The Instructional Systems field encompasses a vast community of industries and a variety of professions. My overarching philosophy for Instructional Design in every arena is a focus on a thorough analysis, an interesting and thoughtful design to suit learners and business needs, a creative development that utilizes the best resources to align with the end goal, piloted implementation for improvement, and a continuous evaluation process to track the success and needs of the learning solution. The Instructional Design process is highlighted by these five core elements. Outlined below is my personal philosophy related to each of the core elements of the Instructional Design Process.
ANALYSIS Analysis can often be rushed through or overlooked completely. This is one of the most crucial elements of the design process. As truly the beginning of a designer's blueprint for the learning solution, every element of analysis should be closely assessed. Key points of analysis are knowing the needs and objectives of the business, knowing your learners that are being designed for, understanding the inner-workings, resources, culture, and relationships of the business, and understanding the available resources and their capabilities. A thorough front-end analysis will save the Instructional Designer and business time, money, and resources over the course of the project.
DESIGN As analysis was the blueprint for the project, design is the scaffolding for the learning solution project. Throughout the design phase, the Instructional Designer should always keep the final desired outcome in the forefront of planning. Maintaining a focus on the desired outcome, and a detailed focus on the objectives of the training will help build towards a successful project. It should be ensured that every aspect of the course is designed to accomplish these objectives. Designing the assessments first and designing every aspect of the training with the objectives in mind can help guarantee the course will be focused without extra elements that are irrelevant, or that may confuse or distract the learner. The learner also needs to be kept in mind through the design phase. The designer should think about who the learner is, what was learned about the learner during analysis, and what will motivate the learner. Techniques such as storyboarding and flowcharting can also be beneficial. Feedback from stakeholders or other designers early on can improve the project and help to gain buy in for the developed product.
DEVELOPMENT During the development phase there are many elements to cover. It is important to remember the several key facets that go into the phase. It is not simply for developing but it truly encompasses ongoing analysis, review, revising, and editing. While working through rounds of development, editing, and revising it is important to keep the objectives in mind and to use all available resources, including other instructional designers and team feedback.
IMPLEMENTATION When implementing a project, the designer should ensure all resources and tools are operating correctly and the project is being implemented as planned. Incorrect implementation can have a negative effect on the final evaluation for effectiveness. A correctly implemented project will benefit learners, the business, clients, and future project development.
EVALUATION Without evaluation, the value of the project and the value of the knowledge learners have gained cannot be accurately measured. An organized evaluation can be used as a tool to show the value of the project to stakeholders.Continual evaluation of the project promotes continual improvement and tracking of program effectiveness. This can lead to an increase in effectiveness and sometimes a decrease in cost by making future project development more efficient.