“Boot Camp training is two weeks? I can’t spare my developers for that long.”
This seems like a logical statement. Losing that much productive time can seem like a dealbreaker for your project. How do you make up for that lost time? Two weeks out of pocket can seem like an insurmountable challenge when managing an aggressive timeline, or working with limited resources, or both (as is often the case).
However, what if you look beyond hard numbers and examine the cost of your team NOT attending training? Sure, losing head count for two weeks during a four-month implementation can seem counterintuitive – but think about potential missed deadlines due to a feature not being configured correctly in the first place. The further you get into your project, the more expensive it is to fix mistakes and rework configurations. What if best practices aren’t followed? Upfront costs may stay low, but your team faces an increased risk of escalating maintenance and enhancement costs. By then, it may be too late to ensure that a well-designed, elegantly configured application goes live on schedule and on budget.
I recently attended DCU’s two-week Policy Boot Camp. I was unable to travel to DCU, so I was provided with a remote desktop connection to a virtual development environment. The VM contained electronic copies of all training materials, as well as the Duck Creek software I needed to configure manuscripts. In addition, hard copies of the training materials were shipped directly to me. My instructor was able to monitor my progress using software that allowed her to not only share her desktop, but to see mine, take control and help me make changes, and chat directly with me when I hit a snag or needed a hint.
My favorite part of the class was setting off on my own for a day to build out a Policy product from a basic manuscript using only a Business Requirements Document and Rating Algorithm Specification. My instructor was available to answer questions, but I was generally left to my own devices to make decisions on how to best implement a solution to support those requirements and then test what I had built. I found this experience invaluable, and afterward, I felt much more confident in my knowledge and decision-making. The class concluded with a similar one-day exercise that is graded to determine your level of proficiency. As a project manager or stakeholder of a project staffed with Certified Policy Boot Camp graduates, the degree of confidence this brings to your estimates – and ability to deliver to those estimates – is priceless. Giving up two weeks of your developers’ time just might turn out to be the best investment you make in your Duck Creek implementation project.
To learn more about DCU course offerings, contact DCU.Learning@duckcreek.com, or visit our DCU page. Our newest training center, in our Boston headquarters, offers the perfect setting for a top-notch learning experience. Next time you’re in Boston or Bolivar, stop by and visit a DCU classroom to see our hands-on instruction in action.
Benefits of attending a DCU Boot Camp:
- Hands-on configuration experience
- Immersive educational approach
- Learn from mistakes – yours and others’ – in the safety of a classroom
- Debug and resolve rating errors
- Understand best practices and how to configure a requirement multiple ways
- Prove proficiency (or in your case, mastery) through an in-depth assessment
- Walk away with practical experience
