Prerequisite Training Requirements (Vault Training)

For Vault Training, Prerequisite Training Requirements allow a Training Admin to establish rules on a Training Requirement to ensure that Learners complete specific training assignments before other specified training assignments. This ensures that a Learner has proper knowledge in a training topic before they can complete training for another related topic. This logic can be used to accommodate several common training scenarios, such as:

Completing training on documents to prepare for a live classroom training course
Attending an in-house classroom training before attending an external training
Completing training on equipment safety and maintenance procedures before completing training on equipment operation

Trainings with prerequisites are visible to Learners but are locked and inaccessible until they complete the prerequisite training. A Training Requirement can have one prerequisite in each Curriculum it is part of.

Note: Prerequisite Training Requirements and Curriculum Prerequisites are independent features which can be used together or separately. See Curriculum Sequencing & Prerequisites for more information.

Terminology

Understanding the difference between prerequisite and dependent Training Requirements or Training Assignments is key to understanding Prerequisite Training Requirements:

Prerequisite: A Learner must complete the assignment from a prerequisite Training Requirement prior to beginning its dependent assignment. A prerequisite Training Requirement is one referenced by a Prerequisite Training Rule on another Training Requirement.
Dependent: A Learner cannot begin training on a dependent Training Requirement’s issued assignment until they have completed its prerequisite assignment. A dependent Training Requirement is one with a defined Prerequisite Training Rule.
Prerequisite Training Rule: A Training Rule that governs which Training Assignments must be completed prior to completing another. You can define one (1) Prerequisite Training Rule per Curriculum on a Training Requirement.

How Prerequisite Training Requirements Work

The following sections outline important points of Prerequisite Training Requirements as they relate to other key parts of Vault Training.

Training Requirements

Each Training Requirement can only have one Prerequisite Training Rule.
A Training Requirement and its prerequisite Training Requirement must both be in the same Curriculum.
If a Training Requirement belongs to multiple Curricula, then the Training Requirement can have multiple prerequisite training rules, one for each Curriculum.

Training Assignments

Vault considers a Training Assignment as complete whenever it is in the Completed lifecycle state.
Completion of the prerequisite Training Assignment immediately unlocks any dependent Training Assignments, regardless of the method of completion, whether by Facilitated Training, import, Direct Assignment, Learner completion, or Classroom.
If a Learner is assigned a dependent Training Assignment that is part of multiple Curricula, completing its prerequisite Training Assignment from any of those Curricula unlocks the dependent Training Assignment. In other words, the logical operator between prerequisite training rules is considered an OR.

Training Rule Enforcement

Vault enforces prerequisite rules one time only. If a Training Assignment is issued to a Learner again because of a document revision or recurrence, Vault will not enforce the prerequisite rule again.
Changes made to prerequisite training rule configuration are enforced in real time and can impact open Training Assignments, regardless of the Training Requirement lifecycle state. For example, if a Training Admin deletes a prerequisite rule, the next time the Learner opens either the dependent or prerequisite Training Assignment, or views the Learner Homepage, the Training Assignment reflects the current configuration status.
Vault does not evaluate or enforce prerequisite rules for Classroom Training Assignments that are already part of an active Class Roster.
Vault does not enforce prerequisite training rules for Training Assignments issued via Direct Assignment.

Traceability

The relationship between a prerequisite Training Assignment and its dependents are captured in Related Training Assignment object records.
The Update Training Assignments job log captures prerequisite rules evaluated by the job.
The Latest Automation Update field on a Training Assignment’s individual object record details the impact of prerequisite rules changes.

Enabling Prerequisite Training Requirements

To enable Prerequisite Training Requirements, an Admin must perform the following configurations:

Activate the Prerequisite Training Rule Set object type in the Training Rule Set object configuration.
Activate the Prerequisite Training Rule object type in the Training Rule object configuration.
Add the Prerequisite Training Rule Set section to each applicable Training Requirement object type page layout.

Enabling with Curriculum Prerequisites

The Curriculum Prerequisites feature released in 24R1 allows you to apply an additional layer of prerequisite training to your training matrix, where Learners must complete all assignments for a prerequisite Curriculum before moving on to assignments for another, dependent Curriculum.

If you Vault was created on or before 23R3 and your organization is using or will use Curriculum Prerequisites alongside Prerequisite Training Requirements, we recommend the following labeling updates to distinguish from Curriculum Prerequisites UI elements:

Relabel the existing training_rule__v and training_rule_set__v objects to Training Requirement Rule and Training Requirement Rule Set, respectively. We also recommend relabeling their related object types, prerequisite_training_rule__v and prerequisite_training_rule_set__v to Prerequisite Training Requirement Rule and Prerequisite Training Req Rule Set, respectively.
On the Training Assignment object, relabel the existing prerequisite_status__v field to Training Requirement Prerequisite Status.

Defining Prerequisite Training Rules for Training Requirements

To define prerequisite training rules for a Training Requirement:

Navigate to Business Admin > Training Requirements or to a custom object tab and click into the Training Requirement for which you want to add prerequisites.
In the Prerequisite Training Rule Set section, click Edit.
Click + Rule.
In the In Curriculum field, select a Curriculum. Note that both the prerequisite and dependent Training Requirement must be in the same Curriculum.
In the Training Requirement field, select the prerequisite Training Requirement.
Optional: If the dependent Training Requirement is in more than one Curriculum, you can continue adding prerequisites for each respective Curricula by clicking + Rule.
Click Save.

Once saved, Vault evaluates and applies prerequisite training rule changes when a Learner opens an affected Training Assignment.

Example Use Case: Document Prerequisites for Classroom Training

A common need for prerequisites occurs when an organization requires employees to review and complete training on documents prior to receiving live classroom training. Suppose you are a Training Admin at an organization that has multiple lab areas with some differing equipment safety procedures, whose employees all need to review and sign-off on the relevant safety documentation prior to a hands-on demonstration in a classroom environment. You might have the following set of Curricula and Training Requirements:

Curriculum “Lab Area Alpha”, with the following Training Requirements:

Document: Fume Hood Safety
Classroom: Safe Operation of Lab Equipment

Curriculum “Lab Area Beta”, with the following Training Requirements:

Document: Airlock Safety
Classroom: Safe Operation of Lab Equipment

In this simplified scenario, you could define two prerequisite training rules on the Classroom: Safe Operation of Lab Equipment Training Requirement record:

Rule 1: In Curriculum Lab Area Alpha, this training requirement has the following prerequisites: Fume Hood Safety

Rule 2: In Curriculum Lab Area Beta, this training requirement has the following prerequisites: Airlock Safety

In this case, Vault would not allow a Learner to begin the Classroom: Safe Operation of Lab Equipment training assignment until they had completed the safety document training specific to their lab area.

While this example is simplified, these prerequisite training requirements could include multiple documents, videos, e-learning courses, and a quiz to provide a large amount of preparation for the classroom session. In addition, you could further define substitution rules to, for example, allow lab employees to review the prerequisite training documents in different languages.

About Prerequisite Training Rule Evaluation

Prerequisite Training Rules do not result in the creation of Training Assignments by themselves, they only determine whether Learners must complete one assignment before another. Training Assignment creation is handled by Vault Training automation or by Direct Assignment.

Anytime the nightly Vault Training job processes a Training Requirement with a prerequisite and creates, updates, or cancels a Training Assignment, it evaluates the requirement’s prerequisite rules and creates the relationship between prerequisite and dependent Training Assignments as a Related Training Assignment record. Details of the evaluation are available in the Vault Training job log.

If a Training Admin creates, edits, or deletes a prerequisite training rule for a Training Requirements, Vault reevaluates the assignment’s Prerequisite Training Rules every time a Learner accesses the Training Assignment to determine if any changes have been made or if the prerequisite has been satisfied. Changes to the Training Assignment are captured in the Latest Automation Update text field.

Vault captures the Training Assignment’s locked status in the Prerequisite Status field and in the Related Training Assignment object’s Training Assignment Fulfillment Status field.

Changes to Prerequisite Training Rules

If the Prerequisite Training Rules for the Training Requirement are updated or deleted, or if new rules are created, Vault evaluates and applies the rules the next time a Learner accesses the applicable Training Assignment, either by viewing the Learner Homepage or clicking into a Training Assignment task. This can result in locking the assignment if new unfilled prerequisites have been added, unlocking if its prerequisites have been removed, or maintaining its current locked or unlocked status.

While the nightly Vault Training job evaluates and applies prerequisite training rules when creating assignments, it does not handle any changes to prerequisite training rules on previously existing Training Assignments.

Document Revisions, Recurrence & Prerequisites

If an open document Training Assignment is either a prerequisite or a dependent, and a new revision to the training document triggers a new document Training Assignment, then the new document Training Assignment is linked to the open prerequisite or dependent Training Assignments. As the logical operator between prerequisite training rules is ‘OR’, the Learner is only required to complete one of the open prerequisites before starting the dependent assignment.

For example, suppose Safety SOP is a prerequisite for Production SOP. A Learner has an open assignment for Safety SOP v1.0, which is a prerequisite for Production SOP v2.0. Later, when Safety SOP v2.0 is made effective and re-issued for training, Vault will make Safety SOP v2.0 a prerequisite to Production SOP. Now, Production SOP has two (2) prerequisites: Safety SOP v1.0 and Safety SOP v2.0. The Learner is only required to complete one of these Safety SOP assignments before being allowed to complete the Production SOP assignment.

Vault applies the same behavior for recurrence-based training.

Retiring or Removing a Training Requirement or Curriculum Used In a Prerequisite Training Rule

You cannot retire a Training Requirement or Curriculum if it is currently referenced in a prerequisite training rule. Furthermore, you cannot remove a Training Requirement from a Curriculum or a Curriculum from a Training Requirement if either object record is currently referenced in a prerequisite training rule.

To resolve this conflict, you must delete the rule first, then remove or retire the Training Requirement or Curriculum.

Prerequisites & Training Requirement Impact Assessments

A Training Requirement that is either a prerequisite or a dependent, when updated, triggers a Training Requirement Impact Assessment. An Admin can add the In Use Prerequisite Training Rule Set section to the Training Requirement Impact Assessment object page layout to allow for easier evaluation of Prerequisite Training Rules during impact assessment workflows.

While you cannot modify Prerequisite Training Rules in a Training Requirement Impact Assessment process, the section displays the current Training Requirement’s rule definitions. All rule definition changes must be made on the Training Requirement.

Editing Prerequisite Rules in Training-Eligible Records

The Prerequisite Training Rule Set section of the Training Requirement record displays an informational alert when you click Edit on the record. Vault displays the alert only if the Training Requirement has at least one open Training Assignment, and it displays the maximum number of open Training Assignments that could be impacted by a change. Clicking the number takes you to a record list view filtered to the impacted Training Assignment records.

Once you make a change to prerequisites, the next time a Learner loads the Learner Homepage or clicks on this Training Assignment, they will see any updated prerequisite rules reflected on the affected assignments.

Loading Records with Vault Loader

You can load Training Rule Set and Training Rule records for the Prerequisite Training Rule object types using Vault Loader or create them using the API, with the following guidelines:

Create records of the Prerequisite Training Rule object type for the Training Rule Set and Training Rule objects.
When a child Training Rule is created for a parent Training Rule Set, Vault automatically populates the training_rule_set_expression_tr_ids__v field on the Training Rule Set object record. This field holds the ID value for the prerequisite Training Requirement.
You do not need to populate the training_rule_set_expression_tr_ext_ids__v or training_rule_set_expression_tr_ids__v fields on the Training Rule Set object record. These fields support future functionality.

See Limitations & Data Validation for additional information on how Vault assesses records created in bulk.

Prerequisites & Direct Assignment

Training Assignments created via Direct Assignment cannot have prerequisites. Such assignments do not adhere to any prerequisite training rules in that assignment’s Training Requirement. However, a Training Assignment completed after being issued by Direct Assignment can satisfy a prerequisite training rule on another, dependent, Training Assignment.

Limitations & Data Validation

Rules created via Vault Loader and the API, as well as within Vault, are subject to the below data validation, logic, and feature limitations.

Rule Data Validation Restrictions

Rules created via Vault Loader and the API, as well as within Vault, are subject to the following data validation restrictions:

A Training Rule Set object record must have one (1) child Training Rule object record and cannot have more than one (1) child Training Rule object record. If the child Training Rule record is not created or imported, then Vault will display an error message in the Prerequisite Training Rules section on the Training Requirement and will not evaluate or enforce any prerequisite rules.
If a Training Rule Set’s object type is prerequisite_training_rule_set__v, then its child Training Rule’s object type must be prerequisite_training_rule__v.
You cannot update the Is A Substitute Training Requirement field value on a Training Requirement if the requirement is referenced in a Training Rule Set or Training Rule object record.

Training Rule Set Object Data Validation

A Training Rule Set record can only reference a Training Requirement record in a lifecycle state that is not Retired or Inactive.
A Training Rule Set record cannot reference a Training Requirement with the Is A Substitute Requirement field value of Yes.
A Training Requirement-Curriculum object record must join the associated Training Requirement and Curriculum object records.
The Training Requirement-Curriculum join object record cannot be in the Retired or Inactive lifecycle states.

Training Rule Object Data Validation

A Training Rule record can only reference a Related Training Requirement record in a lifecycle state that is not Retired or Inactive.
A Training Rule record’s referenced Training Requirement and Related Training Requirement must share the same Curriculum.

Prerequisites & Direct Assignment

Prerequisites & Substitutes

The following limitations apply to combinations of Substitute Training Rules and Prerequisite Training Rules:

You cannot define prerequisite rules on Training Requirements which have the Is a Substitute checkbox selected.
While a substitute assignment can be completed in place of a primary prerequisite assignment, the substitute itself cannot have prerequisites.
Vault does not allow a substitute rule that references primary Training Requirements and one or more of the primary Training Requirements have a prerequisite. For example, suppose External-CPR Training is a substitute for CPR Classroom Training and CPR Document Training. CPR Classroom Training and CPR Document Training cannot themselves have prerequisites. This may cause circular references and therefore Vault prevents this rule configuration.

Logic Limitations

Vault does not allow the following rule definition scenarios:

Circular prerequisite logic: A Training Requirement with a prerequisite cannot be a prerequisite for a Training Requirement it is dependent on. For example, if TR A was a prerequisite for TR B, and TR B was a prerequisite for TR C, then TR C could not be defined as the prerequisite for either TR A or TR B.
Self-requirement: A Training Requirement cannot be its own prerequisite.