Tata Interactive Systems chalks up its fifth major award of 2006

Global e-learning producer Tata Interactive Systems (TIS) won its fifth major award of 2006 when its Story-based Learning Objects (StoBLs™) information security programme - ‘BA Confidential’ - won the APEX 2006 Award of Excellence.

BA Confidential was selected in the ‘Campaigns & Programs - Employee, Benefit & Membership Communications’ category at the 18th Annual APEX awards.

There were 4,942 entrants in 11 categories, with 281 in the Campaigns & Programs category. Other winners in the same category included Aon Consulting, Mercer and Watson Wyatt.

Information security is critical to the smooth functioning of British Airways (BA)’s business, and creating employee awareness about information security is a vital organisational requirement. Earlier attempts at training in this domain had not produced the desired results.

BA wanted to create a course that would have enough engagement value to offset the avowedly ‘dull’ content. TIS used its proprietary StoBLs™ approach to create a product that set the learning in the context of a realistic and pertinent narrative.

The primary objective of the TIS-developed programme was to sensitise employees to the importance of information security and the implications of not following good practices. The secondary objective was to familiarise learners with good practices and policies regarding information security in BA.

The story running through the programme, structured as an investigation into an embarrassing security leak, provided the necessary immersion to keep employees engaged in the learning. The StoBLs™ structure also allowed BA to shorten the seat time of the course - from 90 to 40 minutes - and the positive completion rates have been matched by positive employee feedback about the course.

“TIS’s analysis of the previous course and the learning goals of the new course suggested that, although the content was factual and conceptual, it was important to address the affective aspects of information security as well,” explained Alan Samuel, head of UK operations for TIS.

TIS’s use of StoBLs™ methodology for this course made effective use of a time-tested medium - stories - to deliver not just cognitive content (facts) but also engage with trainees’ beliefs and subsequent behaviour (the affective domain).

“The key affective message of the course was that information security began and ended with the individual and was for his/her own benefit,” said Samuel.

“The affective content demanded treatment that was immersive and not just interactive in the conventional sense. Interactivity was primarily employed to encourage the learner to draw out the learning from the story, creating greater ‘learner engagement’.”

The course is mandatory for all BA management staff, and is also made available for all BA employees. So far, user feedback on the course has been highly positive.

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Notes for editors

About British Airways

British Airways (BA) is the UK’s largest international scheduled airline, flying to over 550 destinations across 160 countries. British Airways’ services span UK and Ireland, North Atlantic, Mid and South Atlantic, Africa and the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and South West Pacific.
BA carries more than 34m passengers each year on around 400,000 flights. Whether in the air or on the ground, British Airways takes pride in providing the finest service to its customers.

About Tata Interactive Systems (TIS)

Tata Interactive Systems (TIS) is a global pioneer in e-learning, with some 16 years experience in designing and developing innovative and cutting-edge e-learning solutions. TIS is a part of the $22 billion Tata Group – one of the largest and most trusted business conglomerates in India.

TIS employs a global team of some 950 multi-disciplinary specialists – a unique mix of project managers, software engineers, instructional designers, content developers, visual designers and animators. Its service bouquet includes Simulations, Systems Training, New Hire Training, Business Processes and Skills Training, Regulatory and Compliance Training, Sales and Customer Service Training, Adaptive Assessments, Story-based Learning Objects, M-Learning and EPSS. TIS also has a K–12 maths practice and a K–12 content practice, as well as having substantial experience in developing learning content and tools across key stages and subject areas.

Powered by creative talent, sound processes and technological excellence, TIS has developed e-learning solutions for more than 350 clients – including 50 Fortune 500 companies – across the US, the UK, Australia, Mainland Europe, Japan, UAE, Canada and India. Its client roster includes leading corporations, renowned educational institutions and government bodies such as American Airlines, British Airways, Citibank, Colgate-Palmolive, ExxonMobil, GE, GlaxoSmithKline, HP, McGraw-Hill, ntl, Orange, Pearson Education, Qantas, Qwest, Royal Mail, Swiss Re, UNICEF, University of Phoenix, University of Maryland and Vodafone, along with Hodder, Oxford University Press, Granada Learning, Nelson Thornes, Research Machines PLC, Compass Learning, Florida Virtual School, Harcourt, Prentice Hall and, in the government sector, BECTA, UFI and DODEA.

Apart from holding ISO 9001 certification, TIS is the only e-learning organisation in the world to be assessed at Level 5 in both the SEI-CMM and P-CMM frameworks. TIS’s quest for excellence is reflected in numerous prestigious industry awards, including a Silver Brandon Hall Excellence in Learning Award 2005 and 2004, APEX 2005 Award of Excellence, BETT 2004 Best Product Award, and two Business World NID Design Excellence awards.

For more information log on to www.tatainteractive.com


About the Tata Group

The Tata Group, established in 1904 by the great visionary Jamsetji Tata, is one of India’s largest and most trusted business houses. The group pioneered the industrial revolution in India by founding the first steel plant, power plant and chain of luxury hotels, to name but a few.

The Group employs more than 220,000 people in 93 companies across diversified industry sectors including steel, automobiles, cement, telecom and IT. Generating revenues to the tune of $22 billion per year – some three per cent of India’s total GDP – it is recognised as a leader in several industry segments such as such as steel, power, software exports and chemicals. It is also the parent company to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Asia’s largest software producer.

For more information, log on to www.tata.com

Further information from:
Alan Samuel, Tata Interactive Systems, 020 7905 0156, www.tatainteractive.com
Bob Little, Bob Little Press & PR, 01727 860405, www.boblittlepr.com