New Roll Outs and Design

Instructional designers collectively groan at the thought of attempting to design training for a product or system that is still in development. It is like aiming at a moving target. However, the involvement of the designer during development of a new product or system carries advantages to both sides.

The designer has evaluated the end users in the early stages of preparing for the instructional development and possesses a knowledgeable insight to them. The designer is accustomed to looking at it from a user’s perspective. This is often a unique position on a development team.

The early involvement gives the designer a clear picture of the project and the changes it goes through. The interaction and testing the instructional designer does during this time can uncover things they may need to alert the learner about. There are things such as system-induced time limits that may become apparent during this time that may not appear later as the designer is simply taking it through its paces.

Things the instructional designer can learn during the development phase include:
• High understanding of each feature.
• Time out issues.
• Selection of a best practice where there is more than one way of completing a task.
• Where the user may need access to additional information.
• Tips about use.

Insight the instructional designer can offer the developers include:
• Tester-level feedback.
• Suggestions that could assist the user.

By working cooperatively, both the developers and the instructional designer can complement each other and provide a higher quality end product.