Despite being immensely popular–and immensely lucrative–, online interactive video training is grossly overrated. Courses customized to meet a company’s training goals in an instructor lead environment don’t work much better when you consider knowledge retention over time.

Many of the BAs I’ve coached over the years in Beal Projects Crafting Better Requirements program reported having read books on software requirements and/or gone through online training and/or training offered by a famous author or reputable training company before joining the program. And unsurprisingly, when providing feedback to the participants, I’m often able to quote directly from the famous author or the website of the training company to point out a mistake they’re making. It’s not that my program offers new material or novel approaches; it’s just that most people casually forget most of what they learn after a training session ends.

My instinct tells me that many training providers are well-aware of this limitation, and they just don’t have a good incentive to try and fix the issue. Clearly, offering 1-1 coaching is not as scalable (and consequently  lucrative) as online video training or even privately held training for an organization or team in which you take a group of learners through the exact same learning experience.

Yet, we’ve known for many years, based on hundreds of academic studies, that the amount and quality of practice are key factors in the level of expertise people achieve.

And since not everything in life is about profit or scalability,  BealProjects.com will continue to offer 1-1 coaching on requirements documentation and communication skills, and is now  offering 1-1 coaching you can use to elevate other BA skills as well.

Until  I have confidence that other coaches will achieve the same level of efficacy guiding participants through deliberate practice, I’ll continue to be personally responsible for guiding you through your deliberate practice. And this means only a few slots available during 2018.

The development of expertise requires coaches who are capable of giving constructive, even painful, feedback.

— K. Anders Ericsson, Michael J. Prietula and Edward T. Cokely
The Making of an Expert, HBR Magazine

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