Manager's point - interview - 4

posted by John Rizzo

This is the interview of the managers of the first students having taken the new JavaBlackBelt coached e-learning.


John is co-founder of JavaBlackBelt.com and has 10 years experience in Java training and skills management.

Philippe Varin is Managing Director of Genesis Consult, a privately held company of 60 consultants.

Stephane Levaque is Sales Director.

They know both the IT and consultancy business inside out.

John (JBB): Why did you decide to train the consultants with the JavaBlackBelt coached e-learning?

Philippe:

The training that we asked you to give isn't directly in line with a specific project, but rather to offer some kind of benefit to our consultants. Developers talk to each other on Facebook and social networks, and if we take good care of our developers, the news spreads fast. People who work for a consulting and services company expect trainings, to be taken care of.

However, quality training is expensive. With traditional training, one must also account for loss of revenue, that is what Genesis cannot bill the client for. With the JavaBlackBelt coached eLearning we saved the equivalent of 6 people at a cost of 500 Euro a day for 10 days, that's 30,000 euros.

Stephane:

I knew what blended learning was, but I had never really experienced it. I'd done traditional training or elearning. But not blended learning with coaching. With your solution, the consultants learn at their own pace. That is the problem of heterogeneous groups, where the slowest and the fastest are unhappy. Here, we have the core which teaches the basics, then each student can continue at his pace, depending on his skills and availabilities. It's as motivating for the highly skilled developers as for the others.

John (JBB): And were you surprised with the formula?

Philippe:

Yes, there was a result-driven objective, which we have already taken advantage of. For example, we were able to answer a client's proposal for a mission, thanks to the skills that Fred acquired during training. If he hadn't done the training, I wouldn't have replied to the offer!

The best aspect of the formula, is that we set a time limit on the trainings that are given here.

Stéphane:

I am positively surprised, because I didn't think that the developers would manage to finish the course and pass the exam in the given time frame. In two months, we finished the whole training cycle that we had initially planned.

John (JBB): How did the consultants give you their feedback?

Philippe:

We see the consultants once a month. I will have a very tangible feedback. I saw nearly all of them this month. I think that by the end of the month, I will have received an email from everyone with some feedback.

Stéphane:

They are all delighted. Some were faster than others, some are more tenacious than others, it's normal. For some it was like going through an obstacle course.

John (JBB): Are the integrated exams important?

Philippe:

Yes, very important because consultants like to get a diploma and it brings added value. When they pass with 95%, they are proud, it allows them to know where they stand. Thanks to the exams, consultants were more driven. It's not only the final objective that is important, but also the journey.

Also, the first thing a consulting firm sells, is the resume, it's the first thing that appears. Success on an exam brings added value to the resume

Stéphane:

There's the gratifying aspect, but also the fact that we can situate them. There is a purpose, it's not only learning for the sake of learning. Otherwise, the consultant does a course and doesn't have the need for it immediately and he forgets it. Here they have a final objective, a reward.

Philippe:

Tuan, for example when he passed with 92%, everyone knew about it and he was very proud.

John (JBB): How do you perceive the coach's role in this training?

Stéphane:

The coach is very important because he is the consultant's guide, when he can't finish an exercise, he can help and the consultant can ask questions without feeling embarrassed. Some of the consultants don't dare to raise their hand or ask a question during a traditional class. During individual coaching, the student will make progress much faster.

There's the motivation aspect as well, the coach encourages the consultant to reach the final goal which is to pass the exam.

In regard to Genesis, it is in the coach's interest to liaise between the consultant and management. It's an interesting triangular relationship. Everybody has his own interests which, in the end aim to add value to the consultant and the company. The coach will inform the company's management of the students' progress.

For a company such as our own, I can delegate some of the follow-up of the people who are coached and trained. Big companies have a training department. But small ones don't have the time or the know-how (often neither do big companies). JavaBlackBelt sells the training outsourcing for the company. The next step would be to ask JavaBlackBelt to write up a yearly customized training plan for each consultant. some consultants would have 5 certifications at the end of the year, others only one.

JBB: How do you measure the success of a training?

Philippe:

Objectively and subjectively

Objectively: on the basis of the technical level attained. The exam is the first snapshot. Then there is the interview: the JavaBlackBelt training allows us to send our consultants to more interviews! In the end, it's the work accomplished at our client's one year later: that's the real added value. What will the feedback be in a real situation? It's specific to any training, not only in IT.

The subjective aspect: What are the consultant's feelings about this training. How did he perceive it, not only the logistics (JavaBlackBelt monitoring during the training period), what he thought of the contents, and the difficulty level of the exam questions.

JBB: To what extent can a training change a consultant's confidence when going to an interview for a project?

Stéphane:

At first glance, if you go on a training, you feel more confident on the subject. Someone like Fred needed a refresher, and this refresher came at the right time. It's a question for the consultants. Some consultants say they know the subject and that they don't need the course. They say no thank you. I was surprised, but there are.

John (JBB): What is the financial impact?

Stéphane:

The real question is: for an investment of X what is the impact in the sales cycle.

1. We better the resume. The client sees that he did a Spring/Hibernate training, he wants to meet him.
2. During the interview, he can then evaluate the skills.
3. As he knows Spring and Hibernate, we can increase the price.

The financial impact is that he must be easier to sell and at a higher rate.

The number of missions that we can offer our consultants increases or the rate increases. The rate can be +20 Euro / day. As for the number of projects: it's nearly impossible to measure, but maybe 20% more missions. I first try to match skills, that way, the client knows I am not just sending anybody and the trust grows stronger on the long term. During a sale, sometimes we might say we are increasing the price because we spent money training the person.

The equation is interesting, not only the financial aspect but also the human aspect. The marketing aspect exists at the time of hiring and also at the time of sale: people know if we are able to offer our people training.

Beyond the trust, there is also the certification aspect. Some clients require certified consultants, be it Microsoft or others. It has a value for certain clients. I ask myself what value a JBB certification has: purely commercial beyond a community aspect. I don't have the answer. I'll probably get clients who couldn't care less and others who will see it as a bonus. You must put forward what is recognized by clients and the community. Some consulting firms invest a lot in certifications.

John (JBB): What is the financial upgrade of a well-known certification such as Sun or Microsoft?

Stéphane:

There are 2 aspects: 1 "must have" or 2 "nice to have"

1. It is required by the client, for example Prince2 for project leaders. It's the "project charter". In Java we don't have this demand for certification. In terms of financial impact, the price is already at level, the client who wants a certified consultant is prepared to pay the price, which is certainly 10% more.

2. There is a selection by certification:

A client such as SNCB (Belgian rails) who are looking for a Java developer get 50 resumes in 3 days. So they use an objective criteria to weed out, such as a certification, to avoid getting 50 more resumes (100 pages). Usually, it's the project leader who sets this criteria, because he has other things to do. What other clients do is shorten the response time (in order to receive less resumes) In the 20th century, the big eat the small and in the 21st century, the fast beat the slow (and the big aren't fast).

John (JBB): Do clients have assessment processes to weed out the candidates?

Stephane:

At Electrabel, for example, they have very advanced .Net exams. They torture consultants who tell us that they not only have to drive the car but also have to be able to take the engine apart. Some clients push the interview very far, to know how it really works. It's difficult for a consultant who thinks he knows and comes out thinking he knows nothing.

JBB: In the future, for your trainings at Genesis, which training type would you choose?

Stephane:

I would choose the JBB Coached eLearning again. I speak for myself, this formula allows a great deal of flexibility for the company, the consultant and the client who doesn't feel an impact during the mission.

John (JBB): What are the next steps for trainings at Genesis?

Stéphane:

We must work on the short term (quarter), but also on the long term (end of year, you must know that)

We must analyze this internally, get feedback. We should have feedback from our people by the end of the month and see which other aspects they want to look at. We will have to do the analysis based on the JavaBlackBelt exam list.

Coached e-learning student - interview - 3

posted by John Rizzo

This is the interview of the first three students having taken the new JavaBlackBelt coached e-learning.


John is co-founder of JavaBlackBelt.com and has 10 years experience in Java training and skills management.

Véronique is a consultant with 8 years of experience including 6 years of Java experience.

Véronique followed the JavaBlackBelt's JPA Fundamentals Course in January/February 2009. His employer gave her one day to do it, and the rest was done home (evenings and week-ends). John was her personal coach.



John (JBB): How do you usually learn?

Véronique:
Usually, with ebooks from the web that I read. What I like most is downloadable code to see how it works. I'm more of a tutorial person. It's been years since I last bought a book.

I did a classic 5 day EJB 2 classroom training a long time ago, with slides and an instructor.


John (JBB):
You just finished the final exam of a Spring Core course from JavaBlackBelt. How would you compare that with your past learning experience?

The advantage with classroom training, is that you are coached from A to Z. When you're at home, you don't call for any old reason, so you do some research. I would have asked more questions if an instructor had been present. But the research you do leads to interesting discoveries. It depends on your character. It suits me to do some research, but others may need more support. For the JavaBlackBelt course, I didn't call the coach often, because I tend to find the answers by myself. I also talked to one of my colleagues who knows Hibernate well to solve a problem I had on one exercise.

I really appreciated the flexibility of the JavaBlackBelt formula. As I'm working on a project, it was too much for me to do the course in a classroom over a week's time. With JBB, I spread it out. You're not overwhelmed with information, you have time to process it. The exercises were fun. We still are developers so we have to put it into practice. I didn't do the workshop.

My main problem with the JavaBlackBelt training was time. I had to work from home. When you are on a client assignment, it's not easy to find time in the evening and at weekends. It's good that there was some flexibility for the exam date. The thing is to do it when you're ready. The inconvenient is to have a week between two resumptions. I worked two hours a couple of evenings per week and a bit during the weekends. No more than 2 days in total for the JPA course ( not including the whole day at her office). I could have asked my manager to get away from my assignment for a second day to do the course, but in the end it wasn't necessary.

A solution where I would have stayed at my employer's office for 2 days would have had the advantage of being able to focus on the course only. That would have been a good way to do it. At home I can easily be distracted by something else, whereas at the office there are no easy distractions.


John (JBB):
Has the final exam been useful for you?

Véronique:
The system I followed was good because there was enough flexibility for the exam date. It's important to have an exam. You need to measure your accomplishment, after a training.

When I do an exam, maybe I make a mistake, but I don't forget my mistakes, I won't make that mistake twice.


John (JBB):
How would you compare the atypical training you've had at JavaBlackBelt with learning alone with a book?

Véronique:
It would have taken me more time because I would have had to make up the exercises. I would have studied the theory and not gotten much hands-on experience. I would have waited to start a mission which required JPA.
Actually, I have no idea because I always had to study specific subjects. I can't compare.


John (JBB):
And compared with a classic classroom course?

A classroom training isn't as flexible, I liked the fact that each student could work at his own pace, we didn't have to wait for the others. That suits me best. Everyone does it with his capabilities. If someone doesn't have the basics he isn't punished. In a classroom, it's very rigid, and it doesn't work if there are different levels. In a classroom I would have been frustrated not to have done all the exercises in depth.


John (JBB):
Would you participate in another course with the same (JavaBlackBelt) methodology?

Yes, without a doubt.

Coached e-learning student - interview - 2

posted by John Rizzo

This is the interview of the first three students having taken the new JavaBlackBelt coached e-learning.


John is co-founder of JavaBlackBelt.com and has 10 years experience in Java training and skills management.

Toan is a consultant with 7 years of Delphi experience but no experience with Java.


Toan followed the JavaBlackBelt's Spring Core course and the corresponding workshop in January/February 2009. His employer gave him two weeks to do it, while Toan was between two missions. John was his personal coach.


John (JBB): How do you usually learn?

Toan:
I taught myself Delphi.
At the moment, I am taking evening classes which include Java at an IT school.


John (JBB):
You just finished the final exam of a Spring Core course from JavaBlackBelt. How would you compare that with your past learning experience?

Toan:
I really enjoyed working directly with pros. At school, it's purely theoretical and conceptual. For example, we are taught design patterns, but don't get to apply them. I lacked hands-on experience. At JavaBlackBelt, you work as if on a real project.

I was part of a group of different levels to begin with. I had some knowledge of Java, but I had never worked on a Java project. The workshops really helped me a lot to put things into practice and I realized I was very far behind, I could see my weaknesses.


John (JBB):
How would you compare the atypical training you've had at JavaBlackBelt with learning alone with a book?

Toan:
When you're self-taught, you don't know the best practices. With a coach (JavaBlackBelt), I can call and I get a precise answer from a pro, without any misunderstanding and when I finish the training, I'm more confident, I know how it's done.


John (JBB):
How long would you have taken to learn the same amount of Spring, alone with a book?

Toan:
I may have given up...For example, the book I received, I use it as a reference. But that kind of book frightens me. If I hadn't given up, it would have taken me more than double the time than with JavaBlackBelt.

With JavaBlackBelt, I had to provide a result (pass the exam) to my manager. Each time there was a question, I was helped and it went faster. Thanks to the course, I know what is essential. With only the book, I would have done other things, in the wrong order.


John (JBB):
One month ago, you started JavaBlackBelt's Spring Core course. Now, one month later, do you feel you retained more information than with other methods?

I haven't worked with Spring since, but I still know it. The workshop really helped me.


John (JBB):
Would you participate in another course with the same (JavaBlackBelt) methodology?

Yes, of course.

Coached e-learning student - interview - 1

posted by John Rizzo

This is the interview of the first three students having taken the new JavaBlackBelt coached e-learning.


John is co-founder of JavaBlackBelt.com and has 10 years experience in Java training and skills management.
Patrick is a consultant with 4 years of Java experience. He is currently working on a Java project in a bank.

Patrick followed the JavaBlackBelt's JPA/Hibernate course in January/February 2009. His employer gave him one day to do it, then Patrick did finish the rest home. John was his personal coach.


John (JBB): How do you usually learn?

Patrick:
I'm mainly self-taught, I use resources found on the Internet. To solve small problems, I search on Google, or sometimes in a book. The need to learn always comes from a specific need on a real-life project. Except for Hibernate, which I decided to learn on my own initiative. I tried to follow the tutorials on the Hibernate website, but phew! Mainly, it was a question of not having enough time more than anything else.

I've also done classroom trainings with an instructor. One at BEA on weblogic, and another on Business Objects.


John (JBB):
You just finished the final exam of a JPA/Hibernate course from JavaBlackBelt. How would you compare that with your past learning experience?

Patrick:
The course material is top notch. The course website is well designed, with good examples, the learning process has a very interesting logic. The references to external resources are also interesting for those who want to dig deeper into the subject. I really liked that.

The only thing I found repetitive was the workshop. It's true I'd already acquired a little knowledge about Hibernate before the course and that I did all the workshop projects on the same day. But I understand its usefulness for weaker students.

The idea of letting each student go at his own pace, even when we were all together was great.


John (JBB):
How would you compare the atypical training you've had at JavaBlackBelt with the classic trainings you had in a classroom with slides and an instructor?

Patrick:
With JavaBlackBelt, time just flew, I felt I was learning at a faster pace, because I didn't have to wait for someone to speak. I probably felt that because I had a faster speed than the average in my group.

As for the exercises, JBB is more open and more interesting than the step by step exercises I came across in both the classroom trainings.


John (JBB):
How would you evaluate the relative speed of these 3 learning methods (alone on the web, classic class training, JavaBlackBelt) ?

I'm self-taught, so for me classic classroom training is the slowest. With JBB, it took less time to assimilate because I didn't have a need for what I learned at the training centers right after the course.
Whereas with the workshop and test system, I had to use what I learned right away. I certainly went twice as fast as with a traditional course.

Compared to learning by reading a book, I must have learned 30% faster with JBB, because it uses real-life examples earlier in the course. And the exam was a real incentive.

John (JBB):
One month ago, you started JavaBlackBelt's JPA course. Now, one month later, do you feel you retained more information than with other methods?

Patrick:
Yes, because I had reviewed the subject for the exam not so long ago. Because of that, I learned better. That's what happens when you put into practice what you have learned. I couldn't have done it alone with a book without JavaBlackBelt. The problem with traditional classroom training is that it rarely comes at the moment you need it the most, so you don't tend to use it immediately and you tend to forget it quite fast.


John (JBB):
Would you participate in another course with the same (JavaBlackBelt) methodology?

Patrick:
Yes, certainly. Honestly, it's the best training I've ever taken.

JavaOne 2008 - part 2: Big Booths

posted by John Rizzo

-- Part 1 was about small booths --

AMD and Intel

Still in the JavaOne Pavillon, you could not miss two large booths, these held by AMD and Intel. What the hell do these CPU hardware companies do at JavaOne? While I could understand that Sun promotes some of his servers at JavaOne, I was curious to see how AMD/Intel relates to Java.

They gave me a very reasonable explanation: over the years CPU companies have significantly improved their CPU capabilities; still few software companies take advantage of it. In order to make their improvements used and their live more meaningful, they help the software side.

It reminds me of my IBM years, while studying the AS/400-iSeries systems. They have a microkernel concept which is a software view of a CPU. The source code is compiled to executable microkernel instruction set. When the executable program is copied/installed on a specific hardware, the OS who knows the exact CPU, finishes the compilation process starting from the microkernel instructions to the CPU related machine code. Thank to this system, IBM could migrate customers from CICS processors to RISC processors effortless.

Doesn't this 2-phase compiling remind you of something ? The JVM and JIT (Just in Time Compiler) do the same. The .java source code is compiled by the developer into .class byte code. At runtime, the JVM (acting as a kind of operating system...) who knows the target hardware, finishes the work by transforming the .class bytecode into machine instructions. If the JVM knows the new optimized machine instructions from the last Intel or AMD CPU, then your code will be optimized for these CPUs and run much faster.

Classical programs written in C/C++ for example, must be compiled by the developer to the most common backward compatible machine instruction set to be able to run on any compatible CPU, taking advantage of no new machine instruction.

Who would have ever believed a decade ago that Java would be faster than C ?

Oracle and BEA

Oracle also had a big booth. In fact, Oracle had two booths. The BEA team had a separate area while BEA has been acquired by Oracle some time ago. I'm curious to see how they will integrate in the future.

Sun Microsystems

Last but not least in this article: Sun! Sun was massively present in the Pavillon, with many little booths. Sun Education booth took most of my attention: you know my passion for learning!

And -- what a great surprize -- I met somebody who is at least as passionate about learning as I am, and who truly understands what's wrong with the way courses and certifications are taken and used by most people. I had a great discussion with Kevin Streater, Customer Learning Manager, Sun Microsystems.

Our discussion turned around how to help students who aim at passing the SCJP . One problem is the size of SCJP which increased over the years and is now v6. It's too much to digest at once, even with one or two intense week of Java course. Smaller exams (such as JavaBlackBelt exams ;-) that break down the big SCJP objective into little steps along a clear learning path would definitely help.