Magellan Version 4 was developed in using Chisholm Roth's new Fast Course Development Platform™ (FCDP), which revolutionizes the economics of course production by maintaining a strict separation between the following elements:

• Source content & resources
• Course structure and appearance
• Output media

Quick tour of FCDP™

Key benefits of FCDP

More than a set of developer tools, FCDP embodies some highly effective methodologies that drastically reduce the cost of course production and maintenance:

HTML-based output but Microsoft Word® source documents

• Word® is the most widely used word processing tool, which makes it very easy to integrate and update content written by different subject matter authors

User-friendly developer interface

• A set of simple control tags inserted into the Word® document allows the developer to create visual effects and interactive components without the need for specialist software skills

Fast integration of external resources

• To make the learning process engaging, the developer can easily integrate resources into the body of the content - graphics, Macromedia Flash® animations, simulations, spreadsheet models, press articles, PDF files, etc.

Ability to incorporate legacy materials

• Existing training materials, new technical documentation (developed in any electronic format) and useful links can be added quickly and easily into a training program without having to redesign navigation bars, menus or the index

Data integrity

• All training programs and versions are generated from just one set of source documents. The same sources can be re-combined in different ways, depending on the context in which they are being deployed. The look and feel of the training application can be changed quickly at a global level.

Multi-support output

• Training course delivery can be output to Intranet, the Internet, CD-ROM or hard-copy

Multilingual

• Ability to generate a global training solution in different languages