The learning design process made simple
If you’ve ever been a part of Learning & Development or People & Culture teams or contributed to a workplace learning initiative, you know how hard it can be to help organisations transform:
- Complex business problems into outcome driven learning solutions,
- Pages of text into engaging multimedia experiences,
- Briefs that go something like “Let’s make it pop” into cohesive and memorable visuals.
Are you curious about how we get this done with our clients at OPTIVLY? The answer is simple: we swear by our learning design process! A bit like a roller coaster ride, it is built to support the twists and turns of any project and amplified when experienced together. Here, we’re exploring it stage by stage.
Our design process
| Stage: Define The boarding station: Taking our seats on the train, checking that we’ve got everyone on board, and securing our safety restraints. Key actions & deliverables: We assemble the project team, set up our collaborative space and cadence, and discuss the project details: scope, context, desired outcomes, timelines, budget, and contingency plans. – Project proposal – Statement of work – Project plan |
| Stage: Discover The ascent: Starting to follow the ride track and climbing our first hill to reach the summit Key actions & deliverables: We build up a thorough understanding of the project and the problem we’re solving by collecting existing resources and references, conducting training needs analysis and user research, and interviewing relevant stakeholders and subject matter experts. This helps us define the learning objectives and propose the most suitable learning strategy that sets standards for content presentation, tone of voice, visual consistency, accessibility, and more. – Library of relevant resources – Training needs analysis – Learning strategy |
| Stage: Design The summit and the drop: Taking in the bird’s-eye view of the roller coaster ahead from our vantage point, then speeding down the hill, wind in our hair Key actions & deliverables: Here, we start by creating a high level plan for our learning journey, content delivery and structure, and visuals. We then focus on the specifics: content and assessment design, video scripting, storyboarding, and production of digital mock ups. – Style guide – High level design plan – Scripts & storyboards – Assessments |
| Stage: Develop The loops: Building on our momentum, we go through not one, but three, 360 degree loops – whee! Key actions & deliverables: Once the design is locked in, we shift into iterative, rapid prototyping of our storyboarded learning experience using a variety of authoring tools and present that to the project team during three review rounds: Alpha being the most comprehensive, Beta dedicated to polishing and tweaking, and Gold used as a final sign off. – Developed learning modules, assets, and materials – Structured review – Learning product sign off |
| Stage: Deploy The gentle curves: Continuing to confidently follow the track until the end Key actions & deliverables: Time to go live! We hand over all relevant authoring files, learning materials, and created assets. If needed, we can also do some in house LMS testing, create awareness building comms around the roll out of the new learning piece, and support its pilot run. – Final learning assets and materials (for example SCORM files) – Supporting resources for deploying learning |
| Stage: Debrief Back to the boarding area: Alighting from our train feeling exhilarated by the ride, patting each other on the back, and chatting about our shared experience. Wait, did someone say, “let’s go again”? Key actions & deliverables: We wrap the project up by reflecting on our work and recording actions for our continuous improvement. We think about whether the goals identified in the discovery stage have been achieved and seek feedback from both the project team and the learners. – Project summary and evaluation – Project archive |
There you have it! This process has been tried and tested by our team at OPTIVLY on dozens of projects, from organisational change campaigns and rigorous compliance training to highly technical online modules and specialist learning interventions. It scales effortlessly, celebrates collaboration, and provides a clear action roadmap, all of which get our tick of approval. And the outcomes? Thoughtfully crafted learning solutions that impact the learners, add value to the business, and consistently earn industry recognition (check out our awards page!).
If you’d like to find out more about how we create good learning, get in touch. We’re always happy to save you a seat on our next ride.
