implement what they learn. In other words, we are enabling students to do things for themselves. The benefits of distance learning via facilitation are considerable and are much more sustainable in the long-term than traditional short-term knowledge sharing programs. Consequently you should learn how and when to use tutorial support so that you can maximize the benefits from your learning experience with Appleton Greene. This guide describes the purpose of each training function and how to use them and how to use tutorial support in relation to each aspect of the training program. It also provides useful tips and guidance with regard to best practice.
Tutorial Support Tips
Students are often unsure about how and when to use tutorial support with Appleton Greene. This Tip List will help you to understand more about how to achieve the most from using tutorial support. Refer to it regularly to ensure that you are continuing to use the service properly. Tutorial support is critical to the success of your training experience, but it is important to understand when and how to use it in order to maximize the benefit that you receive. It is no coincidence that those students who succeed are those that learn how to be positive, proactive and productive when using tutorial support.
Be positive and friendly with your tutorial support emails
Remember that if you forward an email to the tutorial support unit, you are dealing with real people. “Do unto others as you would expect others to do unto you”. If you are positive, complimentary and generally friendly in your emails, you will generate a similar response in return. This will be more enjoyable, productive and rewarding for you in the long-term.
Think about the impression that you want to create
Every time that you communicate, you create an impression, which can be either positive or negative, so put some thought into the impression that you want to create. Remember that copies of all tutorial support emails are stored electronically and tutors will always refer to prior correspondence before responding to any current emails. Over a period of time, a general opinion will be arrived at in relation to your character, attitude and ability. Try to manage your own frustrations, mood swings and temperament professionally, without involving the tutorial support team. Demonstrating frustration or a lack of patience is a weakness and will be interpreted as such. The good thing about communicating in writing, is that you will have the time to consider your content carefully, you can review it and proof-read it before sending your email to Appleton Greene and this should help you to communicate more professionally, consistently and to avoid any unnecessary knee-jerk reactions to individual situations as and when they may arise. Please also remember that the CLP Tutorial Support Unit will not just be responsible for evaluating and assessing the quality of your work, they will also be responsible for providing recommendations to other learning providers and to client contacts within the Appleton Greene global client network, so do be in control of your own emotions and try to create a good impression.
Remember that quality is preferred to quantity
Please remember that when you send an email to the tutorial support team, you are not using Twitter or Text Messaging. Try not to forward an email every time that you have a thought. This will not prove to be productive either for you or for the tutorial support team. Take time to prepare your communications properly, as if you were writing a professional letter to a business colleague and make a list of queries that you are likely to have and then incorporate them within one email, say once every month, so that the tutorial support team can understand more about context, application and your methodology for study. Get yourself into a consistent routine with your tutorial support requests and use the tutorial support template provided with ALL of your emails. The (CLP) Tutorial Support Unit will not spoon-feed you with information. They need to be able to evaluate and assess your tutorial support requests carefully and professionally.
Be specific about your questions in order to receive specific answers
Try not to write essays by thinking as you are writing tutorial support emails. The tutorial support unit can be unclear about what in fact you are asking, or what you are looking to achieve. Be specific about asking questions that you want answers to. Number your questions. You will then receive specific answers to each and every question. This is the main purpose of tutorial support via email.
Keep a record of your tutorial support emails
It is important that you keep a record of all tutorial support emails that are forwarded to you. You can then refer to them when necessary and it avoids any unnecessary duplication, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation.
Individual training workshops or telephone support
Please be advised that Appleton Greene does not provide separate or individual tutorial support meetings, workshops, or provide telephone support for individual students. Appleton Greene is an equal opportunities learning and service provider and we are therefore understandably bound to treat all students equally. We cannot therefore broker special financial or study arrangements with individual students regardless of the circumstances. All tutorial support is provided online and this enables Appleton Greene to keep a record of all communications between students, professors and tutors on file for future reference, in accordance with our quality management procedure and your terms and conditions of enrolment. All tutorial support is provided online via email because it enables us to have time to consider support content carefully, it ensures that you receive a considered and detailed response to your queries. You can number questions that you would like to ask, which relate to things that you do not understand or where clarification may be required. You can then be sure of receiving specific answers to each individual query. You will also then have a record of these communications and of all tutorial support, which has been provided to you. This makes tutorial support administration more productive by avoiding any unnecessary duplication, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation.
Tutorial Support Email Format
You should use this tutorial support format if you need to request clarification or assistance while studying with your training program. Please note that ALL of your tutorial support request emails should use the same format. You should therefore set up a standard email template, which you can then use as and when you need to. Emails that are forwarded to Appleton Greene, which do not use the following format, may be rejected and returned to you by the (CLP) Program Administration Manager. A detailed response will then be forwarded to you via email usually within 20 business days of receipt for general support queries and 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies. This does not include weekends or public holidays. Your tutorial support request, together with the corresponding TSU reply, will then be saved and stored within your electronic TSU file at Appleton Greene for future reference.
Subject line of your email
Please insert: Appleton Greene (CLP) Tutorial Support Request: (Your Full Name) (Date), within the subject line of your email.
Main body of your email
Please insert:
1. Appleton Greene Certified Learning Provider (CLP) Tutorial Support Request
2. Your Full Name
3. Date of TS request
4. Preferred email address
5. Backup email address
6. Course manual page name or number (reference)
7. Project study page name or number (reference)
Subject of enquiry
Please insert a maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Briefly outline the subject matter of your inquiry, or what your questions relate to.
Question 1
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Question 3
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Question 4
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Question 5
Maximum of 50 words (please be succinct)
Please note that a maximum of 5 questions is permitted with each individual tutorial support request email.
Procedure
* List the questions that you want to ask first, then re-arrange them in order of priority. Make sure that you reference them, where necessary, to the course manuals or project studies.
* Make sure that you are specific about your questions and number them. Try to plan the content within your emails to make sure that it is relevant.
* Make sure that your tutorial support emails are set out correctly, using the Tutorial Support Email Format provided here.
* Save a copy of your email and incorporate the date sent after the subject title. Keep your tutorial support emails within the same file and in date order for easy reference.
* Allow up to 20 business days for a response to general tutorial support emails and up to 30 business days for the evaluation and assessment of project studies, because detailed individual responses will be made in all cases and tutorial support emails are answered strictly within the order in which they are received.
* Emails can and do get lost. So if you have not received a reply within the appropriate time, forward another copy or a reminder to the tutorial support unit to be sure that it has been received but do not forward reminders unless the appropriate time has elapsed.
* When you receive a reply, save it immediately featuring the date of receipt after the subject heading for easy reference. In most cases the tutorial support unit replies to your questions individually, so you will have a record of the questions that you asked as well as the answers offered. With project studies however, separate emails are usually forwarded by the tutorial support unit, so do keep a record of your own original emails as well.
* Remember to be positive and friendly in your emails. You are dealing with real people who will respond to the same things that you respond to.
* Try not to repeat questions that have already been asked in previous emails. If this happens the tutorial support unit will probably just refer you to the appropriate answers that have already been provided within previous emails.
* If you lose your tutorial support email records you can write to Appleton Greene to receive a copy of your tutorial support file, but a separate administration charge may be levied for this service.
How To Study
Your Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and Accredited Consultant can help you to plan a task list for getting started so that you can be clear about your direction and your priorities in relation to your training program. It is also a good way to introduce yourself to the tutorial support team.
Planning your study environment
Your study conditions are of great importance and will have a direct effect on how much you enjoy your training program. Consider how much space you will have, whether it is comfortable and private and whether you are likely to be disturbed. The study tools and facilities at your disposal are also important to the success of your distance-learning experience. Your tutorial support unit can help with useful tips and guidance, regardless of your starting position. It is important to get this right before you start working on your training program.
Planning your program objectives
It is important that you have a clear list of study objectives, in order of priority, before you start working on your training program. Your tutorial support unit can offer assistance here to ensure that your study objectives have been afforded due consideration and priority.
Planning how and when to study
Distance-learners are freed from the necessity of attending regular classes, since they can study in their own way, at their own pace and for their own purposes. This approach is designed to let you study efficiently away from the traditional classroom environment. It is important however, that you plan how and when to study, so that you are making the most of your natural attributes, strengths and opportunities. Your tutorial support unit can offer assistance and useful tips to ensure that you are playing to your strengths.
Planning your study tasks
You should have a clear understanding of the study tasks that you should be undertaking and the priority associated with each task. These tasks should also be integrated with your program objectives. The distance learning guide and the guide to tutorial support for students should help you here, but if you need any clarification or assistance, please contact your tutorial support unit.
Planning your time
You will need to allocate specific times during your calendar when you intend to study if you are to have a realistic chance of completing your program on time. You are responsible for planning and managing your own study time, so it is important that you are successful with this. Your tutorial support unit can help you with this if your time plan is not working.
Keeping in touch
Consistency is the key here. If you communicate too frequently in short bursts, or too infrequently with no pattern, then your management ability with your studies will be questioned, both by you and by your tutorial support unit. It is obvious when a student is in control and when one is not and this will depend how able you are at sticking with your study plan. Inconsistency invariably leads to in-completion.
Charting your progress
Your tutorial support team can help you to chart your own study progress. Refer to your distance learning guide for further details.
Making it work
To succeed, all that you will need to do is apply yourself to undertaking your training program and interpreting it correctly. Success or failure lies in your hands and your hands alone, so be sure that you have a strategy for making it work. Your Certified Learning Provider (CLP) and Accredited Consultant can guide you through the process of program planning, development and implementation.
Reading methods
Interpretation is often unique to the individual but it can be improved and even quantified by implementing consistent interpretation methods. Interpretation can be affected by outside interference such as family members, TV, or the Internet, or simply by other thoughts which are demanding priority in our minds. One thing that can improve our productivity is using recognized reading methods. This helps us to focus and to be more structured when reading information for reasons of importance, rather than relaxation.
Speed reading
When reading through course manuals for the first time, subconsciously set your reading speed to be just fast enough that you cannot dwell on individual words or tables. With practice, you should be able to read an A4 sheet of paper in one minute. You will not achieve much in the way of a detailed understanding, but your brain will retain a useful overview. This overview will be important later on and will enable you to keep individual issues in perspective with a more generic picture because speed reading appeals to the memory part of the brain. Do not worry about what you do or do not remember at this stage.
Content reading
Once you have speed read everything, you can then start work in earnest. You now need to read a particular section of your course manual thoroughly, by making detailed notes w