Have you ever wondered what exactly goes into creating custom learning? If you were to hire a learning & development company, what should you expect from the process? While every learning company is different, in partnering with Endurance Learning you can expect a collaborative experience to ensure that each learning experience is positive and leads to change. Rarely are two projects exactly the same, so this won’t be a completely comprehensive series, nor will it hold all the details. However, it should give you a general idea of what it looks like to go from concept to bringing a training project to life. We will also share some of the nuances of what makes a partnership with Endurance Learning unique and what we may be working on “behind the scenes” during each part of our design and development process.
This is part one of a three-part blog post series about what to expect when working with a learning & development company.
We follow the ADDIE model for Instructional Design. Analysis, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate. This first post will be focused on A, Analysis.
Kickoff Call
After the initial discovery call (or calls) and a contract is in motion, we will schedule a Kickoff Call. This call is usually with a few people from the Endurance Learning team and any key stakeholders from your team. During the call, we will ask you to tell us about the need for training, the audience, and also technical and stylistic needs for your project.
Technical Questions
There will be technical questions such as:
- What are the current training needs and requirements?
- What devices will your learners be using to complete the training?
- What restrictions do your learners have on their time and resources?
Content Questions
There will also be content questions such as:
- What do you want learners to do differently as a result of this training?
- What have you tried already or what are you currently doing?
- What exposure have your learners already had to this content?
Branding and Style Questions
And finally, there may even be branding guideline questions, like:
- Where in the world will this training be deployed?
- What cultural considerations should we keep in mind regarding your learners?
- What can you tell us about your learners that may help us choose images or voiceover talent that will resonate?
We also capture your company style guide, source materials, and project requirements. We will use the information and content you share during this kickoff call to inform the direction of the project and consider what learning methods may be best to achieve the desired results.
Review Source Materials
Next, our team does a thorough review of any source materials you provide (and we may ask for additional materials too). When our team asks for these materials we are clear that we don’t want only polished content. We want to see and read anything that helps us understand the content and the needs. Sometimes we conduct informational interviews to gather experiential feedback.
Project Schedule and Meetings
After reviewing the source material, and assessing the scope of the project, we will create a project schedule to be mutually agreed upon by both parties. This schedule may change and flex as the project progresses and we will be in close communication throughout the project about needed adjustments. You can expect weekly or bi-weekly check in communication updates from us during the Analysis phase. We will likely be reaching out several times with follow-up questions and/or asks for materials.
High-Level Course Outline
The final step of the Analysis phase is to write the course outline. The course outline will provide an overview of the project, specifics of the course, learning objectives, a general flow of course content, and any early ideas for potential engagement strategies.
Once we have an outline drafted, we will conduct an internal review with multiple people at Endurance Learning to review the ideas and consider if the outline is aligned with the learning objectives, is engaging, and will lead to change. One of the advantages of hiring Endurance Learning is that you get a team of experts on your side to ensure the best outcome. We will complete a copy edit to make sure it matches your style guide requirements before we send it to you for your initial review. Your reviews are a critical component of the process, as know your content best. Therefore, our entire design process is collaborative. While we strive to create the best learning experience–you help by providing in-depth knowledge about the content and the needs of your learners. We say that “No ideas are bad ideas”, and we believe that through collaboration we will achieve the best results.
So there you have it! During the Analysis Phase, you can expect:
- A kickoff call
- A thorough review of source materials
- A project schedule and a schedule for check-in meetings
- A high-level course outline to review
Our next blog post will walk through what to expect during the Design Phase of ADDIE.
