Adobe Connect Producer Needs for Improved Platform Experience

 

Introduction and Purpose

The target audience includes all Learning Division Adobe Connect producers, many whom have had poor experiences introducing and working on the platform with stakeholders. This platform is designed to be online for the use of online conferencing and distant learning. As a result of the known needs, it has been found that more producer practice needs to happen in order to build confidence within the platform. This confidence within the platform will help producers correct errors quicker with solutions and provide options that minimize potential issues.

 

Participants

The data was collected from five current producers and administrators of the Adobe Connect platform. Two of the producers are considered to be the subject matter experts and have more administrative platform privileges than the other three. These two generally introduce new aspects of the platform to the entire producer team. The other three producers are used in rotation with a team of producers, totaling twelve, who are called to facilitate webinar trainings as needed. These five producers were chosen as a result of me personally receiving their guidance through training or collaborating with them on a web presentation. Each of these producers have experienced malfunctions of the platform while working with me or have reported the same issues that I have also reported.

 

Data Collection Method

The producer team has a running log of issues on a shared Google drive document on the company network. This log serves to help the entire team list their experiences or serve as a place to reference issues. I reviewed the document list of issues and used it as data. Furthermore, an interview question was beneficially used to investigate thoughts and personal experiences that stemmed beyond technical issues. Personal and professional issues such as stakeholder and partner perceptions, views, misunderstandings, doubt, confusion and levels of respect due to issues out of the producer’s control needed to be considered and were evaluated through a survey.

 

Data Collection Instruments

The “problem and issues” database exists for data collection. Additionally, individual comments expounded upon those issues through a question about the producer’s general experience. A survey revealed concerns and issues stemming from three categories including training, experience and improvement.

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Table 1.

Commonly reported issues in the last three months                        Number of complaints

 

1. User application download issues                                                                 6

2. User audio connection issues                                                                        8

3. User video connection issues                                                                        10

4. User platform connection issues                                                                  12

5. Webinar recording technical issues                                                              5

6. Visual errors of pods during presentation                                                   4

7. Freezing of videos during presentation                                                        3

8. Muting option not working                                                                          3

9.  Participant disconnection from meeting                                                    15

10. Failed logins causing multiples of participants in room                            6

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Table 2.

Comments

Please tell me a general observation about your Adobe Connect experiences when dealing with technical difficulties.

Participant 1

“I have had a variety of experiences with this platform. Many are very positive, however it is when the platform capabilities are barely used. If I used the video function with too many people, it would cause connection issues. People are constantly kicked out of the meeting or cameras would freeze. I suggest Google Meet if a client wants everyone on camera.”

Participant 2

“I have had very many negative experiences with this platform. Since I produce regularly and with the same courses, I see the same problems occur. There is no rhyme or reason why things work sometimes and other times they do not. I have had to go out of my way to help stakeholders in order to salvage relationships. I have done extra sessions, remained online longer and sent detailed emails to keep participants from having poor experiences. I have witnessed people get impatient and short with me when I was doing my best to help. Having a group of people gang up and complain to you does not feel nice.”

Participant 3

“I have avoided producing as much as possible. Since I am also a trainer, I have had an opportunity to just be back up for another producer. I have witnessed issues with the platform and thankfully have been able to back up producers when technical problems occur. I always feel more comfortable when I have support. More sessions to openly talk about the issues would be nice, but people don’t have the time.”

Participant 4

“I have anxiety when I start building a new classroom in Adobe Connect. I have to refer to old documents to make sure I am doing things right. I wish we had more time to see someone do it live. There are so many great features to the platform, but I never know how a new stakeholder is going to react if something does not go as planned. I try to keep things as simple as possible to avoid problems, even though I know I could offer them more. It is just embarrassing. Honestly, waiting on a new platform. Talking about it helps, but doesn’t fix the unexpected problems when you are alone. It is a learning experience every time.”

Participant 5

“I try to persuade people to use other platforms if they do not need polls, or whiteboards within the classroom. There are so many other tools out there that can accomplish what this platform does. It is a very clear and direct platform for speaking and presenting PowerPoints, but it is always a risk these days since the major update. I feel like I am scrambling when the smallest thing happens. I do not know if I will be able to recover from an error and keep the class going. It is just an uncomfortable space to be in. After it is all over, I just put it behind me and deal with the next delivery. I want to reach out to others, but it seems it is not worth the time.”

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