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From Performance Requirements to Instructional Plans, there are a variety of Instructional Design deliverables that facilitate the development of a learning solution that drives the desired behavioral changes needed to address an identified performance gap. However, given that the nature of ID work is highly collaborative, there is also another bucket of deliverables dedicated to effective project management and successful partnerships between an instructional designer (ID), his/her client, and subject matter experts (SMEs). In this blog post, I’ll share a few techniques and artifacts that I’ve used throughout my career to support collaboration with my key stakeholders and ensure that deliverables are submitted in a timely manner.
When it comes to developing learning solutions, I’ve found myself on both sides of the aisle: either serving solely as the ID while engaging with subject matter experts OR playing both the SME and the ID. While it’s admittedly easier for me to “collaborate” with myself to extract critical content for learning artifacts, it is more often the case that we must partner with others to leverage their expertise. In those scenarios, our success depends on how effectively we understand the working styles of our SMEs and implement a sound collaboration strategy that works off of our collective strengths. In addition, many organizations have adopted or are currently adopting Agile principles when it comes to their development work. Part of our work as IDs, then, is to do our best to align our collaboration strategies and plans to any Agile or hybrid-Agile/Waterfall ceremonies conducted within the organization in which we are engaged.
Video 1: Project Trello Board
One helpful tool I’ve frequently used when working with SMEs is a Trello Board (see Video 1). Trello is a kanban board that allows you to easily visualize and coordinate tasks between team members. In this example, the team is able to quickly see the modules for which SMEs need to provide content expertise and which modules I’m focusing on for programming at a given point in time. Trello’s built-in collaboration features include the ability to @mention others when you need their attention on a specific component of the work. It is very flexible, easy-to-use, and its basic (free) features are enough to get you up and running. It is one of my favorite tools to support collaboration and frequent communication during any project.
There will be many times when we, as IDs, serve as our own narrators for the eLearning modules we develop. There are also times when our client or SME prefers that they provide the voice for the project. For example, perhaps they serve as the key face and name for the program for which you are developing learning solutions. In that case, depending on their level of experience with narration, we must be able to guide them so that their resulting auditory performance aligns to the overall vision and professional quality expected by the organization.
I’m currently working on a project in which this is the case. To add some complexity, the SME expressed a preference for narrating without a fully detailed script. After working together and understanding each other’s work styles, one of the artifacts that I provided to him was a basic document outlining key script phrases (see Figure 1) that he can use to ensure consistency and alignment across all the modules we are developing. He uses these phrase options as helpful starters for the demos and conceptual explanations he’s narrating in our modules. In this way, we are able to address his individual working style without potentially sacrificing the quality and consistency of the final deliverables.
Figure 1: Key Script Phrases
Lastly, as a former Change Management consultant, I may be biased in emphasizing the importance of a robust communications plan when it comes to the work we deliver. Depending on your role and the organization for which you are engaged, this may be inside or outside your scope of work. In my previous projects and experiences, there have been many times when I have informed and/or developed the communications plan for an ID project. The bulk of a communications plan is driven by understanding who in the organization needs to know about the resulting learning solutions, what (or how much detail) do they need to know, and when they need this information. For example, when developing eLearning modules to support a new software tool implementation, a basic communications plan may outline:
Who is going to be using this tool (reference your front end analysis work for answers to this question)?
What will they need to know about the upcoming learning solutions? How will they sign-up or access the modules? What are the benefits of engaging with the training?
When will the learning be available? Is there a deadline for completion?
A communications plan can help structure the rollout as well as increase adoption and participation of your learning solutions. In addition, incorporating some sort of feedback mechanism as part of your communications plan is a great way to improve your work. Many of my overall project plans for a client engagement include a communications component to ensure that the great work you've developed is actually used and drives the desired changes your client and the organization hope for.
The above deliverables are just a subset of the artifacts I frequently provide in my client engagements that I consider outside the realm of traditional ID deliverables. Our success as IDs is driven by our ability to collaborate with our clients, understand their needs, and adapt as necessary so that we foster a productive partnership. These techniques have helped me to create transparency for my client and SMEs, ensure consistency and high-quality deliverables, promote adoption of the resulting work, and overall, strengthened the solutions I’ve developed for for an ID engagement.
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