USoft Academy is courseware for learning how to work with the USoft platform. For each subject, it offers tutorials, slide decks and hands-on exercises that you can try out against example software that you can install, run, and develop further.
In addition, extensive and freely accessible product information curated by the USoft R&D team is published in the Knowledge Base section of Community.
If you complete a subject in a classroom situation, you are issued with an attendance certificate that is an indication of your knowledge and skills.
Who for?
USoft Academy educates business rule specialists and developers. In practice, individuals often combine aspects of both roles. USoft projects are for small, dedicated teams with short communication lines and a low-code tool. You can be, for example, a business rule specialist who is also a low-code developer, perhaps without the expert technical knowledge that other developers have.
Business rule specialists oversee the needs of a USoft project from a functional perspective. They are able to design and create rules-based specifications as well as additional resources, such as diagrams and other visualisations. They are expert users of the USoft Studio tool, where these specifications are published. They also know about the various tools and features in the USoft platform that focus on communication and delivery.
Business rule specialists understand the needs of both business stakeholders and members of a USoft development team and are able to communicate effectively with both on the basis of business rules. Their background is often in business modelling, architecture or analysis, but in an Agile context such as Scrum they could also be trained as product owners.
Developers are team members who know how to use the USoft tooling platform to create and deliver rich, low-code, rules-based implementations: actual working software. USoft developers share a common ground of essential skills with each other and with business rule specialists. But a developer typically also has more specialised technical skills. A developer may choose to train in expert subjects tailored to his role in the team.
Collaboration in a USoft project
USoft trains people specifically for effective collaboration in a USoft project.
Most USoft projects require both business rules specialists and developers. The two roles overlap and they are generally open to all professionals involved, although most developers have an IT background in practice. The first profile is more functional and the second more technical. The first focuses more on specifications, and the second more on implementations.
USoft Academy includes a special Collaboration subject that looks at how the roles overlap and how specifications translate into working implementations:
| Business rule specialist | Developer |
|---|---|
| Role is more functional | Role is more technical |
| Focus is on specifications | Focus is on implementations |
| Collaboration subject looks at collaboration with developers. | Collaboration subject looks at collaboration with business rule specialists. |
Training as a business rule specialist
USoft offers full training for business rule specialists.
You can learn by classroom training, coaching, self-study, and training-on-the-job.
To train as a business rules specialist, start with the 2-day Business Rules module. After that, you can select smaller subjects that suit your individual needs:
- The Collaboration subject looks at team collaboration from a more technical perspective.
- The Authoring subject allows you to further your knowledge and skills in writing business rules.
- Repositories and Continuous Development are advanced subjects for developers but they are also popular with business rules specialists.
It is also a good idea to look at the basic training for developers (the Modeller & Rules Engine subject) for in-depth understanding of what USoft developers do, or if you want to take an active role in the development team yourself.
Training as a developer
USoft offers full training for developers of USoft solutions.
You can learn by classroom training, coaching, self-study, and training-on-the-job.
To train as a developer, start with the 3-day Modeller & Rules Engine module. Then, gradually add the smaller basic subjects of Task Flow, Authorisation & Access, and Collaboration.
You are now ready to step into expert territory and choose from a range of advanced technical subjects depending on individual needs and preferences. These advanced subjects are optional and you can take them in any order.
Introductions and refresher courses for developers
USoft offers introductions and refresher courses for those who need help with SQL, entity-relationship modelling and XML/XSLT. These starter courses tell you exactly what you need to know for USoft.
As a beginning USoft developer, you generally need some basic SQL and entity-relationship modelling. For the Task Flow subject, you need some basic XML and XSLT:
Advanced subjects for developers
USoft offers a range of advanced subjects. These cover innovative technology and are likely to change between USoft versions.
Advanced, optional subjects for developers include
- Building Desktop UIs with USoft Windows Designer,
- Building Web & App UIs with USoft Web Designer,
both taught as 2-day classroom courses, as well as the smaller subjects of Services, Extensions, Constraint Writing, Repositories and Continuous Delivery. Short explanations of these subjects are found in the USoft Academy overview.
Sign up for the USoft Community