I’ve had plenty of discussions about Instructional Designers, some of which make them sound like eLearning myth (think Sasquatch), and some with people who thought Instructional Design was one of those terms you throw out to impress clients  (“I thought it just meant someone who could type in Word 97 and use spell check!”).

Over the last two years I’ve had the opportunity to work with three great Instructional designers, and I thought I’d do my part to explain a little more in depth about what they do.

Imagine a client placing a 300 slide printout of a PowerPoint on your desk, topic unknown, turnaround time: 1 week or less, and it all needs to be compressed into a 15 minute eLearning course with a maximum of 5 goals or objectives. This is a great example of what makes a great ID special.

Not only do they have to digest and research the material, they have to fill in the gaps, invent simulations, games and situations that will educate and entertain the user. It’s a high bar to set, so trust me, when you find a good ID you want to keep them forever. 

Like any field, flexibility above all else is very important. If you hire an ID who is set in their ways (and surely they may know what’s best 100% of the time), and they’re unwilling to budge to meet a smaller set of standards (for instance a budget constraint might limit the number of custom interactions in a course), you may have a problem with scope creep. Like with most jobs, knowing the limitations of a project help you set yourself up for success when writing the final storyboard.

With that said, I’d like to shamelessly plug the fact that we handle all sorts of Instructional Design here at Clearly Trained, from sales training, ethics & compliance, to virtual simulations and educational games. We understand there’s a setting for every tone of voice, but insist on adding some humor when possible to our projects (Adults are people, too – and deserve to be entertained!).