EXPERIENCES DEVELOPING A CURRICULUM FOR 
DIGITAL MAP PRODUCTION 
Marjorie Seale 
Systems Consultant - Intergraph Corporation 
Federal Systems Division - Advanced Programs 
Huntsville, Alabama, USA 35894-0001 
(205) 730-2000 
ISPRS Commission VII 
ABSTRACT 
This paper shares the experiences gained from developing and implementing a training curriculum for a large system 
designed to automate and streamline cartographic production operations. Courses were created for production managers, 
photo analysts, photogrammetrists, and senior managers to produce a number of specific map products. The objective of the 
courses was to teach operators, managers, and other support personnel how to use analytical stereoplotters to collect 
digital map data. 
The discussion covers the factors to consider in developing multi-discipline application training. The success of such 
training is dependent upon users' ability to absorb and apply their knowledge. Insights on how user expectations influence 
the development and presentation of course contents will also be examined. Professionals responsible for administering a 
technical training program will be introduced to the collaborative process of formulating a training plan and course 
materials, selecting the content and the methods of presentation, and developing the schedule. 
KEYWORDS: Training, Training plan, Instruction, Production, Implementation. 
INTRODUCTION 
Once an organization acquires a new system, the training 
activities are an important part of accepting and 
implementing it. Whether the hardware and software are 
commercially available or are developed according to 
specific requirements, training as a task often initially 
appears within a program schedule as a relatively short 
period of time. This is usually sometime after the system 
is installed and before the first production projects are 
begun. However, there may be users and managers who 
should begin their training prior to the systems arrival or 
well after the initial production activities have started. 
Thus, before an instructor ever enters a classroom, a 
significant amount of planning and managerial 
coordination between multiple organizations is required. 
The number of students, facilities, duration, prerequisite 
user preparation, number of courses, subject content, and 
presentation techniques must be identified and approved 
prior to drafting or selecting the course materials. 
This paper uses our experiences of preparing for a real 
world program to emphasize several factors of effective 
training. The training curriculum we developed was 
composed of a combination of existing and specially 
developed courses. There were four different 
cartographic product types and five sites. The specially 
prepared production manager and photo analyst courses 
included dry run presentations and revisions prior to on 
site instruction. Programmers, system managers, senior 
managers, and specialists also attended other training 
courses or workshops. Figure 1. Composite Schedule 
Example, provides an impression of the complex 
sequence of these multiple on-site activities. 
The training topics discussed in this paper are presented 
in three sections; Formulating the Training Plan, 
Developing the Content, and Preparing the Schedule. 
Whether an organization decides to develop specific 
application courses or elects to use existing training 
sources, most of the factors still need to be considered. A 
small installation may approach these factors informally 
while a large system composed of several locations needs 
a clearly defined curriculum. 
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