By Jessica Mullins
The MIDAS initiative brought more than 60 super users from across the nation to participate in Super User Boot Camp, held Oct. 15-18. These super users participated in four days of intense training and knowledge enhancement at the MIDAS offices in Washington, D.C. It was an experience that brought together a variety of people working toward the success of the MIDAS Project, including the MIDAS team, the MIDAS contractors, and the super users from the field. Boot Camp provided super users with the foundational knowledge of the MIDAS project and system required to successfully participate in future MIDAS trainings and execute super user Responsibilities.
Amy Allison, the MIDAS program director, started Boot Camp off by expressing her enthusiasm and excitement in support of the project. The excitement was contagious as various instructors continued to share new topics each day. The main topic areas covered included Product Master, Business Partner, Farm Records, Acreage Reporting, and GIS. Each topic outlined updates that will provide greater efficiency and improved customer service to field office employees.
Toward the end of the week, the super users were divided into training and testing groups. The Testing group reviewed the variety of tests they would be running, the possible defects that could be found in the system and how to log these defects. The Training group was further divided into groups relative to areas of expertise. Each sub-group was able to view training materials and offer input for the content that will be used in future training.
As boot camp concluded, the words of Training Team Lead Elizabeth Miller, who told attendees to “Be a champion for MIDAS,” continued to inspire the efforts of super users. When participants left Washington, D.C., the excitement level was high in anticipation of the next training session in November. Everyone seems to be looking forward to this session, when super users will receive additional training with a “hands-on” approach within the MIDAS system.
