Can Generative AI and LLMs speed up training development? YES

Training development is a meticulous months-long process that requires Instructional System Designers and Developers (ISDs) to produce detailed training analyses before new content can be brought to life. For the US Navy, which is transitioning to Ready Relevant Learning, its new paradigm for delivering ‘the right training at the right time’ to bolster readiness, it is also a bottleneck.

To address that challenge, and a call to industry for solutions, Aptima developed Sidekick Training Accelerator™.

Sidekick-TA accelerates and enhances Instructional System Design analyses, reducing timelines from months to weeks

Sidekick-TA is a breakthrough platform that harnesses generative AI and large language models (LLMs) to accelerate and enhance the ISD training development process.

A web-based tool designed to mirror the ISD’s workflow, Sidekick-TA performs alongside them as an ‘expert resource,’ automating many of the training analyses and outputs, while preserving oversight for transparency, explainability, and trust.

Sidekick-TA features ‘expert’ prompt templates, and Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) to supplement the LLM’s knowledge, which ensures responses are specific, accurate, and up-to-date.   

Rather than ISDs researching documentation and materials, and visiting with Navy subject matter experts, Sidekick-TA becomes their subject matter expert resource. Sidekick-TA’s ability to generate answers for thousands of questions throughout the ISD process, from task analysis to learning analysis to media selection reduces traditional timelines from months to weeks.

In the RRL Challenge, a competition sponsored by numerous defense and industry organizations, the Sidekick-TA prototype captured first prize for accelerating and enhancing the ISD process.

For more information, please contact sidekick_ta@aptima.com.