Wonderware, a division of Invensys Systems, Inc. and located in Southern California, ranks in the top 20 Software Companies in California. Wonderware is rated as the best supplier for Human-Machine Interface Software (HMI Software) and best supplier of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA Software). They were the first software company to pioneer the use of Microsoft Windows in factory automation and continue to be a 100 percent Microsoft shop.

"We decided to use QuickStart because of their willingness to meet with us and bring technical instructors to the meetings," stated Kenneth Kasajian, Director of Platform Development for Wonderware, "The students really liked the real world experience that the QuickStart instructors brought to the classroom."

Approximately 7 years ago, Wonderware's software development was based on Microsoft COM technologies. After realizing the need to use Microsoft .NET technologies in their software development, they set out to develop their new product using a combination of COM and .NET technologies. After that product's release, Wonderware decided that Microsoft .NET technology was the best solution for use in developing their new software. Wonderware's earlier software version called "In Touch" then needed to be replaced with a new version, "Orion". Orion is based solely on .NET technologies and enables visualization and animation for factory automation, taking the "supervisory control" in a manufacturing environment to a higher level.

In addition to this development need, as a Microsoft Independent Software Vendor (ISV), Wonderware had initiative to certify its developers as MCAD's (Microsoft Certified Application Developer). In order to fulfill both these client needs, all Wonderware Developers were immersed in .NET technology training utilizing QuickStart's expertise in this area. QuickStart's solution utilized several Microsoft methods and initiatives. In an effort to save Wonderware time and money, QuickStart customized Microsoft .NET and other developer Microsoft Official Curriculum (MOC) to meet customer needs. The Software Assurance Benefits program was leveraged to take advantage of both eLearning and instructor-led training. QuickStart performed a skills assessment, customized study forum, and remote certification testing site.

The developers' skills were assessed, and initially, 10 .NET classes were designed using Microsoft Official Curriculum (MOC). Classes were accelerated to accommodate the experienced developers due to the ability of Wonderware's staff to absorb the technical material at a faster pace than standard MOC requires. Approximately 100 developers were trained in these accelerated classes, conducted as private classes at Wonderware facilities. Developers who were unable to attend these private classes attended QuickStart public classes at a later date.

After the first phase of training, QS and Wonderware began the next phase which involved the first group of 16 developers working toward their MCAD certification. In order to accomplish the certification process and make this a beneficial learning experience, QS conducted two assessments: (1) assessing the skills and knowledge that Management believed to be "business critical" for its developers (2) assessing developers' skills as well as their knowledge required to pass the certification tests. With the information gained from the assessments, QS designed a learning path which included (1) SQL eLearning from Microsoft; (2) Five private evening classes of customized SQL; (3) Two evenings of SQL MegaLab, labs designed by QS to assess the students' ability to use their knowledge; (4) SQL study forum designed by QuickStart to assist passing certification tests (5) Online testing tool (6) Remote VUE testing at Wonderware. A very similar path designed by QuickStart to learn Windows Apps, ADO, and XML Web Services followed the SQL learning path.