TELEMETRY SYSTEMS TRAINING PROGRAMS: THE KEY TO SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION AND OPERATION

Abstract

In today's world, the importance of training for telemetry systems continues to grow as new technologies provide users with ever-increasing capabilities. Successful training programs ensure telemetry systems quickly become operational yielding the acquisition of critical test data. Over the years, training programs have been greatly impacted by the changes in defense contracts -- specifically funding. Today's aggressive telemetry market requires contractors to develop complex telemetry systems within the constraints of Firm Fixed price (FFP) contracts and within very short schedules. As a result of these conditions, training programs have changed significantly over the last ten years. Projects which used to have dedicated training personnel (instructors, technical writers, etc.) now rely on the system developers to provide the training. In actuality, the quality of training has improved with this new approach. Now students benefit from having the most knowledgeable personnel teach them about the system and, often times, latent problems with the system are efficiently identified and corrected. This paper will summarize the evolution of training programs for telemetry systems developed by Computer Sciences Corporation. The benefits of a scenario where the system architects train the end users with the use of increased "hands-on" training will be explored.