Designing for Need

An instructional design project generally begins with someone making a request to the instructional designer to solve a problem. It is then the designer's role to assess the request to determine if formal instruction is required.

It is easy to see a problem or opportunity within an organization and surmise that training is the single answer. In fact, training may not properly address the situation in the most efficient and effective way. Often combinations of different elements define the ultimate solution.

In order to evaluate the request, a problem description is drafted. The description is based on the desired outcome, without any focus on the instructional process. It clearly defines the actions and attitudes the project needs to accomplish. The designer then uses the description to assess the reasons for the gap between the existing situation and the desired one.

For example, a company releases a new appointment tracking application that allows workers to share their schedule with everyone else. It is a high priority issue to the organization, which feels that this change to enterprise-wide communication is vital to its internal communications. Only a small percentage of the population is using it.

Management sends an instructional design request to the designer believing that instruction would show how serious they were about using it and solve any problems the users are having. However, it is not that simple. The description would include that ideally 100 percent of workers use the application, and what tasks to use it for. However, the instructional designer is faced with many additional questions to determine the instructional needs.

Questions may include:

• Was there widespread communications about the availability of the tool?
• Was the expectation of using the tool communicated in a manner that encourages change?
• Who are the ultimate users, and what drives them?
• Are the workers loyal to another tool and resisting change?
• Are there issues with the application itself?
• Does the new tool present a high or low learning curve to become proficient in using it? Is it very different from what is presently used?

The answers to these questions will drive the solutions presented. It may result in the designing of formal training. It may also include or totally be informal training. Informal training might include a marketing campaign to assure that everyone knows about the new tool and the company's expectations for it. It may also involve e-mailed tips for using the application.

This evaluation process, which is often overlooked, helps determine the best place to expend training dollars and drive a successful learning campaign.