Case Study: Galaxy Certification for a New System Administrator

THE CHALLENGE
Completing the on-boarding process of a new employee effectively is one of the biggest
challenges a manager faces. This is amplified when that new hire is a Galaxy System
Administrator, who needs to learn the company’s business practices as well as how to
apply them when configuring, maintaining and troubleshooting Galaxy. Finding the time
to get a new hire up to speed in addition to doing your own job responsibilities can be
a difficult task.

THE SOLUTION
Managers at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical
Garden, and Wildlife Conservation Society faced this exact challenge. And they turned
to the Galaxy Certification Program to take on-boarding their new team members in core
Galaxy features off their plate.

Enrolling your new system administrator in this course provides the foundation of Galaxy
knowledge necessary to be successful in their role. The program incorporates self-paced courses for independent learning in addition to guidance from a Galaxy certified instructor at Gateway. Candidates are provided with a training environment to complete industry related configuration scenarios, which allows for practice that does not impact your live operation. With successful results on the configuration-based exam at the end of the program, you can be assured that your system administrator can complete core configuration for a Galaxy-supported operation. We support continued learning with a one-year subscription to all self-paced courses offered from Gateway.

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
When Ben Watson was hired at Denver Museum of Nature & Science as an Applications
Administrator, Charlie King-Miller turned to the Galaxy Certification Program as the best
way for him to learn Galaxy quickly. “Certification is no substitute for experience with
the software, but it dramatically shortens the learning curve,” says Charlie, Manager
of Applications Administrators. “Ben was able to get up to speed on existing and new
functionality so much faster than if I had trained him.”

Jarrid Vaughn, Sr. Manager of Visitor Experience & FUN at Cincinnati Zoo, on-boarded Aaron McClay, a new system administrator, using the Galaxy Certification Program. “It definitely made bringing someone on board from the outside, with no experience, a lot easier,” says Jarrid. “After completion of his training, Aaron was able to dive right in and begin working on his own to complete tasks and assist users throughout the Zoo.”

While Brianne Quackenbush was not new to Wildlife Conservation Society, she was
new to the world of configuration in Galaxy when she took the role of Galaxy System
Administrator. Brianne completed the Galaxy Certification Program during her first few
months. “This program gave me a really good knowledge base that lined up well with my
onsite training as I transitioned into my new position,” says Brianne. The program provided both immediate benefits, as well as assistance with more long-term goals and growth. “While some of the tasks in the program were not things we currently used, I was able to take those ideas to help improve and implement changes to our organization.”

Interested in enrolling your new or current System Administrator into our Galaxy Certification course?