Everyone has different teaching methods, learning preferences, attention spans… Did we lose you already? Let’s not make this more complicated than it has to be.
There are only 6 phases to developing eLearning training. It’s adaptable, so no matter what your preferences are, they’ll fit into this framework.
The needs analysis is a structured process of identifying why the training is needed, who it’s for, what they need to know, and how you’re going to get that knowledge to them. It also makes the approval process a lot easier, since you can make changes faster in this phase, before development. Without a proper needs analysis, you risk creating training that’s either irrelevant, unengaging, ineffective, or all three.
A 2023 LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report emphasized that aligning learning programs with business goals is critical, yet only 40% of L&D professionals believe their training is aligned effectively.
Below is a detailed breakdown of everything that would go into a great analysis.
You’re trying to fill a gap in the company, get better, and achieve a goal - or you wouldn’t need the training in the first place. Let’s identify the problem before we discuss solutions.
Ask questions like:
Understanding your learners will continuously inform the shape of your course, including its tone, methods of teaching, and modes of delivery.
These are some considerations for your target audience:
Deloitte’s 2023 Human Capital Trends report notes that workforce decentralization demands more tailored, digital-first training approaches, so these are things you should consider before planning the training.
Getting into the real question: What do you want to achieve? This is where the broader ambitions become clear, objective markers to work towards. So let’s narrow it down.
Once you understand the audience and the problem, you need to have an idea of how you can best deliver this training.
Finally, have a realistic plan in place for creating the content. Consider things like:
Okay, you’ve done your homework. You know exactly what this course is and who it’s for. Now that you have all of the logistics planned out, you can focus on the actual content of the course.
An Instructional Design Document (IDD) outlines exactly what information is delivered in this training, and the best ways to engage learners with your content. It’s the architecture of the experience. It’s also a detailed plan that stakeholders, Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), instructional designers, and developers can align around. You can easily get feedback on the plan before creating the content, so it saves time later.
Creating a detailed instructional design document is vital to clarify the vision for the course and aligns all team members on content goals and delivery strategy.
No one knows the content better than the SME. They have all of the information you want to impart on your trainees. The SME will need to:
SMEs improve training effectiveness by providing industry-relevant context, which studies show boosts knowledge retention by up to 30%. The SME gives you the information, and you translate that into something the learner can actually absorb.
You have the information, now decide how it will be laid out. What’s the best way to present the material without overwhelming your audience?
Here’s what you should sort out in this stage:
Let’s make the course interesting now. Modern eLearning thrives on variety. People learn differently, and engaging content speaks to multiple senses and preferences.
You’ve already considered your technical limitations in the planning. With that in mind, you’ll decide which formats to use, such as:
Create a roadmap for the course. This isn’t planning anymore, this is what your learners will see so that they have a clear overview of what’s coming.
Your syllabus should include:
Assessments aren’t just for you to see how employees are performing, they’re tools for learning. It’s good to have points of assessment where the learner can fail safely. The way that you test the learner will depend on the kind of training they’re receiving. If you want them to apply knowledge, don’t just ask them to recall facts.
Your AFL strategy can include:
Now that the instructional strategy is approved, you can start working on planning the actual training materials.
Break your syllabus into actionable development steps. For example:
You know what each module looks like, so you can easily write the script. This includes:
At this point, you should have:
Once this is done, get the sign off from your SME, as well as any relevant leaders. This makes sure that everyone agrees on what’s being built before production begins. You’ll have fewer surprises, smoother development, and far less work.
This is the easy part, thanks to all that planning. At this point, it’s just about execution. Simply use the instructional design document to build the course, piece by piece. That means:
Some tips for the production process.
We all maek mistakes. It would be embarrassing for you to release a typo to the public.
This is why you need to get your course through a solid checkup before it sees the light of day. Quality Assurance (QA) is a clean-up of glitches, typos, or confusing content that could derail the learning experience.
You’ll want to check up on:
How to Do This (Well)
All of the hard work is done. On your part, anyway. The learners still have a bunch of stuff coming their way now.
But you’ve built it and tested it, so now it’s time to release the course.
Now, you learn from the learners. You’ve launched the course - cue confetti - but now it’s time to find out what’s actually happening when people take it. With the right data, you can see what’s working and what’s not.
Corporate training programs that incorporate analytics are significantly more likely to deliver personalized learning experiences and improved ROI.
What to Track, and What it Tells You:
This is all information you can use to refine your content. The beauty of good eLearning tools is that training is easily updated and instantly distributed - you can always make it better.
The eLearning development process is more than just a checklist - it’s a strategy. Your objective is to design content that helps the business reach its goals, by supporting the people who need it. When you take the time to do it right, you can build a learning experience that drives performance and actually sticks.