Who’s Crazy: Training or SMEs?
October 26, 2009
Despite the best efforts of leaders from both sides of the political divide, a destructive rivalry has raged for over a decade in corporate America. Will subject matter experts (SMEs) and instructional designers see eye-to-eye before the Gen Y’s cash in their 401k’s in 2030? The mud flies both ways, with accusations in a typical compliance project going something like this:
“You’re trying to include the kitchen sink!”
“Whatever Mr. Pedagogy. Reg W is child play’s – what’s so complicated about transactions with non-affiliate entities?”
So, how can we bring these two esteemed groups together and restore Zen harmony to the world of corporate education? Well the good news is, with a bit of trust and a few tweaks to the collaboration process, SMEs and training professionals can work hand in hand; if stopping short of hanging out at the mall together. To get your training design team and SMEs playing together like the Green Bay Packers, try these four simple tips on your next eLearning project:
1. Define Your Roles
Too often, the pendulum of course design swings from one extreme to another, with little or no genuine collaboration. Instructional designers can find themselves with the impossible task of writing new business procedures rather creating training (“Let’s get Dave in training to write our new enterprise sales process, from scratch, in 5 days and with no input!”)
At the other end of the spectrum, SMEs receive insufficient direction from their training brethren and wander into the wild retuning 3 months later with 40,000 words of carefully scripted materials for a 20 minute eLearning module. A great exercise in monastic self realization – a heartbreaking experience for the rest of us. Instead, task the SMEs with compiling and prioritizing the content using an agreed framework and let the instructional designers focus on turning quality materials into great training.
2. Don’t Be Scared to Let Your SMEs Help with Scripting
Too often, we hear that unless you have a PhD in instructional design from Northwestern University, you can’t possibly contribute to an eLearning script. The reality is most accomplished business executives are more than capable of quickly and effectively writing 80% of an eLearning script. In fact, many SMEs appreciate the opportunity to script their own materials. This approach is often less time consuming and frustrating than coaching an instructional designer to write on an unfamiliar topic. The model breaks down when the SME is asked to write 100% of the script. Designing interactions, structuring content and polishing questions to align with learning objectives are all tasks that are far better handled by a competent instructional designer. Under a true collaborative scripting model, the SMEs draft the content and the instructional designers add real learning value.
3. A Wild Idea – Remember Your Learners
Starting a new eLearning project is often a lot more fun than finishing one. Expectations are high and the inevitable gremlins that hold up a project have yet to make an appearance. Too often though, we all set off in the wrong direction. The training design department sees an opportunity to make a bid for a Brandon Hall Gold Award with a new “Multi-Branching, Context Sensitive Simulation Engine.” The SME is raring to write a follow-up to their 1982 MBA thesis on comparative legal doctrines. The learner just wants to know how to stick to the company’s code of conduct policy and avoid getting fired. When making design decisions, put the real needs of your audience first and keep in mind that the simplest path to success is often the best.
4. On-Screen Reviews Rock
Most music fans would happily put up with a few teething problems for the opportunity to hear their favorite artist rehearse an unreleased, new album. Seeing a copy of a new music score wouldn’t be quite as exciting unless, the fan had spent fours at the Julliard School of Music.
Similarly, onscreen reviews give everyone a better idea of how a piece of eLearning is shaping up than sifting through endless MS Office documents. With advances in rapid eLearning tools, it makes sense to share working prototypes and onscreen betas rather than nitpick scripts and storyboards. While, it’s a leap of faith, the first time you skip a script review (and it won’t work on every project) things usually go smoother for the SME and the training department has more creative freedom to produce a better end product.
This entry was posted on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 12:20 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.