The annual cimoio user meeting of STL GmbH took place on Wednesday, July 5th, 2023 and Thursday, July 6th, 2023.
With around 40 participants from 22 companies with whom we work, we set a new participant record. How appropriate for our anniversary year: STL GmbH turned 20 in 2023! The course of the event followed the 15-year tradition of the cimoio user meeting. With the exception of two years with virtual events due to Corona:
- Welcoming and introducing the participants
- Current release and release planning for the next year
- Lectures about cimoio: new functions and current plans
- An evening event on Wednesday evening
- Keynote speeches were offered on Thursday
- This was followed by workshops with future topics for the following year
The graphic recording of the visual facilitators gives a good overview of the entire event! It is only available in german, though.
Customer presentation at the cimoio user meeting 2023
As every year, the cimoio user meeting begins with the introduction of our participants. They also use this opportunity to present projects. Either ones their company has currently started with cimoio or they intend to start in the near future.
This presentation every year makes sense. The reasons are: as a growing company, we naturally regularly convince new customers of cimoio. And also the participants who have been with us for a long time always initiate new projects.
In the anniversary year, we noticed that we had participants who had been working with cimoio and its predecessors ecadiaPro, ecadia and Pisa for almost 25 years. On the other hand, some participants have been using cimoio in their company only for a year. We even had a customer on board, who is currently still in the process of finding a learning management system (LMS). But he was very interested in finding out about working with STL GmbH from our customers. Because: even if all the technical requirements have to be clarified for a new project, also the human component shouldn’t be underestimated either.
In the following, we would like to focus on the statements made by participants from some of our reference customers:
Sparkassenakademie Baden-Württemberg
The Sparkassenakademie Baden-Württemberg, a department of the Sparkassenverband Baden-Württemberg, is one of cimoio’s most loyal customers in the “banking and insurance” sector. She has the following self-image:
– Training center of the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe Baden-Württemberg and their employees
– Innovative competence center for personnel development
– Center of communication and identification in the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe
– Partner for the implementation of business policies and strategies
– Place where the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe meets business, society, science and politics
For the 2023 user meeting, together with Mr. Klaus Barrig from the HLP Barrig & Partner they worked on the implementation of a process. Mr. Barrig is already familiar with our software from previous projects.
As the “educational center of the Baden-Württemberg Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe”, the academy naturally dedicates its capacities to this task first. But they also make excess capacities available on the open market. This way, they achieve optimal capacity utilization and fulfill their purpose of “a place where the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe meets business, society, science and politics”.
The process of accepting a request for an event from an organization that does not belong to the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe Baden-Württemberg should now be accompanied more digitally. To this end, the academy analyzed the processes and assigned responsibilities with the advice and cooperation of Mr. Barrig. It was then transferred to an easy-to-understand and clear process in cimoio. That process now supports new employees as well as experienced cimoio users.
Read the entire success story of the Sparkassenakademie with cimoio here
Lufthansa Technik Logistik Services
On behalf of other subsidiaries and teams of the Lufthansa Group, we would like to introduce the team at Lufthansa Technik Logistik Services.
From the start, they use cimoio as a training management system (TMS) to manage their employee training. Over time, it was used as a Learning Management System (LMS) to deliver digital learning content. Almost more important today are cimoio’s strengths in the area of qualifications for mapping current educational levels and using them to control the authorization of individual employees for tasks such as B. the stowage and securing of logistics units in an aircraft in accordance with the regulations of the german Federal Aviation Authority (LBA).
In general, this is one of cimoio’s strengths, which enables us for the special requirements of aviation. That’s why we gave this particular variant of cimoio the name “cimoio aero“. With cimoio, we can help aviation companies to meet the requirements of aviation law through this special technical and functional specialization. We support the requirements of EASA Part 145.
Read the entire success story of LTLS with cimoio here
Release planning 2023 for cimoio
At the user meeting we had the great pleasure to announce two releases.
First the release 3.9.5, which is the stepping stone for the change to the next major release of cimoio. On August 21st we plan to “branch” this release (that means: detach it from the rest of the development) and then publish it as a standalone release. Customers can then have it adapted to their customer environment and use it from mid-September. We will support this release for 2 years, until the end of 2025. Then the deadline for supporting all versions of Major Release 3.x will expire. Of course, they can still be operated then. However, active support by STL GmbH will then be discontinued.
Therefore, the new Major Release 4.0 will be available from the beginning of November. The most important development step in it is the modernization of both the appearance and the operating concepts in the interface for the main users: the organizers. This step was overdue and was therefore joyfully welcomed by all participants. We will present the first impressions of the new interface before the release date.
Presentations at the cimoio user meeting 2023
As every year, the topics at the cimoio user meeting are as broad as the customer base for whom we have developed the solutions presented.
Viewed from a greater distance, the presentations fall into three categories:
- Frontend – All presentations that address enhancements – both functional and “cosmetic” – to the user interface.
- Backend – All presentations that address enhancements or additions to existing functionality, or even new developments.
- Enterprise – All presentations that involved strategic or tactical business decisions that do not necessarily translate into features or “beautifications”.
In these groups we would like to give you an overview of the contents!
Frontend presentations
Organizer interface 4.0
As already mentioned, the new interface for the major release 4.0 was presented to the participants. Feedback on it could then also be given in a workshop the next day.
Redesign of the learning platform
The sales qualification team of the customer Zurich Versicherung had our catalog and the pages for the learners tailored to their corporate identity by a design agency. The goal was to move towards a mobile-first philosophy. This way they intend to ensure that the learner experience is even greater on mobile devices than it is already. Because we already develop cimoio in “responsive design” anyway. This way, cimoio design works on devices of all sizes. Just that we apply a desktop first approach.
Configurable home page
As the gateway to the catalog – whether on the intranet or the Internet – the home page of the online presence is the flagship of an education team. That’s why our customers are regularly requesting modifications to get closer to their perfect ideal. To speed them on their way to this goal, we have now prepared the start page for them as a construction kit for self-configuration. So now every customer can, if he wants to, exchange his images, change his links and texts at any time, just as they need it.
Backend presentations
Process introduction “From the conversation note to the offer”.
As mentioned above, the Sparkassenakademie had the process for documenting communicating with its external customers digitized. They mow introduced it to the productive environment and presented it.
Process introduction “Travel expenses”
The core business of one of our customers is to organize events where volunteer participants help to create exams. This involves a considerable amount of travel. In order to handle especially the refunding process efficiently, we designed processes. These digitize travel expenses and relieve the burden of both: participants and the customer’s employees. Of course, there are special individual software solutions for this, but the combination with cimoio as training management software (TMS) for planning and managing their events convinced our customer.
Process implementation “Automatic invitation”
The third report on the digitization and, in this case, full automation of a process: the “automatic invitation”. Various check questions have to be considered at different points in time, such as has the minimum number of participants been reached? Has a trainer been assigned? Has a room been reserved? And other questions. If these are checked positively, the process sends automated mail invitations to the participants at the end. However, if a check is not successful, the person responsible is informed that there are urgent tasks to be completed.
This task in particular can be very well automated, if it is known when which criterion has to be checked and how.
Case study “Introduction of Microsoft Graph-API for calendar maintenance”.
Most customers currently send mails with ics-attachments, so that participating persons can decide for themselves, if they want to add the appointment to their calendar or not. However, one customer wanted to take this into their own hands and make sure that participants don’t miss their appointment (occasionally an issue, especially with mandatory trainings). That’s why they use Microsoft’s Graph API to enter appointments directly into the calendar.
For this, high hurdles had to be overcome with IT and data protection, because the Graph API requires quite extensive rights to perform such a process.
Refresher “How can a booking be created for participants in cimoio?”
Of course, in cimoio you can create the participant booking via the catalog or also by clerks. But there are other ways, like booking suggestions or automatic bookings from a qualification requirement. It is also possible that a person has been booked on a learning plan, but this plan also requires the participation in time-bound events. These can be automatically assigned. This poses the risk that registered individuals will have scheduling conflicts as a result and will have to reschedule. This is a particularly big danger with complex shift schedules. However, we can read these out with cimoio and ensure that the time of execution of the event and shift fit together. Or the participants can book the dates themselves as they go along.
This presentation should once again make the participants aware of the multitude of booking possibilities.
QR code scan e.g. for check-in and check-out.
Of course, you can still keep lists of participants by hand. Or a csutomer can download cimoio to a mobile device and scan the QR codes on participants’ invitations, automatically confirming comings and goings comparable to a time clock.
Receiving e-mail
Technically it has always been possible, but for various reasons it has not been implemented for a long time: receiving mails with cimoio. The big challenge is the assignment to an object in the system so that it does not get lost. This assignment is now possible under compliance with general conditions and thus the reception and automatic filing of mails as a document.
Company presentations
ISO Certification 27001
Our foothold in the aviation industry with cimoio aero now makes it inevitable: we plan to get certified in the next 12 months.
App development
The desire to occupy a central place on customers’ cell phones, in line with the current zeitgeist, has led us to decide to invest in cross platform app development.
Release planning
As described above, we will be releasing Minor Release 3.9.5 in quick succession this year, followed by Major Release 4.0.
Trainings and workshops
We have noticed that our customers are increasingly willing to invest in their own education. This enables them to increase their efficiency in using cimoio. Therefore we offer staggered in-depth trainings for complex focus topics. In addition, we again pointed out that everything from basic to special training can also be ordered with a focus on the respective business model and needs as well as its customizing.
Summary in autumn
After the summer vacations, as in the previous year, we will again make a condensed short presentation of the topics for customers who did not have the opportunity to be present at the face-to-face event.
Evening event at the cimoio user meeting 2023
Tradition – and of course the 20th anniversary! – requires that the participants also be entertained in the evenings. This includes, above all, the chance for a cultivated exchange. But of course also a little culture and a good dinner.
At previous user meetings over the past 15 years, we have visited the Weissenhof Siedlung or taken the obligatory guided tour of the Stäffeles in Stuttgart. Together with the participants, we looked at the exhibition in the Info Turm Stuttgart (ITS) and took part in a Banksy guided tour in the Staatsgalerie. Afterwards, we went to dinner in a relaxed atmosphere.
So for our anniversary we were looking for something special and ended up at Neckar Käpt’n and chartered the MS Wilhelma for dinner and a boat trip on the Neckar. But fate had other plans: an engine failure ensured that the MS Wilhelma could not depart. The team of the Neckar Käpt’n sovereignly made sure that we enjoyed our dinner on the MS Wilhelma until sunset and then moved to the Neckarbesen, with which we then went to about the height of the Max-Eyth-See.
As far as we can tell from the feedback, our participants were very pleased with the service and the trip.
The workshops of the 15th cimoio user meeting
The workshop proposals for the cimoio user meeting 2023 were:
- Process models
- App development
- Release 4.0
- Aviation/Airline exchange
However, after we had already announced that we would invest more in the development of a cross platform app out of self-interest, this topic did not attract as many interested parties.
Instead, however, a topic was suggested to us by customers, which we have honestly already begun to research, but which we did not yet consider to be ready to talk about.
But the topic of “artificial intelligence” (AI) is currently such a hot buzz topic that our customers didn’t want to let the user meeting pass without talking to us about the possibilities and limitations of integrating it into cimoio.
Short summaries of the workshops below.
Release 4.0
Announced for quite some time and now soon ready for a release – to be precise: our next major release – the adaptations of the interface for event organizers.
In this workshop, the prototype with the new views, the new user guidance, icons and interface arrangement was discussed with the customers. The participants had the opportunity to contribute their ideas and suggestions for improvement. But there was also the chance to praise – and they did so in no small measure.
Several of them immediately signed up as early adopters in order to be able to use the new interface as early as possible.
Process models
Despite the fact that the waves of process automation and digitization have already swept over many industries – in some cases several times over – the pressure in the education sector has increased particularly in recent years, partly due to Corona.
On the one hand, the aim is to increase productivity through greater speed, but also to automate tasks with little added value. Thus, the clerks should be relieved for tasks like: more contact with the clients and optimizing the utilization rate of resources.
cimoio has been able to digitize and automate processes in various ways for several years. But until the Corona pandemic, demand for these methods was manageable. As it has become clear in recent years that there is still a lot of potential to be tapped here, demand is currently increasing dramatically.
At the moment, one colleague is providing dedicated support to customers with an interest in the various methods. In particular, she supports them in the planning and introduction of our BPMN process engine, which can automate processes in a very transparent and easy-to-understand way. The possibilities and limitations of this technology were discussed in this workshop.
They also discussed the prerequisite for this: that the processes are preferably already documented. In this way, they can be effectively and efficiently analyzed and optimized before they are automated.
Artificial intelligence
Discussed the different varieties of artificial intelligence and how they can be used:
- Practical questions:
- How does an AI learn – initially and as it progresses?
- Is the own data material of our customers sufficient for a first version?
- How is this documented – e. g., so that corrective action can be taken later?
- Difference to “simple” algorithms
- Does cimoio need its “own” AI or is it sufficient to integrate external AIs?
- How does an AI learn – initially and as it progresses?
- What tasks could an AI take over?
- Chatbot for visitors of the catalog
- Formulate content of educational products
- Predicting trends – both based on internal information and derived from external data sources
- Assist in education planner to create annual training calendar
- Where are the boundaries?
- Compliance with DSGVO
- Private mode of an AI vs. public version – which is allowed to receive which data?
Aviation / Lufthansa exchange
In this workshop, participants from the aviation sector exchanged views on the different ways of using cimoio aero and how synergies can be generated within the group or even the industry.
Contact us!
If you would like to talk to us about the topics of our user meeting, send us an e-mail or write to us using the contact form.
We are also looking forward to your comments on our user meeting, if you were there! Let us know!
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