Elearning Project Plan Template Using Trello

A successful elearning project requires an elearning project plan. Using an elearning project plan template you’ll find yourself on the road to developing effective elearning on time.

Last week, I talked about various aspects of learning project planning. In that post, I mentioned making use of templates to increase efficiencies and optimize steps by using standards of practice. Over the next few weeks, I will dive into a few templates we have built to help learning project run as smoothly as possible.

Trello for Instructional Design Project Planning

Trello is a simple drag and drop program with some added functionality to make assigning tasks and notifications easy. It reminds me of a digital flipchart with column headers and a stack of sticky notes that can be moved around from column to column based on need. In this example, the flipchart would be your Trello board, the columns are your Trello lists on that board, and the sticky notes are your cards that you can drag and drop to each list.

The simple functionality means I can invite contractors who are unfamiliar with the software to a Trello board and know that they will find their way around quickly and a learning curve will not delay the project.

Elearning Project Plan Template for Trello

Trello for elearning project management — *Sample elearning project plan template in Trello*

For a very long time, I created a new Trello board for every new project. Even though it is simple to set up, I was always digging through old boards trying to make sure I didn’t forget any common tasks. After frustration with this process, I finally learned how to create an elearning project plan template so that I could maintain some standards from project to project.

Create a Trello board and include the word Template in the title.
Add lists that match your design process.
1. You may want to stick with ADDIE and have a list for each letter. You can also break it down by role; Instructional Designer, Project Manager, Project Sponsor, Client, Voice Over, Quality Assurance, etc…
2. It is helpful to add lists to indicate status such as Needs Review, Validated, Complete.
Add common tasks to cards and place them in the lists.
1. See the screenshot above to review a sample template of these tasks.
Once your template is ready, click the Menu in the upper right corner and then click More.
Click Copy Board.
Type the Title of the board.
Click Create.

Once you create your Trello board you can update the lists with tasks lists, due dates, attach screenshots, and update any customized information you need for your project.

There is a lot more you can do with Trello. I have personal to-do lists that have daily/weekly/monthly tasks as well as a drive-by list for when random things come up that needs to be finished when time allows. I also keep a shared board with my family for chores and groceries, and I power-up my boards with notifications so I am less likely to miss anything – after all, project management aims to mitigate risk.

With that in mind, I challenge all of you to set up a free account and give it a whirl.

Heather Barry

editor

Heather Barry is a passionate learning and development professional with a strong background in project management and e-learning design. Always driven by an appetite to find the best ways to absorb new information, her career began on a computer helpdesk where she discovered a passion for training.
After spending eight years as an informal trainer, she began her role as an e-learning designer at The Nature Conservancy in 2013. In this role, she developed training for over 5,000 participants in more than 30 countries and personally delivered several instructor-led training sessions throughout Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region.
Heather was a Project Manager at Endurance Learning where she led the instructional design and development of major projects, including dozens of projects for Michelin North America.

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