The Phases of Instructional Design

Engagement, knowledge retention, learner buy in; these elements are critical for a successful training implementation in an IT environment. The foundation for achieving these goals is a well developed instructional design process. Well designed training materials prevents manuals and job aids from appearing dull. Lifeless and over cluttered materials actually encourage passive learning. Passive learning comes with the high cost of retraining and increased levels of customer support because the information was not retained in the first place.

The ADDIE Model

The most commonly used method for successful instructional design in the world is the ADDIE Model. ADDIE is an acronym:

Analysis > Design > Development > Implementation > Evaluation

Phase I: Analysis

Designers need to make a number of determinations before beginning work on any instructional materials. The characteristics of the audience need to be taken into account and ways that adult learning theory applies to the group, and then identify what the behavioral, or expected, outcome is for the participants, and required learning objectives.

Logistical aspects also need to be analyzed, such as the available delivery methods, technical and time constraints, and applicable deadlines. Each of these factors have an impact as to how the material must be designed.

Phase II: Design

The design phase identifies all of the minute details of the training material to meet the specific needs of the target audience and achieve learning objectives. Flow charts are helpful to understand what elements to include, and when to transition from one topic to another.

Furthermore, identify strategies to facilitate learning and retention. In IT training, the most commonly applied learning domain is psychomotor. This is a technique where participants observe a process, and then repeat it under different real world scenarios. The repetition of the task combined with a cognitive understanding why and when to perform the task promotes long term retention.

Phase III: Development

By the end of the development phase, the outline from the design will be transformed into the layout of the complete materials, including all text, graphics, and desktop publishing. Graphical representation of processes combined with minimal text allows for learners to keep up in a classroom setting, and to reference the material at a future point outside of the training environment.

Phase IV: Implementation

The implementation phase begins with facilitators learning the material and how to use related applications to achieve the desired outcomes and learning objectives for the participants. The facilitator must be able to achieve this level of knowledge themselves before passing it on. Not only should the material be learned, but also delivery methods should be conveyed. Once that is complete, implementation can begin to the customer base.

Phase V: Evaluation

Evaluating the success of any training implementation is important as a learning tool for the training department. In the first phase of evaluation, the ADDIE process is reviewed to see how each step was conducted and look for ways to maximize development of future projects, or to enhance the current one.

In the second phase of evaluation, feedback from the customer base is analyzed to determine how well the implementation phase went.

ADDIE's Benefit

In the end, if the user base is well understood, if the learning objectives and outcomes are clearly defined, if the training material is streamlined and the curriculum implemented is psychomotor learning in mind, then each training implementation should be successful, therefore promoting customer confidence in the product and buy in into the training process.