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GSA Recognizes Gabriel Enterprises Consulting Group's SLATE VX as a Trusted IT Platform

Tue, 22 Feb 2022 00:04:20 GMT

SLATE VX is pre-vetted and approved by the U.S. Government as a reliable IT solution for customers, especially among the emerging technologies.

On February 7, 2022, the General Services Administration (GSA) awarded Gabriel Enterprises Consulting Group a new 8(a) Streamlined Technology Acquisition Resource for Services (STARS) III, Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC).

Interested agency and commercial partners can easily access this best-in-class, easy-to-use, multi-year, Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract vehicle to procure GEC’s virtual reality learning and events platform SLATE VX ( www.slatevx.com ) for their upcoming virtual conference, event, and planned training activities this spring.

The STARS III recognition is quite significant in that GEC’s SLATE VX is pre-vetted and approved by the U.S. Government as a reliable IT solution for customers, especially among emerging technologies categories.

As described by GSA solicitation, Emerging Technologies directly involve innovations necessary to accelerate transformation and advance mission outcomes. Among Emerging Technologies, virtual reality education, for conference events and learning technologies is starting to command an astonishing presence with our forward thinking clients who expect an immersive user experience with enhanced audio and visual engagement for their program and project initiatives.

To learn more about SLATE VX and how we can help bring your next virtual training or conference event to your stakeholders, contact us at info@slatevx.com or visit us at www.SlateVX.com .

SLATE VX UX Case Study: Army Virtual Branch Outreach 2.0

Thu, 20 Jan 2022 23:19:36 GMT

Helping cadets align with the best Army branch for their knowledge and skills is a priority for the U.S. Army. Learn how the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command partnered with SLATE VX to develop an educational platform where cadets can find information to make one of the most important decisions of their career.

Figure 1: The Resource Center of the Army Virtual Branch Outreach serves as a one-stop shop to find all the relevant information, including live event schedule and other valuable resources to guide their decision-making process.

By Yuliya Manyakina, UX Strategist

This post is part two of a three-part series exploring how SLATE Virtual Experience (SLATE VX) leverages user-centered design to create engaging and immersive virtual learning experiences. This article will describe the design process of Army Virtual Branch Outreach – an educational, interactive, 3D platform for cadets planning to enter the U.S. Army.

The Challenge

On average, the U.S. Army has 10,000 cadets enrolled in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) at colleges and universities, as well as 1,000 cadets enrolled at the U.S. Army Military Academy (USMA). Before they graduate, cadets must indicate which of the 25 occupational branches of the Army they wish to join to begin their military careers as officers. At times, branches chosen by cadets may not be the best fit for their knowledge, skills, and intelligences.

Increasing awareness about branches and improving the officer (commissioned cadet) and branch fit is a top priority for the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC).

TRADOC engaged SLATE VX to develop an immersive virtual education experience that would provide cadets with information and resources to guide their initial military career dec ision.

How might we create an experience that will improve officer and branch talent alignment, thus resulting in retention, job satisfaction, and

a higher performing U.S. Army?

The Solution
To address this challenge, the SLATE VX team and TRADOC deployed an engaging, highly organized, and customized virtual education experience that places cadets in an environment with 3D images. The environment, titled Army Virtual Branch Outreach (VBO 2.0), provides a space where cadets can find information on Army branch activities, talent priorities, and required knowledge, skills, behaviors, and intelligences to determine if they are a good fit for any one of the 25 Army branches. The current version of the Army environment also encompasses several important capabilities. cadets can:

Interact with other participants and branch representatives via chat;
Attend live outreach sessions held by branches;
Watch on-demand webinars;
Complete branch interviews; and
Find other documents, links and resources relevant to the branching process.

Importantly, the virtual learning environment consolidates all branch information for cadets in one space that has a consistent interface. Previously, TRADOC maintained a website where they posted talent, knowledge, skill, and intelligence requirements for each branch (referred to as VBO 1.0). However, each branch hosted their own events separately using different tools, with no centralized schedule or venue to coordinate outreach to cadets.

“VBO, as a response to the COVID environment last year, has accelerated Officer Branching education and brought it into the digital age […] cadets become empowered to browse, interact, connect, discuss, and take charge of their branching research to make what is arguably one of the most important decisions of their lives to date.”

John Bessler, TRADOC Officer Accessions Division Chief

The Results
As a result of the first contract year, we:

Developed 25 highly customized booths using an iterative approach, which allowed the army branches to accurately capture and boast the essence of their unique identity. 3D design for each branch booth took nearly 40 hours to complete, including ideation, multiple rounds of sketches, and 3D building;
Launched a beta version in production to a user base of 600 cadets in May 2021;
Successfully hosted nine live event days – six in August and three in October – and grew the VBO 2.0 user base. There are currently more than 4,000 active accounts on VBO 2.0;
60% of cadets who attended the live event days agreed with the statement, “The information I learned today will result in my requesting an interview for a branch I would not have otherwise considered.”;
Increased cadet attendance by 3,000% from August to October. The average number of attendees per day for the AUG live event series was 33, compared to 1,034 for the OCT live events; and
Using the “Sense and Respond” approach to continuous improvement , we’ve regularly gathered data from interviews and considered outcome metrics, user journey maps, and other feedback from actual product usage to understand, learn from, and implement improvements to VBO 2.0.

What’s Next?

With this foundation in place, based on the Army’s desired outcomes, we created and implemented a metrics monitoring strategy within SLATE VX to analyze event attendance and participation. The next phase of our work will focus on translating feedback from users and the data into actionable platform improvements. The platform will continue to evolve, as will the partnership with U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command and SLATE VX.

Keep your eye out for the third part of our series – an interview with Jason Whetsell, SLATE VX Product Manager, about the evolution of SLATE VX.

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SLATE VX: Creating more customized, engaging, and immersive learning experiences

Sun, 14 Nov 2021 20:29:50 GMT

Leveraging User-Centered Design to Improve Learning Technology

Part 1 of 3

User-Centered Design is an iterative process that focuses on users and their needs during every phase of product design and development (Interaction Design Foundation). It requires a deep understanding of user experiences, values, and motivations to provide a product or service that truly meets a customer’s needs.

In this three-part series, we’ll explore how SLATE Virtual Experience (SLATE VX) leverages user-centered design to create engaging and immersive virtual learning experiences that meet customer needs. This article will provide a high-level overview of the SLATE VX user-centered approach. In parts two and three, we’ll dive into the design process with two examples from clients in the federal government and an interview with SLATE VX Product Manager Jason Whetsell about how SLATE VX has evolved since its inception.

What is SLATE VX ?
SLATE VX is a highly customizable virtual environment that combines elements of a physical educational event, such as a job fair or conference, with 3D web-based technologies.

With the shift to virtual learning and events in recent years, event planners and attendees are looking for ways to engage with educational content and connect with each other beyond webinars and webcasts.

SLATE VX responds to this call by providing an immersive virtual learning experience where attendees can navigate and enter virtual event spaces, explore resources, and connect with other users.

With its responsive web design, configurable interface, and actionable data insights SLATE VX aims to simplify the process of creating virtual events for the event planner and create more engaging and enjoyable learning experiences for attendees.

This is no small feat, requiring an approach that questions assumptions and focuses on understanding the user experience. Here are four user-centered design principles SLATE VX embraces to create better learning experiences.

Start with a customer and user discovery process
SLATE VX’s design and interface is tailored to each customer. It begins with a discovery process at the start of each project. During this phase, the SLATE VX product teams meets with project stakeholders to understand the context and goals of the project, and determine what problems require solutions. End-users are interviewed as part of this process as well, to understand first-hand who will be using the technology and how SLATE VX can help them perform their tasks better.

Align customer requirements with user needs
Insights gathered during the customer and user discovery process are used to clarify and inform design decisions and the SLATE VX configuration. The SLATE VX product team makes recommendations to align customer requirements with user needs. As a rule of thumb, SLATE VX focuses on customer requirements as the “what” of the problem statement and the user needs as the “how” to get to the solution.

Utilize user feedback to continue making user-centered decisions
After the setup of the virtual environment, the SLATE VX product team collects and analyzes user feedback throughout the project using various methods. Coupled alongside data from SLATE VX’s built in analytics tool, insights from user feedback helps the team continue to make user-centered decisions.

Adapt an iterative design process
The SLATE VX product team follows a “Sense and Respond” approach to continuous improvement. “Sense and Respond” is a phrase coined by author and strategist, Jeff Gothelf, one of the world’s foremost experts on Agile, Lean, and Design Thinking. It involves using data and other feedback from actual product usage to understand, learn from, and respond to customer needs with agility. It recognizes the lean manufacturing philosophy that a product or project is “always moving from a condition of doubt toward a condition of certainty in an ongoing quest for perfection.” As such, the SLATE VX product team is continuously and iteratively working to improve the virtual learning environment and the user experience.

A final thought
At its core, user-centered design is about solving problems and helping people achieve their goals. By involving users from the beginning of the design process, aligning customer requirements with user needs, collecting and analyzing user feedback, and continuously working to improve the user experience, the SLATE VX virtual learning environment is leveraging user-centered design principles to improve learning technology.

Tune into the next two parts to learn more about SLATE VX’s design process. In part 2 we’ll show you how SLATE VX is shifting the virtual education paradigm in the federal government. Using SLATE VX, the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) has developed Virtual Branch Outreach (VBO) 2.0, the next generation of branch outreach and education for Army Cadets. Likewise, learn how the Small Business Administration is using SLATE VX to deliver courses that help education 8(a) certified small businesses on pursuing and winning contracts with the Federal Government. Finally, in part 3 of the series, we will share a conversation with Jason Whetsell, SLATE VX Product Manager, about the evolution of SLATE VX.

Army Cadets make one of the most important career decisions with SLATEVX

Fri, 20 Aug 2021 20:42:34 GMT

See how GEC's SlateVX brought Army's process into the 21st century

5 STEPS TO FINDING YOUR PERFECT BRANCH FIT

Sat, 07 Aug 2021 19:08:47 GMT

One of the most important decisions that you will make as an Army Cadet is selecting the branch you will want to serve in. How will you choose?

Inc. 5000 recognizes Gabriel Enterprises as a fast-growing company

Thu, 06 May 2021 21:27:00 GMT

Inc. 5000 recognized Gabriel Enterprises as No. 16 fastest-growing company in DC. Thank you for your support and trust in us.

GEC hosts Air Force's Largest Virtual Hiring Events

Thu, 06 May 2021 20:25:34 GMT

GEC hosted Air Force's first-ever virtual hiring events, connecting job opportunities to more than 4,400 prospective employees!

The Future of Small Business Industry Days

Tue, 12 Feb 2019 15:23:46 GMT