ISD Production Process: Shifting to Virtual Production

Building a Virtual ISD Application Called “C2 Gateway”

Ken Matesich and Ryan Brown

Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, Arizona

C2 Technologies, Inc. Vienna, Virginia

Davis-Monthan Site Overview

Air Force Pilot and Aircrew training for the A-10 and EC-130 aircraft

Traditional lecture based lessonsWeb-based online training (CBT)Blended Learning lessonsSpecial software applications

(CAI)250 A-10 and 470 EC-130 lessons

Spatial Awareness

Traditional Development Model

Large Microsoft Excel spreadsheets

Extensive use of emailMultiple documents on network

sharesMany client feedback documents

on hundreds of product deliverables

Limited historical accountabilityDifficulty reporting on metrics

over the long term

ISD Process Overview

C2 Gateway Software ApplicationShift to Web-based virtual

Instructional Systems DesignApplication acts as a one-stop

PortalThree tier approach:

◦Inventory Archive◦Scheduling Management◦Production Review Feedback

SQL Database content management

ISD Process in Gateway

SandboxCritiques

Production

OMAR (Objective Media Analysis Report)◦ LMS Student Critiques◦ Instructor Critiques◦ Air Force Critiques

ISD Production Process Details

LSR

RD

FDAC

OMAR

Inventory Archive700+ Inventoried lessonsStudent and instructor critiquesThe Inventory drives the ISD

cycleAvailable for off-site accessRoles-based and secure logon

Scheduling Management900+ deliverable stages

(documents) produced and reviewed annually

Centralized management of projects

ISD (EdTech) and Instructor tasking

Tally of work accomplished

Production ReviewHyperlinked lessons for reviewCategorized by stakeholder

Comment Tool◦Role-based feedback◦Forum thread and response concept◦Intuitive interface tracks stages

NLEs (the Cash Register)New Lesson Equivalent

calculations:◦During ‘Sandbox’ scheduling and

tasking◦During production cycle (quarterly /

yearly)Statement of work (SOW)

trackingDelay tracking: production &

review

Software EnvironmentC#, ASP. Net, HTML, JavaScriptCompiled Web applicationN-tier architectureProgrammed and designed in-

house◦Custom data forms with Ajax

Dedicated Windows 2003 ServerHosted and managed

environment

Database DesignMicrosoft SQL Server 2008~ 50 relational database tables~ 150 stored proceduresCustom Object Relational

Mapping (ORM) interface codeDatabase structure (link)

Software ConcernsCode maintainabilityApplication accessibilityWeb site securityData confidentialitySite and database backupApplication extensibility

Some Realized Metric Gains4 % deficit historically (3-6%)3 % ahead of schedule currently

(1-4%)

Early Perspective:◦Site produces 255 lesson hours

annually◦Up to 8% gain, or ~20 lesson hours

Summary - ImprovementsMoving from analog to digitalCentralized location for

productionTracking of customer feedbackImproved evaluation visibilityReduced administrative busy

workEliminated multiple source

relianceImproved stakeholder

connectivity

C2 Technologies, Inc. Vienna, Virginia