NAV Partner preps instructors for new “Academy” with assistance from Mergetool.com  

The Challenge

SCS (Specialists in Custom Software) has been a Microsoft Dynamics NAV (formerly Navision) Partner since 1997, providing implementation, training, and support services. As one of the longest-standing NAV providers, SCS is well aware that the key to using NAV to its fullest potential is having the skills to program and customize it. Over time, however, they were observing two disturbing trends: First, that most companies utilize only a small percentage of NAV’s available functionality, often due to a lack of NAV development expertise and training; second, that true NAV development expertise is becoming harder to find. Having been one of the original Navision Solution Centers in the US, the SCS staff had been trained and certified through the original Navision Academy in Atlanta—a requirement for all Navision Solution Centers.  The Academy was discontinued after Microsoft acquired Navision, and new forms of certification took its place. Although these tools provided basic training, they were not producing the level of expertise that was once produced by the Academy. As a result, qualified, seasoned, NAV-certified designers and developers are today in very short supply. Recognizing the need in the NAV community for more qualified developers and believing that the original model for training and certification—a formal classroom setting with more stringent curriculum and requirements—was the best approach, the SCS management team set out to create a new NAV Academy. This new facility would provide a hands-on learning environment, where Partners and end users could acquire the skills they needed to become competent NAV developers and have them validated through competency tests that accurately measured their skill level.

The biggest challenge SCS would face in forming the Academy, however, was building a strong stable of instructors and solid curricula. Ironically, they were facing the exact problem it was working to address with the Academy: finding good training. To be truly effective, the Academy instructors would need to have strong skills in and programming in general. But they already knew which model they wanted to use, and Michael Wisner, Vice President of SCS, already knew the right man for the job.

The Solution

SCS turned to its long-time trainer, Mike Doster. Mike had been training SCS employees since 1995, so confidence was already very high that he could help them realize their vision for this new Academy. A founding member of the original Navision Academy in Atlanta, Mike is recognized throughout the NAV community as one of the premier Dynamics NAV instructors in the world. Mike is a Lead Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) and has provided training for 75 NAV Partners and more than 200 end-user installations. He was the lead trainer for NAV Development in the US for 3 years and has written much of the course material and development tests for all the Development courses, including the Development exam for C/SIDE Solution Development in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 and the Dynamics NAV 2009/Sharepoint Integration course material. Mike has received the Top Instructor award for Microsoft Dynamics NAV from Microsoft. Mike is also an experienced NAV developer, handling customization and upgrade engagements and acting as a consultant to partners and clients in setting up standards and best practices for NAV development.

In partnership with Mergetool.com, Mike teaches a series of courses on C/SIDE, the development environment for NAV. Courses range from an introduction to C/SIDE to specialized courses working in a “lab” environment on specific topics. Unlike other providers, however, Mike can provide customized courses and can teach courses on site, using real-world scenarios and the end user’s data, which equates to more effective training. Courses are also much more cost-effective—half the cost of other training services on average.

On top of his impeccable credentials and offerings, Mike’s background with NAV and his status as an MCT meant that he had an impressive array of training materials at his disposal—not to mention the fact that he wrote much of the material available today. This made him the ideal person not only to customize the training for SCS’s instructors to prepare them for their roles, but as importantly, he could create the curricula and course materials for SCS to use in its Academy.

In early 2012, Mike began working with SCS in developing curricula, a NAV glossary for reference, and internal certification tests (in addition to those required by Microsoft).  In August 2012, SCS launched the pilot Academy Developer training course with Mike at the helm.

The Results

At the conclusion of the pilot program, the students had a solid working knowledge of accounting practices and became legitimate NAV Developers.  All students passed their NAV Academy exam as well as an independent, third party exam. “SCS is ecstatic about Mike’s training,” said Michael Wisner. “All students passed their certifications with flying colors, the first time. Mike’s expertise and professionalism were in no small way credited to these results.”

SCS is planning the formal launch of the Academy at its Mountain View offices. The plan is to open the NAV Academy to the entire NAV community. NAV partners, customers, and anyone else involved in NAV will be able to take advantage of this high-quality learning environment.  Students will be able to obtain real NAV expertise through disciplined course-room training, led by competent trainers, using thorough, relevant curriculum. Testing will ensure that the credentials received are legitimate, so that anyone who hires a developer trained at the NAV Academy can have confidence that they are getting someone who is well qualified.

As for the future, SCS hopes to bring Mike back for more specialized classes whenever possible. “We always welcome Mike’s expertise and will continue to have him involved in a teaching or consulting capacity whenever the opportunity arises,” said Michael. “He has always been and will continue to be an asset to our company and to the NAV community.” 

Related resources

• A list of scheduled classes can be found here