Design Process

Design & Development Process

Portfolios don’t always do a great job of describing how we get to a finished product. The usual L&D frameworks and methods can also come up woefully short when capturing what actually happened under real-world circumstances. What we learned in school doesn’t always work in a fast-paced corporate environment. The important thing to remember is that we are always following best practices to help people learn.

This is a high-level overview of how I approach a project. This process significantly reduces costly rework and mistakes.

Design and Development Process

MAPPING TOOLS

Visual mapping tools are used during my Discovery process. These tools can be broken down into 3 categories; Empathy Mapping, Action Mapping, and Affinity Mapping.

We use these tools to help us define, analyze, and prioritize the underlying problem(s) that need to be addressed by the learning experience. They help us understand both learners and business goals with great specificity. They are also used to help us understand systems and technology as needed.

CONCEPT OUTLINES AND PROPOSALS

Before jumping into the actual development phase, it’s useful to gain alignment on concepts and possible approaches to the learning solution. Rough sketches may be included as part of the proposal to help clarify concepts.

STORYBOARDS AND LEARNING ARCHITECTURE

Storyboards and flowcharts serve as the last phase before moving into final development. The storyboards also include “look and feel” comps so that there isn’t any mystery as to what will be delivered for final deployment. Everything must be checked and approved by stakeholders and SMEs before building the final product.