A Step By Step Guide To The Instructional Design ProcessEvery organization has its own process for developing online training courses. Some organizations follow a linear process, while others prefer an iterative one. Some organizations prefer to work on the entire training at once, while others prefer to identify small segments within the training and develop them concurrently through collaboration. There are several factors that influence an organization’s decision to follow a certain process—training requirements, client expectations, tools, development time, flexibility, complexity, budget, etc. No matter which approach an organization follows, there are a few steps that remain mandatory in every Instructional Design process. Understanding the purpose of each mandatory step will help you successfully achieve the desired output at every step, irrespectively of your approach! Let’s look at a few of them. Show
Step 1: Analyze RequirementsAnalysis is perhaps the most important step of the Instructional Design process. When analyzing, never limit your efforts to understanding just the training and business needs. Stretch your analysis to include four other areas as well: Audience, Content, Technology, and Expectations.
Business needs differ from training needs. A business need helps you understand the holistic need for training. The training need, however, helps you understand how the training will help to meet the business needs. Business And Training Needs Tip: A good understanding of the business needs comes handy while evaluating the impact of training on business after final implementation.
Analyze learners’ profile based on their roles, responsibilities, professional experience, educational qualifications, skill sets, age, technical proficiency, ethnicity, and geographical location. In
addition, gather information about their existing knowledge about the topic, challenges faced, and most importantly, find out the learning gap that this training is expected to fill up. Also, find out their learning needs and/or preferred mode of training.
Instructional Designers are not Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), but a thorough
understanding of the content is a must. Read the source content multiple times to understand its key message. Note down your questions and forward them to an SME for clarification. In addition, ask for examples, scenarios, and case studies that can be used to support the content and/or assess the learner.
The eLearning industry is rapidly evolving with new technology and new
tools. Hence, it is critical to understand the technology that the client organization and the learners are most familiar with. Ask questions to understand the client’s preferred development tool, prevalent Learning Management System (LMS), available devices to launch the course, etc.
Brand is what gives an organization its unique identity. Hence, understand the writing (tone, tense, voice, vocabulary) and graphical standards (images, fonts, characters, icons) that are followed in their organization. Also, ask the client to share samples of previously designed courses, if possible for reference. Step 2: Identify Learning ObjectivesOnce you analyze the requirements, frame the learning objectives. Learning objectives help you distinguish between the ‘good-to-know’ and ‘must-know’ content, and determine the emphasis every piece of information needs in the training. Also, your assessments should be drafted mapping to these learning objectives. Step 3: Develop DesignDesign development is a process in itself. First, segregate the content into small chunks of information and organize them in a logical sequence. Once the topic list is ready, determine an instructional approach for your course (story-based approach, problem-based approach, video-based approach, game-based approach, etc.) in line with the scope defined during analysis.
Insert engagement points into your Instructional Design by adding an attention-grabbing activity, motivational videos, reflection questions, interactivity, scenarios and examples, a summarizing activity, etc. Step 4: Create A StoryboardA storyboard is
a visual document that lets you organize your content with visuals and present a flow for the topics. Identify the type of content you are dealing with. It could be facts, principles, process, classification, or relationship. Present the content for each page using relevant text, images, icons, characters, development notes, etc. Step 5: Develop PrototypeDevelop a functional prototype before starting the complete development. Identify four to five unique pages of different types and develop them using the approved design strategy and the client’s branding guidelines. A prototype will help your client visualize how the storyboard will be transformed into a functional module. Step 6: Develop TrainingOnce storyboard and prototype are signed off, initiate the development of training that will be finally uploaded on the LMS. This will include developing visuals, interactivities, knowledge checks, and assessments per approved storyboard
along with recording and integrating voice-over of a professional artist. As a resource, you can download ready-to-use eLearning templates to expedite your development process. These eLearning templates present visually appealing layouts and include placeholders for content. Simply download and integrate eLearning templates that
cater to your content type—introduction, scenario, process, assessment, etc. and customize them further as needed. Step 7: Deliver TrainingLMS is a platform to host eLearning courses for an organization. Ensure your course is
compatible with the LMS on which the training will be hosted. Also, understand the different features of the client’s LMS like tracking learners’ progress and assessment performance, generating course completion report, and adding pre-training and post-training resources. Step 8: Evaluate ImpactThe final step is to evaluate the impact of training. Typically, the evaluation can be done at two levels – at learner’s level to analyze if the learners found the training to be engaging and useful, and at organization’s level to evaluate if the training has positively impacted the business and helped achieve the business need. Every project is different and so are its stakeholders and their expectations. Take liberty to customize these steps and create your own step list for the Instructional Design process. Would you like to Download Free eLearning Templates? Sign up for a free membership and get access to 40 eLearning templates! What are the third and fourth steps in the instructional systems design approach to training?A Step By Step Guide To The Instructional Design Process. Step 1: Analyze Requirements. ... . Step 2: Identify Learning Objectives. ... . Step 3: Develop Design. ... . Step 4: Create A Storyboard. ... . Step 5: Develop Prototype. ... . Step 6: Develop Training. ... . Step 7: Deliver Training. ... . Step 8: Evaluate Impact.. What are the four phases of a system model of training?For any training program to be successful it is very essential to follow a certain process. The basic process as illustrated in the figure below consists of four stages which are assessment, development, delivery and evaluation.
What is the first step in a training design process?Needs Assessment. The first step in developing a training program is to determine what the organization needs in terms of training. ... . Learning Objectives. After you have determined what type of training should occur, learning objectives for the training should be set. ... . Learning Styles.. What are the 4 steps in the needs analysis process?The 4 Steps To Conduct An Effective Training Needs Analysis. Phase 1: Understand Short and Long-Term Business Goals.. Phase 2: Identify the Desired Performance Outcomes.. Phase 3: Examine the Current Performance Outcomes and Identify Gaps.. Phase 4: Establish and Prioritize a Solution.. |