Susan Connell
EDTEC 540 - Prof. Marshall
Spring 2003

ISD2: Objectives and Test Questions
for a New Product Implementation

Introduction

Audience

The product consists of a thermostat and sensor installed in each room that communicate with a management console which can be viewed by the hotel's facilities/operations staff as well as front desk personnel. The console can also provide reports of specific and aggregate energy usage data gathered by the system. As a result, it is actually used on several levels by people ranging from hotel guests to operations to management. The audience that will have the most sophisticated interface with the product and therefore will require the most instruction in its use includes the front desk and facilities staff.

Challenge

Installations of the product in beta test sites showed that once it was installed, hotel staff tended to ignore the product and therefore did not get the full benefit of its energy-saving capabilities and guest comfort features. In addition, a lack of familiarity with the system's reporting software meant that management did not receive information that justified purchases of this type. This resulted from the fact that the equipment tended to "run itself" and when there was a problem, it was easier to disable or override the equipment settings than to actually address the problem.

Goal

Based on the needs assessment, we have determined that hotel management would like to reduce guest complaints about room temperature, achieve the promised energy savings of about 30% and have facilities staff be able to document the savings that result from optimal use of the system.

Recommendations

While the needs assessment demonstrated that some of the problems with fully optimizing use of the system involved lack of motivation or organizational support, it was also apparent that in two key areas - Front Desk and Facilities - the lack of skills and knowledge about the system was an impediment to achieving the goals for its use. Based on the needs assessment, it appeared that training would be beneficial for these two groups. Because their use of the system differs greatly, it would be advisable to have two separate training sessions performed by an instructor from the equipment manufacturer who will explain the operation of the system and test personnel on their understanding of its use. When the manufacturer and the new product are more established, they may be able to offer this training in an online mode. The training should enable the Front Desk staff to confidently answer guests' basic questions and assist them with adjusting their room temperature if necessary. For the Facilities staff, the training should enable them to knowledgably assess energy usage, make adjustments to the system using the management software and provide hotel management with reports of actual dollar savings as a result of energy management system use.

Instructional Objectives and Test Questions