Make Working with SMEs a Breeze with These 3 Downloads
One of my favorite things about being an e-learning designer is creating courses on a wide variety of topics. I’ve learned so much over the years! When I look back on it, it’s almost like I had to become an expert in every subject in order to create the most effective learning experience. And while some of my knowledge came from my own research, more often than not it was gleaned from the content provided by my project’s Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). Subject Matter Experts play a critical role in course design. They have the knowledge, experience, and insight to help you create the most impactful training. Despite their importance to your projects, working with SMEs can also be challenging. From different perspectives around how content should be presented to old-fashioned beliefs around how people learn, many e-learning pros find themselves in a battle of wills with their SMEs when all they really want is a productive partnership. This problem can be especially vexing when creating custom e-learning in a powerful app like Storyline 360. With so many creative possibilities, there are countless ways to present content. So how do you help your SMEs visualize different treatments and bridge gaps in understanding, all while building positive relationships with your SMEs? Here are three documents I’ve found essential for communicating clearly and aligning expectations from the start. Document 1: Project Kickoff Questions Before meeting with your project’s SMEs, it pays to do a little prep work. If you already have some source content pulled together, study it to get a basic understanding of the material. And if you don’t have content, research the topic or the company to make the most of your time with your SMEs. As you study, prepare a list of questions to help guide the conversation and show the SME how much you value their time. Need to kick-start your thinking? Download and customize this Project Kickoff Questionnaire for your needs. Download With all of your prep work done, you’re ready to set up a meeting with your SME to discuss the project. Make sure to bring your list of questions, and then listen actively and take notes. This is your time to build trust with your SMEs and identify knowledge and performance gaps to determine the right solution. Document 2: Project Plan After you determine the right solution, it’s time to put the details in writing so you’re all on the same page. A project plan can be a great way to align expectations. In the project plan, you can include the project background, course information, deliverables, timelines, and any other important details. Once you’re done preparing the project plan, have the SME review it and confirm its accuracy before moving forward with design. Need help creating a project plan? I’ve got you covered! Download this free project plan template. Download Document 3: Storyboard Now that you and the SME are on the same page, it’s time to start designing the project. If you’re using a slide-based authoring app like Storyline 360, the best way to make sure you have a solid foundation for development is to create a storyboard. A storyboard is the blueprint for a course that outlines the content screen by screen. Storyboards help your SMEs visualize how the content will flow and allows them to make edits before you start development in your authoring app. Note: If you’re using a web-based authoring app like Rise 360, you can skip the storyboarding phase and go straight to development since it’s easy to use and quick to make changes. Need help getting started? Then download and customize this storyboard template with your content. Download What Next? After the storyboard is finalized, you can feel confident knowing you have a solid foundation to start building your course. Taking the time to develop project kickoff questions, create a clear project plan, and storyboard the content before you start developing it in your authoring app will set you, the SME, and the learners up for success. For more ideas on working with SMEs, check out this series on Everything You Need to Know About Working with SMEs. Follow us on Twitter and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning. If you have any questions, please share them in the comments.What To Do When Your Course Has Too Much Content
Sometimes creating an e-learning course is like packing for a trip: it’s easy to keep adding, adding, adding … until your e-learning “suitcase” is bursting at the seams. And guess what? Most learners go numb when slide after slide is stuffed with text and images and ideas. The volume of content overwhelms their drive to “unpack” key messages buried in all that information. And when learners can’t focus on what’s important, how will they ever apply what you’re trying to teach them? Content overload, at both the slide level and the course level, is one of the most common e-learning mistakes. What can you do to avoid it? Here are few ideas to consider. Avoid Making a Course Have an SME who’s really, really insistent that every last piece of their content needs to be in the course? It may be because they’re focused on pushing information at learners, rather than coaxing out the kind of thinking that leads to behavior change. Your job as the e-learning expert is to help SMEs see all the different ways you can structure content to focus on the learner and, ultimately, to impact their performance. Try suggesting non-course options, like: Job aids: A simple quick reference or at-a-glance chart is often far more effective than a course. Digital performance support: An online glossary of terms, a troubleshooting guide, or a short software simulation might be all learners need to get up to speed. Break It Down Numerous studies (Miller, most notably) have shown that the human brain more easily digests information when it’s provided in manageable chunks. That’s because our working memory—the place where our brains process information—can only handle so much at once. Here are a few pointers for breaking down content in a way that makes it more manageable. Prioritize content: If the learner needs to be taught information to pass a quiz at the end of the course, maintain a focus on that most crucial content. Focus on the learning objectives: If the goal of the course is for learners to be able to assemble widgets, move the ancillary “ancient history of widgets” into a format that’s optional … you know, for those viewers who are really, really into widgets. Avoid content overload: A simple tabs or process interaction can be a great way to organize lots of related content in a way that’s inviting for learners to explore. Manage content: Break out individual lessons into mini-courses. Make It Compelling It’s tempting to lose sight of the goal and think of courses as content containers rather than change catalysts. Transforming your content into something that’s inspiring and actionable means you need to make it compelling. As Tom Kuhlmann points out in this classic Rapid E-Learning Blog post, you’ve got to “give the learner a reason to use the information.” So, how do you that? Use problem-solving: People learn the most from trying and failing, experimenting, and playing with the possibilities. Transform passive lectures into active learning by giving folks a problem to solve. Have lots of data to share? Pull out the most important facts and support them with an eye-catching graphic. Infographics are much better at conveying information than bullets. Keep your writing snappy. Ditch superlatives that distract learners and don’t add value. Swap out wordy phrases for more succinct ones. Even small changes—replacing “click the next arrow to proceed” with something snappier and more inviting, like “see what happens next,” can make your content easier to read and understand. Ready to Streamline Your Content? Longing for some clever ways to streamline content? Look no further than E-Learning Heroes for examples, ideas, and inspiration. Here are a few resources that you might find especially helpful. Intrigued by the idea of creating interactive job aids? Take a look at these great examples from our past E-Learning Challenge—Using Interactive Job Aids in E-Learning. Want to avoid overwhelming learners with content or confusing them with poorly organized content? Use these four strategies from Nicole Legault for organizing e-learning content. Not sure how to make your interactions more compelling? Check out these fabulous pointers from Nicole Legault. How do you deal with content overload? We’d love to hear your ideas and field your questions in the comments below. Enjoy this article? Follow us on Twitter and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning.Tips For Working With Subject Matter Experts to Create E-Learning
Subject matter experts (SMEs) play one of the most important roles in your project’s success, so you need to build a partnership that’s collaborative and productive. But getting what you need from an SME isn’t always easy. Often that’s because SMEs are so far removed from the learning process that they have a hard time understanding what information the learner really needs to develop new skills and perform their job. And because they’re busy people, your projects can stall or come to a complete halt if the SMEs aren’t fully engaged. So how do you work with busy SMEs to get—and keep!—your project moving in the right direction? Here are four quick tips that can help. Be Prepared I can’t reiterate this one enough: do your homework. Collect as much information as you can before you meet with the SME, and take time to digest it. Make notes. Have a list of specific questions. You want to leave your meeting with answers to those questions and a clear plan for course development. When you show up prepared, not only do you save yourself some time, you send the message that you value your SME’s time. And that helps start the relationship on the right foot. Not sure what questions to ask? Check out this comprehensive list of needs analysis questions for some ideas. Be Clear Communication can make or break your projects. We’ve all been in that situation where one person leaves a meeting having heard one thing and another person comes away with an entirely different set of ideas. As such, it’s always good to repeat what you discussed with your SME in writing before you begin work on the course. Making sure you and your SME are on the same page takes just a few minutes—and those few minutes up front can prevent weeks of frustration and irrelevant content later. Be in Sync Once you have an informal agreement with your SME, document it with a formal, written course development agreement. In your agreement, make sure you define deliverables, timelines, project scope and constraints, reviewers, and measurements of success. Putting the details on paper (real or virtual) is a huge step toward aligning everyone’s expectations. If you’ve never used an e-learning project agreement or created a project plan, don’t worry; we’ve got you covered! Check out this course development agreement and this basic project plan. Be Appreciative A big part of a good working relationship is respecting each other’s contributions and expertise. But it’s not valuable if you only think it—tell your SME! Obviously, the easiest way to let your SME know you value her is with an email. But even better? Send one to her manager too, praising your SME’s input. Little gestures like this can pay big dividends later on. More Resources Want to know more about how to work with SMEs to create amazing e-learning? Learn more about engaging productively with SMEs by downloading our free e-book, The Essential Guide to Working with Subject Matter Experts. Follow us on Twitter and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning. If you have any questions, please share them in the comments.5 Steps for Collecting Content for Your E-Learning Project
E-learning course design can be time-consuming and the courses costly to create. But one way you can easily save time and money is by efficiently gathering content. In this article, we’ll talk about easy-to-follow steps to help you gather accurate content and speed up your workflow. 1. Identify the Type of Content You Need It’s tempting to jump right in and create a list of all the content available on your subject. However, you can save time by doing a quick needs analysis instead. In this, you’ll outline your course goals and learning objectives. A thorough needs analysis identifies the types of content you’ll use for your project. Once you have this figured out, you can easily eliminate information that doesn’t apply to your audience or project conditions. Resist the temptation to use material just because it’s available. A best practice is to let the need drive the content you include, not the other way around. 2. Collect Content The quickest, most convenient place to source content is online. However, don’t confuse quantity with quality. You might find a wealth of information, but be particular about what content you choose to use. While online materials are easy to access, remember you can also use physical materials such as books, periodicals, manuals, and videos. When using printed materials, read the introduction to find out if it’s relevant to your course. You can also check a book’s index for specific subjects or names. 3. Document as You Collect Whether your resources are electronic or print, make sure you record them and their location. For items from electronic sources, make a list of URLs, or even bookmark them! If you need to revisit a particular resource, this makes it faster to find. 4. Connect with the Right People To help you gather the most relevant content for your course goals and objectives, it’s important to talk to experts on the subject. Your needs analysis should identify subject matter experts (SMEs) to help with your project. If possible, try to work with a couple of different SMEs so you get a wide variety of information. It’s not always possible, feasible, or prudent to get everything you need from a single person. For example, you might need one SME to provide on-the-job, contextual insight, and then another to provide technical or process information. 5. Work with Your SMEs In addition to helping you with existing materials, SMEs can help generate new content that fills in any gaps you might have. When you talk with your SMEs, be clear about what you need. It can be helpful to use an outline to guide the conversation around your training. Also, ask open-ended questions so they can share their expertise. For example, “What are the most common questions about this subject?” and “What are the most common mistakes you see with this subject?” A great strategy for getting relevant information from SMEs is to ask them how a learner can practice using the information in a real work environment. You can get their help filtering responses with a simple, “Does a person need to know that in order to perform the task?” SMEs are often busy, with tight schedules, so getting on their calendars early in the process is important. Show up prepared to meetings with SMEs by taking time to learn background information that will help you ask better questions. Also, taking extensive notes, or even recording the conversation, is a great way to minimize the need for follow-up. The final step in the content collection process is to synthesize and organize your information. Once you’ve done that, you can ask your SMEs to review and confirm that the content is complete and accurate. Wrap-Up Once the SMEs have confirmed your content is accurate, you’re good to go! You can move forward with designing and developing your e-learning course. For more information and instructional design tips, check out the links below! What to Do When Your Course Has Too Much Content Basic E-Learning Workflow and Design Process The Top 3 Types of E-Learning Analysis How to Plan E-Learning Courses Like a Pro Why and How to Tailor Content to Different Audiences Follow us on Twitter and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning. If you have any questions, please share them in the comments.What’s a Subject Matter Expert (SME)?
What’s the first thing that popped into your mind when someone told you to find the “ess, em, ee” to get the course content you need? Did your rookie self grasp at straws and think something along the lines of “small- or medium-size enterprise"? Or maybe your potential client actually said “smee,” which really threw you for a loop. In the e-learning world, the acronym stands for subject matter expert. SME is really just a fancy way of describing someone who is an expert in his or her field. It’s the person in an organization who has the most knowledge or skill in a specific topic. But don’t go looking for the SME department; there isn’t one. An SME might be an HR staff member, an engineer, a researcher, a product manager, a sales manager, or a finance person. Pretty much every department or business unit has a resident expert. The SME has tons of content, experience, and insights that are essential to creating fantastic courses that your learners need in order to ramp up on a new skill quickly or improve their existing skills. And when you’re developing an e-learning course, the SME can be your best friend. Your SME can help you define learning objectives, craft content, and give valuable feedback as you’re developing the course. In short, you can’t develop effective e-learning without an SME. And if you’re an e-learning developer, your job is to partner with the SME to get the information, strategies, and content you’ll need to build an effective course. So, you need to build a collaborative partnership that’s focused on productive communication. Effective communication is especially important during the course review process. Otherwise, you could find yourself in a (seemingly) never-ending cycle of iterations. But don’t worry, that’s why we created Review 360: a simple web app that makes collaborating with SMEs (and other stakeholders) super easy. And we didn’t stop there! We even created this great course to help you explain the review process to your stakeholders, so you can be sure everyone is on the same page. And we’ve got tons of other resources to help you figure out the best ways to work with SMEs to create amazing e-learning: Learn more about engaging productively with SMEs by downloading our free e-book, “The Essential Guide to Working with Subject Matter Experts.” Read this articlefor some quick tips on working with SMEs. Discover the secret to turning a reluctant SME into an engaged team memberin this article. Check out the top discussions and forum threads in our “Working with Subject Matter Experts” forums compilation in E-Learning Heroes. We’d love to hear your questions and comments about working with SMEs in the comments below! Remember to follow us on Twitter and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning.Congratulations, You’re a Subject Matter Expert. Now What?
Most of the time, the e-learning course development process is driven by instructional designers or e-learning developers working in partnership withsubject matter experts (SMEs). But what if you’re an SME who’s been put in charge of driving an e-learning course and you need to partner with an e-learning designer or developer? What do you need to know to make the collaboration process go more smoothly? Here are four key tips to get you started: Focus on Learning Objectives It’s human nature to want to communicate in a way that’s as detailed as possible—especially when it’s your job to train someone. But taking that approach with e-learning will result in a bloated course that leaves learners feeling overwhelmed. Instead, focus on what learners need to know and do to learn a new skill or improve their job performance. By prioritizing essential information over ancillary or “nice to know” content, you’ll keep learners focused on the core objectives. But don’t worry! That nice-to-know content doesn’t need to go to waste. You can ask the developer to simply move it to a glossary or “additional resources” section in the course so it’s still available for folks who want a little more information. Keep it Real Most people retain concepts better when they can relate what you’re telling them to their own real-life experiences. For instance, using a realistic scenario can help learners visualize themselves applying new knowledge and skills they’re picking up in your course. When you’re partnering with a designer or developer, it can be helpful to share the kinds of real-world experiences your learners are likely to encounter on the job, so those experiences can inform the design of meaningful interactions that will engage and challenge learners and get them thinking. Review Storyboards Attentively In e-learning,creating and approving the storyboard is is a crucial step. The storyboard serves as a "blueprint" for the final course. The storyboard ensures the content is correct before the final, detailed version of the course is built. It's important for you to review the storyboard attentively and thoroughly; set aside time to focus in on the details. Doing so now will save you and your project team a lot of complicated rework later on.Once the course is built, changes becomemore difficult and time-consuming to address. Communicate Effectively The relationship between the SME (you) and designers and developers is critical. Here are a few tips that can help keep the lines of communication open throughout the project: Establish deadlines. Havea mutually agreed upon timeline for major milestones and the final deliverable deadline. Have ongoing discussions throughout the process, so you can check in on those milestones. And of course make sure to meet your own deadlines along the way! Provide actionable feedback. When you’re asked to review content and provide your comments, try to always give specific, constructive, and actionable feedback that keeps the project moving forward. Avoid vague feedback, nonspecific critiques, or comments that don’t offer a clear call to action. These are distracting to the designer and developer and can bog down the review process. Wrap-Up By following these four simple techniques, you can really increase your value and contributions as a SMEand help ensure the smooth roll-out of the new training initiative. Interested in learning more about the course creation process? Take a look at these go-to e-books: E-Learning for Beginners The Insider’s Guide to Becoming a Rapid E-Learning Pro Follow us on Twitter and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning. If you have any questions, please share them in the comments.4 Easy Ways to Win Over Reluctant SMEs
When it comes to creating effective online courses, subject matter experts (SMEs) are key to your success. They’re the people you turn to when you need key details to make your scenarios more relevant, an expert set of eyes for your storyboards and quizzes, or just a breakdown of how a specific process works. In short, they play one of the most crucial roles in any e-learning project. But when they’re reluctant to work with you or not fully engaged, they can also be your biggest challenge. Since they’re a critical part of your e-learning projects, now’s a good time to learn how to turn even the most difficult SME into an invested partner. Develop a Relationship with Your SMEs When you’re on a tight deadline, it’s easy to become laser-focused on trying to get the information you need as quickly as possible. But don’t forget to establish a relationship with your SMEs before you start grilling them for answers. People are more likely to show enthusiasm for something when they feel like they’re truly part of the process. Do your best to get your SMEs on board with what you’re trying to accomplish by making sure they understand how critical their role is to the project’s success. You don’t need to become best friends; a simple introductory meeting will do. Give them an idea of who you are, what you’re building, how excited you are to work with them, and how they could impact the resulting project. They’ll be more open to working with you if you establish a positive connection with them first. Be Respectful of Your SMEs’ Time If your SMEs aren’t giving you the information you need and you’re on a tight deadline, it’s easy to get frustrated. But before you hunt down your SMEs, demanding answers, take a minute to consider that they aren’t purposely ignoring you or withholding information. They’re just busy people with deadlines of their own. To avoid missed deadlines, make sure your SMEs have the support they need from their managers. The best way to do this is to involve your SMEs and their managers in your project plans as early as possible. Clearly outline what you need from them and ask them when they can deliver it. If they’re overloaded with work, perhaps their managers can work with you to free up some of their time. During the review process, show respect for your SMEs’ time by making it easy for them to share their feedback. First, try to be as specific as possible about what you need. For instance, if you only want them to provide feedback on how a specific interaction works, tell them that up front. Then, give them access to an app like Review 360 that streamlines the review process and helps your SMEs provide their feedback in an intuitive way. When you give your SMEs a clear understanding of what you need and empower them with tools that meet their needs and respect their time, you’ll find that most SMEs are more than willing to help out. Speak in a Language Your SMEs Understand Picture this: you’re an SME who’s been asked to help develop an online course covering human resources procedures. During your first meeting with your e-learning developers, they start grilling you about “real learning” and throwing around terms and acronyms you've never heard before. If you have little or no experience with instructional design, you might start to feel confused or—even worse—overwhelmed. And you probably won’t be in a big hurry to get back in a meeting with them. To avoid alienating your SMEs, skip the “e-learning lingo.” This way, they’ll walk away from your meetings feeling pumped up about the course, not deflated or unsure about how they can contribute. Show Appreciation for Your SMEs Has a coworker or client ever expressed gratitude after completing a project you worked on together by sending you a personal email or sharing the sentiment in a group setting? If you’ve experienced this, then you know how a simple recognition and a small thanks go a long way toward making you feel valued. A great way to get your SMEs’ attention and support is to send a glowing email to their managers and copy them on it. It doesn’t take much to show a little appreciation for your SMEs, but it’ll go a long way when it comes to their willingness to participate in the project. You’ll be glad you did the next time you’re requesting extra time or information from them. Wrap-Up At the end of the day, it’s all about relationships. When you put a little effort into developing a good rapport with your subject matter experts, you’ll likely find it easier to get the content and feedback you need from them. And once you’ve won over a reluctant SME, give them more support by preparing them with the tips they’ll need to be successful in their role. In the end, you’ll both reap the rewards of a successful e-learning course. Have your own experience winning over a reluctant SME? Share your tips in the comments! If you’re looking for more best practices, take a look at the Everything You Need to Know About Working with SMEs series, or just check out a few of our favorites below! What’s a Subject Matter Expert (SME)? Tips for Working with Subject Matter Experts to Create E-Learning Make Working with SMEs a Breeze with These 3 Downloads Follow us on Twitter and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning. If you have any comments, please share them below.How to Empower Your SMEs to Create Awesome Training
Many organizations rely on their subject matter experts (SMEs) to develop in-house training because they know the content inside and out. Yet, they are rarely versed in instructional design (ID). So how do you make sure their training is both effective and engaging? Here are some tips. Provide Basic Instructional Design Training to SMEs Understanding the basics of instructional design is important for training designers. ID is the art of crafting a learning experience in a way that will be the most engaging and meaningful for the learner. There’s a lot involved in ID, such as separating need-to-know from nice-to-know information, writing effectively, and choosing appropriate quiz types for the specific audience. You can’t expect your SMEs to become ID professionals overnight, or even in a week. But you can help them grasp the basic concepts if you give them a bit of time to read through the following articles: An Introduction to Instructional Design Instructional Design Basics for E-Learning Development Getting Started with E-Learning The Do’s and Don’ts of Separating Need-to-Know from Nice-to-Know Information How to Do a Task Analysis Like a Pro Establish Design Guidelines You can also help your SMEs by providing design standards or guidelines. Your SMEs are probably not graphic designers, so give them a helping hand to make sure everything looks and feels right. Give SMEs access to templates, logos, fonts, photos, and everything else that’s available at the company. Why reinvent the wheel or spend time looking for a photo you already own? Check with your marketing or design teams. Create a sample course that looks great and use it as a guide or template. Make the sample course easily accessible. Create a simple document with screenshots and high-level guidelines for the look and feel. This document can include fonts and colors to use, and screenshots of how certain slides or activities should look. Consider creating a custom player skin with appropriate colors and logo, and share the .XML file with all SMEs developing training to ensure consistency. This works in Articulate Storyline 1 and 2, as well as in Articulate Studio ’13. (Read more: Sharing Player Templates and Color Schemes in Storyline.) Here are a few more helpful articles: 3 Ideas for Balancing Branding Guidelines with E-Learning Design How to Choose a Design for My E-Learning Course Have a Solid Review Process A thorough review process is critical if you want to create solid solid e-learning content. It catches spelling mistakes, inaccuracies, navigation and design mistakes, and more. Don’t skip this step; making sure you have a documented process in place will greatly improve your final output. 3 Tips for a Great E-Learning Review Process Top 3 Tips for E-Learning QA Testing The Top 4 Reasons to Test Your E-Learning Courses Discussion: What’s Your Review Process Like? Do you have additional tips or comments about having SMEs develop training? If you do, leave a comment; we love to hear from you! Follow us on Twitter and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning.Working with SMEs to Build Better Online Courses
When it comes to building online courses, you’re the expert. You can build interactions that engage even the most reluctant learners, write quiz questions like a pro, and you have a sixth sense for how to organize information. But when it comes to the content that goes into your courses, you might find yourself at the mercy of yoursubject matter experts (SMEs). Your SMEs give you the information and feedback you need to build engaging, informative, and relevant online courses. When things are going well with them, your projects run smoothly, you have the information you need to design your course, and you meet your deadlines. But when things aren’t going so well, you might end up with a ton of irrelevant content, a frustrated team, andmissed deadlines. When it comes to your course’s success, SMEs play one of the most important roles. So why take chances with these important folks? Here are a few simple guidelines to help you build and maintain a great relationship with them. Get to Know Your SMEs If you want your project to be successful, it’s important to establish a good working relationship with your subject matter experts. They play a key role in ensuring that you get the information you need and they will provide crucial feedback on thecourse materials you design. Before you start talking shop with your SMEs, introduce yourself and get to know them a little better. That way, next time you need information from them, you can start the conversation by asking them how their daughter’s graduation went, rather than immediately grilling them for information. Show Your SMEs What You’d Like to Accomplish Most of the time, your SMEs assume your course will look and feel just like the other e-learning courses they’ve seen in the past. Keep in mind that they might have a hard time visualizing what you want to createand youmay need to take a few steps to help themunderstand what you'redesigning. Show your SMEstwo or three relevant e-learning examples. Show them examples that demonstrate the types of interactivity and content that you're looking to create, so they havean idea of what it is you're looking to do. For example, if you want to build some scenarios, show them some examples of e-learning scenarios so they understand how they work and what kind of contentto include. When you take the time to do this, it will help them understand what you’re creating and possibly even inspire them to contribute ideas of their own. Ask the Right Questions One of the biggest challenges of working with SMEs is getting them to share the relevant information that’s important for the learners to know. The best way to get the information you need is to prepare a list of questions ahead of time. This helps you get right to the point and also shows that you have respect for their busy schedules. Here are five questions to help guide your conversation in the right direction: 1. What topics or situations cause the most confusion for learners? 2. What three things do we want learners to understand after taking this course? 3. Describe a situation where learners will apply thisknowledge or skillon the job. 4. What processes do we need to outline to help learners complete the course? 5. Do you have any stories or reference materials that will help learners relate to what we’re teaching them? Depending on your course, you might have many other questions you need to ask, but these five will help you gather the best-possible information from your SMEs before they have to run off to their next meeting. Give Kudos to Your SMEs When your SMEs come through for you, whether by delivering great content or devoting extra time to your project, be sure to show your appreciation. One of the best things you can do is send their managers an email praising their efforts (and copy them on it). This not only serves you well immediately, but it also pays off down the road, especially if you find yourself in a situation where you need more of their time or help on another project. At the end of the day, it can be challenging to work with SMEs to gather the right information, capture and consolidate their feedback and opinions, and collaborate with them to develop the best possible course. But no matter what many challenges you face, the most important thing you can do is to show your SMEs that you value them and what they have to offer. The better relationship you have with them, the more successful your e-learning projects will be. Follow us on Twitterand come back to E-learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning. If you have any comments, please share them below.Follow These 3 Tips to Put the “Pro” Back In Your Review Process
If you ask a group of e-learning designer/developers to discuss the hardest parts of their role, odds are good that someone will bring up the topic of course reviewers (SMEs) and feedback. From reviewers who confuse and contradict, to those who fail to turn up with crucial information until the very last minute, managing the feedback process (and sometimes the reviewers!) can be a big challenge. Articulate Hero Tracy Parish recently turned to the E-Learning Heroes Community for ideas with this challenge. Tracy was looking for suggestions on ways she could streamline her organization’s review process. Following is a summary of some of the community’s pro tipsfor making the review process more positive than painful. Tip #1: Clarify Roles & Responsibilities Up Front Often e-learning designer/developers find themselves stuck in the middle, trying to make sense of a barrage of feedback they can’t reconcile on their own. One of the best ways to avoid getting stuck in this position is to conduct a project kick-off meeting where all the roles and responsibilities of the project team are clearly defined, including specifying who the decision-makers are and who will be responsible for collecting and reconciling conflicting feedback. Holly MacDonald offered this suggestion and a tool that can help you clarify these roles and responsibilities up front: “...there should only be one client and they are accountable for the content. Maybe a RACI chart? I find these are helpful to frame discussion about ‘what will we do if...’ at the early part of the project.” By taking some time up front to clarify roles and responsibilities you’ll be in a much better position to facilitate conversations between reviewers with a clear escalation path for decision-making. Tip #2: Educate Your Reviewers I’ve found that when we talk about the review process, it’s easy to get too focused on the mechanics—which spreadsheet to use or what date we need the feedback by—and lose sight of the what—i.e., what kind of feedback you’re looking for at each point in the process. Bugs vs. Changes When it comes to the kind of feedback, one thing that trips people up is confusion about the difference between a design change (typically a preference) versus feedback on a design defect (a bug)—and how that distinction will impact your priorities differently at various phases of the project. To help clarify the difference between bugs and changes, here’s one example I’ve used: Design Defect/Bug Design Change/Preference “I can’t go forward.” (product doesn’t function/fulfill requirements) “I don’t like the yellow accent color.” (you’d like to change some aspect of the product’s design) I’ve found this example is simple and relatable and gives everyone the chance to agree on the language so we can move on to talking about how we’ll deal with different types of feedback and the various milestones. Holly MacDonald beautifully summarized this point: “Categorize...edits versus changes...so they understand that wholesale changes are ok when things are still early in the development phase, but after that you are looking for refinement. Clearly re-iterate that there are types of review. Perhaps create a spreadsheet with categories of feedback.” Cost vs. Value Sometimes a little proactive client education is all you need to help your reviewers get on the same page with the project priorities—and sometimes you need to take it a step further. When reviewers draw a line in the sand that threatens the successful launch of the project, you may need to reframe the conversation. Several community members chimed in with the suggestion to give reviewers a little cost vs. value reality check by assigning their changes a dollar amount, e.g., "If I was charging by the hour, these changes would cost $xxx." Using this type of a reality check can give everyone a clearer understanding of the impacts of their changes before they actually impact the bottom line. Tip #3: Make the Review Process More Transparent One of Tracy’s big pain points was that busy reviewers endlessly contradicted each other. To avoid this frustrating back and forth some community members find it best to pull everyone together for a face-to-face review. For example, Mohammad Hassam finds it best to pull everyone together for a face-to-face project review: “Schedule a meeting with all of them at once. Invite your client, reviewers, SMEs and then review your course. I found it much better because, except graphics and layout, if anyone has any view in terms of content, assets or materials...the other person sitting next to him will most probably object [to] it. The conversation between them keeps going until they come up with certain ground rules. You have to list down what's being discussed, and their comments (note their names too), and send a copy via email after meeting.” Other community members felt that large face-to-face review meetings weren’t always practical. Instead, they shared their experiences using technology to bring more visibility to the entire design, development, and review process. Some community members use a tool, reviewmyelearning.com, to support their release and review cycles. Others, like Karlis Sprogis, use a combination of free or low-cost tools like Google docs, Dropbox, Trello, Join.me, and Invisionapp. And Jane Manduke offered this comprehensive process along with the tools she uses: “I create a page on my Wordpress website and upload the course. (I make sure the page remains hidden from all menus, tag-clouds, etc., i.e. you won't find it unless you have the link.) I send all reviewers the link. Usually I stipulate in my contract that there be one point of contact on the client side and she sends it to the team. When I send the link, I request they post comments on that Wordpress page. (This doesn't always work; some people aren't comfortable posting comments, or maybe they just don't have time. But I have had some good conversations that way.) I give reviewers a day or two to look at the prototype/build version and set a time and date for a 'consolidated' review. The consolidated review is handled remotely, at my end, through Join.me, a web-conferencing and screen sharing tool. All team members/stakeholders are invited. We walk through the e-learning step by step. I collect their feedback over the phone.” Whether you use an assortment of high-tech tools or stick with good ole’ fashioned face time to facilitate reviews, one thing is clear: making your process more visible shows what really goes into creating e-learning and gives reviewers the tools and information to spot redundant or conflicting comments so they can be addressed (by experts who are equipped to debate the minutiae) before they reach your to do list. Summary The feedback process is fundamentally a project management challenge. Project management is one of the many duties of e-learning designer/developers and like all of your other challenges, it’s bested with a dose of preparedness and plenty of practice: Think like a project manager. Before jumping into course development, plan some time to clarify roles and responsibilities on your project team. Sometimes our knee-jerk reaction to a lack of clarity or clear accountability is to create MORE process—which may make your job even more complicated. Instead, try starting with a good conversation to set expectations and get everyone on the same page. Act like a consultant. Consultants are constantly educating their clients. To help you educate your reviewers, create a brief (one page) handout or infographic that walks through each phase of your design and development process and explains the type of feedback you’re looking for (and from whom) in each phase. Do add tools to help foster more transparency. At a minimum, consider a shared resource for gathering review feedback and tracking action items. Resources Check out these community discussions and resources you can use to put the “Pro” back in your review process. E-Learning Client Management: Tips for Dealing with Unhappy Clients 4 Easy Ways to Win Over Reluctant SMEs Help! How to Get SME Feedback on Time What golden nuggets of wisdom have you found most helpful for your review process? Jump into the conversation and share your ideas with us! And while you’re at it, we’d love for you to follow us on Twitter where we post the latest and greatest news about everything e-learning.
