Step 1: Analyze Requirements. An analysis is perhaps the most important step of the Instructional Design process. Step 2: Identify Learning Objectives. Step 3: Develop Design. Step 4: Create A Storyboard. Step 5: Develop a Prototype. Step 6: Develop Training. Step 7: Deliver Training. Step 8: Evaluate Impact.

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Every 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. Step 1: Analyze Requirements Analysis 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 And Training Needs 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. Learners’ Profile 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. Learners’ Profile Analysis Tip: Ask your client for an opportunity to interview some learners. Content 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. How: Ask your client to schedule a meeting with the SMEs. Technology 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. Technology Tip: Stay up-to-date with the changing trends in technology, weigh the pros and cons of each tool, and suggest the best option available for development to the client.

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Instructional designers and eLearning developers need to pick the right delivery method for their eLearning courses. Whether working on curriculum development for corporate learning solutions or for implementing eLearning in schools.

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