Digital White Papers

58 WWW.ILTANET.ORG | ILTA WHITE PAPER KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT Training, KM and Performance Support: Delivering Knowledge to Users While They Work to disseminate information to legal professionals most effectively. Although some advances have been made, no system yet fits the bill entirely. In the 1980s and '90s, research into adult learning and computing took a new and exciting turn when people posited the concept of an electronic performance support system (EPSS) to deliver training to workers at the point of need, contextually and ideally with some inherent understanding of why the worker needed the knowledge. In "What Is Electronic Performance Support and What Isn't?," Deborah Alpert Slight of Michigan State University describes an EPSS as follows: "There are many computerized tools and instructional programs that people claim are performance support systems, but which sometimes are not. What makes a program an electronic performance support system (EPSS)? An electronic performance support system is, according to Barry Raybould (1991), 'a computer-based system that improves worker productivity by providing on-the-job access to integrated information, advice and learning experiences.' Gloria Gery (1989) defines it as 'an integrated electronic environment that is available to and easily accessible by each employee and is structured to provide immediate, individualized online access to the full range of information, soware, guidance, advice and assistance, data, images, tools, and assessment and monitoring systems to permit job performance with minimal support and intervention by others.'" An EPSS not only is a tool for training departments to deliver training but also, in its truest form, is a tool for delivering all the information a worker might need. Though several EPSS prototypes exist, none has yet fully met the challenge. If KM and training could pool their expertise in the age of machine learning and artificial intelligence, the result just might be a fully functional EPSS. A United Front for True Performance Support KM professionals are under immense pressure as they marshal their resources to ensure that the legal teams they support have the information they need to succeed. Like any modern worker, KM must provide the information as quickly as possible. Modern workers have less and less time to complete their work and must pick up new skills ever more swily. We have all heard the urban legend that YouTube is the trainer coming to a firm near you. Imagine a world where aorneys could sit at their desks to work on a contract and be offered the standard form clause needed in that type of contract, while simultaneously being reminded of the case law and know-how relevant to using that clause in similar situations. To top it off, they might then be offered a reminder module on how to update the standard contract version in the firm's document management system. The two departments that most commonly interact daily with all roles within the legal profession are training and KM. They both are also tasked with ensuring a competitive edge for their firms. If they worked together on harnessing technological advances, the resulting systems and technology would change the business and practice of law forever. ILTA OLIVER LASH-WILLIAMS Oliver Lash-Williams is TutorPro's Vice President of Client Success. His background is in marketing for early- stage technology companies in the professional services sector in the United Kingdom and the United States. Oliver also brings a passion for innovation and disruption to the TutorPro team. Originally from London, Oliver is now based in Atlanta, Georgia. You can contact him at olwilliams@tutorpro.com.

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