Re: CBT Cost and Benefits

[Mark Baker <mbaker -at- OMNIMARK -dot- COM>]

Bowser, Christi wrote


>Because I would like to start creating CBTs for my company's software
>products, I have been tasked with developing a strategy for how CBTs
>will add value to our products and increase our revenue.  It is
>relatively easy to come up with the benefits that CBTs provide our
>customers, but how do I justify the development time and money to
>management?  Besides increased customer satisfaction, what are the
>selling points from a management perspective?  Can we generate revenue
>on CBTs?


The measurement you are looking for is "cost of ownership". Cost of
ownership is the money your customer has to spend in order to use and
maintain the product you sell. Thus Ford can charge more for a car with its
V-Tech engine that requires fewer tuneups. The customer is willing to spend
more to buy the car because it will cost less to own and run the car.

Good documentation and training products reduce cost of ownership for the
products they describe by enabling users to become productive faster, make
full use of the features of the product, make fewer errors using the
product, and fix errors faster.

Cost of ownership can be quantified in dollar terms, which is how you
justify development time and money to management.

---
Mark Baker
Manager, Corporate Communications
OmniMark Technologies Corporation
1400 Blair Place
Gloucester, Ontario
Canada, K1J 9B8
Phone: 613-745-4242
Fax: 613-745-5560
Email mbaker -at- omnimark -dot- com