Design Document: What & Why Page 1
Design Document
Introduction
When you’ve finished writing the course outline,
including lesson outlines and have decided instructional
methods and media, you’re ready to write the design
document.
What is a Design Document?
The design document specifies all the decisions made
about the course up to this time, including:
• Purpose of the course
• Intended outcome of the course (performance
improvement objectives and measures)
• Audience description
• Delivery method(s)
• What to train
• High level outline
• Detailed lesson outlines
• Objectives of each lesson
• Assessments/exercises for each task
Purpose of the Design Document
The purpose of the design document is to obtain
agreement for all involved parties as to the vision and
plans for the course. These parties include:
• External clients, if any
• Internal clients and reviewers
• Team members working on the course
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Contents of a Design Document
As mentioned above, the Design Document includes all
decisions made about the course up to the time of the
writing. It can include some or all of the above topics:
• Document description
• Purpose of the course
• Audience description
• Major course objectives
• Learning assessment
• Instructional strategies
• Media
• Time
• Course structure description
• Course scope (units, lessons, topics – often in
outline form)
• Development tools
• Detailed outline by unit/module, including:
• Introduction
• Objectives
• Methods of instruction
• Practice
• Time
• Topic list
• Ownership and maintenance
• Development time
• Support requirements
• Project signoff sheet – ID, Project Manager,
Client (internal or external)
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Sign-off
Obtaining sign-off on the design document is important
in ensuring agreement on the plans at this point. When
you have that agreement, you’re ready to move forward
and develop the actual training materials.
Formats of Design Documents
The design document can take various formats or
layouts. One type of design document is a narrative
document, such as shown on the next page and in
Appendix A.
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Formats of Design Document
Other companies use a landscape design document
format, such as is shown on this page and the next.
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“ABCs of Instructional Design” Design Document
Document
Description
The Design Document is presented to the Management and Subject
Matter Experts of JEM Communications, LLC in order to document the
design plans for the ABCs of Instructional Design one-day course.
Purpose of the
Course
The ABCs of Instructional Design is designed to provide basic training in
the tasks required to develop effective classroom training. The course
will focus on the tasks most critical to instructional design and most
different from those tasks involved in technical writing.
The course is not designed to teach participants all details of instructional
design but to provide a solid start in learning the skills and knowledge
required to be an effective instructional designer. At the end of the
course, participants will be encouraged to evaluate their current skills and
the steps they need to continue to develop their instructional design
expertise.
Audience
Description
The primary audience consists of individuals who are currently technical
communicators in a variety of fields. Some may have experience in
instructional design; however, that experience is not a pre-requisite to the
course.
The experience level is heterogeneous from the standpoint of
backgrounds, education, age, specific skills, and prior experience. Some
will be students, and others will be seasoned technical communicators.
All are assumed to have the desire to increase their knowledge and/or
skills in the area of instructional design.
Major Course
Objectives
After completing this course, the learner will be able to
• Conduct a task analysis.
• Organize a course based on the task analysis.
• Write performance-based objectives.
• Write assessments and practices that mirror the objectives and
require learners to apply their newly gained skills and knowledge
• Determine effective methods for the desired outcomes
• Determine media to use
• Determine data to use in evaluating training
Learning
Assessment
No formal assessment will be required; however, participants will work
with a case study throughout the course to begin to apply their skills and
knowledge.
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Instructional
Strategies
The course will be an instructor-led course, with a slide presentation and
many exercises. The following methods will be employed at various
places in the course:
• Demonstration
• Discussion
• Question and answer exercises
• Case study involving extensive practice of new skills to solve a
problem
• Classification and discrimination of new concepts
• Application of guidelines
Media
The course will utilize the following media:
• Course guide
• Instructor
• Slide presentation with graphics
• Flipcharts
• Post-it notes
• Paper and pencil
The course will incorporate realistic business situations as much as
possible, to ease the transfer from the learning environment to the work
environment.
Time
This course takes 8 hours to complete.
Course Structure
Description
The course is divided into five lessons plus the course introduction and
review and summary lessons. Additional features of the course include:
• Table of contents
• References
• Sample design document
• Enlarged graphics of key processes and concepts
• Sample instructor and student guides for evaluation
• Sample job aids for evaluation
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Course Scope
The course will contain five lessons, covering the following tasks.
Introduction to Instructional Design
→ The Instructional Design Process
Analysis
→ Performance Analysis
→ Training Needs Analysis
→ Task Analysis: “Stickie Bingo”
→ Conducting the Task Analysis
Design
→ Identifying Performance Objectives
→ Writing Performance Objectives
→ Writing Assessments
→ Creating the Course Structure
→ High Level Outline
→ Organizing Lessons
→ Design Document
Developing the Course
→ Methods and Outcomes
→ Exercises and Activities
→ Deciding Media
→ Writing Instructional Materials
→ Creating Visual Materials
Implement and Evaluate
→ Pilot Test and Revise
→ Evaluating the Training
Development Tools
The course will be assembled and developed in Microsoft Word™ and
Microsoft PowerPoint™. The following additional tools will be used as
necessary:
• Fullshot™ for taking screen captures
• Microsoft Visio™
• Adobe Photoshop™
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Detailed Outline:
Introduction
The course includes 11 units, each with at least one lesson. Detailed
outlines, including objectives and assessments are given in the sections
below:
Detailed Outline:
Lesson 1
Lesson 1: An Introduction to Instructional Design
1. Introduction
2. Lesson objectives:
a. Identify shifts in thinking that you may have to make as an
instructional designer
b. Identify activities associated with instructional design
process stages
3. Method: lecture/discussion
4. Practice: Discussion of topics with regards to how the process
differs from that of the technical communicator.
5. Approximate time: 30 minutes
6. Topic list - The instructional design process
a. The process for developing a course
b. Activities at each stage
c. ADDIE
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Detailed Outline:
Lesson 2
Lesson 2: Analyzing the Needs
1. Introduction
2. Objective:
a. Given a job, learners will analyze the job to include 4
roles, 4 tasks, the steps or guidelines for one task along
with the knowledge for each, and the related processes
and knowledge. Learners will document the analysis
using post-it notes.
3. Method: demonstration
4. Practice: learners will analyze a job to the task and knowledge
level, using post-its to represent the analysis
5. Approximate time: 90 minutes
6. Topic list:
a. Performance Analysis
i What is it
b. Training Needs Assessment
i Components of the Training Needs Assessment
c. Task Analysis
i The Task Analysis
a) What it is
b) Why we do it
c) What we do with it
d) How is it different from training
ii Analysis Strategies
iii Analysis Resources
iv Structure of the Task Analysis
v Conducting the Analysis, or “Stickie Bingo”
d. Conducting the Task Analysis – Demonstration
i What is a job?
ii Analyzing Roles
iii Analyzing Tasks
iv Types of Tasks
v Analyzing Steps and Guidelines
vi Steps and Guidelines
vii Analyzing Knowledge
viii Tasks and Knowledge
ix Analyzing Processes
x What are Processes
xi Stages of a Process
xii Completed Diagram
e. Exercise/case study
ii Instructions
iii discussion
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Detailed Outline:
Lesson 3
Lesson 3: Designing the Course
1. Introduction
2. Objectives
a. Given a task in the task analysis, learners will write a
performance objective for that task
b. Given the objective, learners will plan a practice or
assessment for the objective
c. Given the full task analysis, learners will create the high
level outline for the course.
3. Method: lecture, demonstration, pencil/paper exercises
4. Practice: writing objectives, assessment, and outline
5. Approximate time: 120 minutes
6. Topics
a. Identifying Objectives
i Importance of objectives
ii What is an objective
iii Questions to ask to determine objectives
b. Writing objectives
i Mager objectives
ii Exercise – valid or invalid objectives
iii SMART objectives
iv Demonstration
v Exercise: write an objective
vi Terminal vs. enabling objectives
vii Formal vs. informal objectives
c. Writing Assessments
i What is an assessment
ii Exercise – write an assessment for the objective
d. Creating the Course Structure
i Course structure
ii Job vs. course
iii Course organization
iv Organizing units
v Organizing lessons
vi Deciding what to include
e. Organizing the course
i Organization principles
ii Chunking the content
iii Sequencing guidelines
iv Example of sequencing and organization
f. High level outline
i High level outline
ii Exercise
g. Organizing lessons
i Lesson structure
ii Sample outline
h. Design Document
i What is a design document
ii Purpose of a design document
iii Sign-off
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Detailed Outline:
Lesson 4
Lesson 4: Developing the Course
1. Introduction
2. Objectives:
a. Given various outcomes and instructional methods,
determine the most effective methods for the outcomes.
b. Given sample instructor and student guides, determine
the pros and cons of the templates
3. Method: discussion and matching exercise
4. Practice: matching exercise, evaluation of templates
5. Approximate time: 60 minutes.
6. Topics
a. Methods and Outcomes
i Methods
ii Gagne’s Outcomes
iii Typical methods
iv Exercise: matching
b. Exercises and Activities
i Value of exercises and activities
ii Using questions
iii Content of questions
iv Old and new questions
c. Deciding Media
i Media available
d. Writing Instructional Materials
i Types of materials
ii Writing guides
iii Sample guides
iv Writing style and format
v Job aids
e. Creating visual material
i Types of visuals
ii Media for visuals
iii Guidelines for visuals
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Detailed Outline:
Lesson 5
Lesson 5: Implementing and Evaluating
1. Introduction
2. Objectives:
a. Given sample evaluations in scenarios, determine the
level according to Kirkpatrick’s levels
b. Given the task in the case study, determine possible
measures for evaluating the effectiveness of the training
3. Methods: lecture, discussion
4. Practice: pencil/paper exercise, case study
5. Topics:
a. Pilot Test and Revise
i. The Pilot Test
ii. Implementation
b. Evaluating the Training
i. Evaluation
ii. Timing
iii. Players
iv. Problems in Implementing
c. Levels of Evaluation
i. Kirkpatrick’s levels
ii. Exercise
iii. Measurement Techniques
iv. What to measure at levels 3 and 4
v. Tradeoffs of levels 3 and 4
vi. Types of studies
vii. Graphs for types of studies
viii. Exercise
Ownership
Jane Smith of JEM Communications, LLC will develop the initial course
as well as maintain the course by providing all updates to course content
and handouts.
Development Time
The time frame for development of the ABCs of Instructional Design
course will be the equivalent of one to two concentrated weeks of time.
Support
requirements
Jane Smith will provide her own support as well as utilizing current
literature in the field of instructional design.
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Project
Sign-off
Please sign below indicating agreement with the proposed course plan
and approving start-up of the development phase.
Director, JEM Communications, LLC
Date
Manager, JEM Communications, LLC
Date
Project Manager of Development Team
Date
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References for Instructional Design
There are many good sources available on instructional design, e-Learning, and web design. These are
only a sampling of good ones.
Books
Bloom, B.S., Taxonomy of Educational Objectives vol.: cognitive domain. New York: McKay, 1956.
Brown, Abbie H., and Green, Tim D., The Essentials of Instructional Design: Connecting Fundamental
Principles with Process and Practice.
Brown, Frederick, G. (1971). Measurement and Evaluation. Itasca, Ill.: F.E. Peacock
Clark, Ruth, Building Expertise: Cognitive Methods for Training and Performance Improvement.
International Society for Performance and Improvement, 1999.
Clark, Ruth, Developing Technical Training: A Structured Approach for Developing Classroom and
Computer-based Instructional Materials. International Society for Performance and
Improvement, 1999.
Clark, Ruth, and Lyons, Chopeta, Graphics for Learning: Proven Guidelines for Planning, Designing,
and Evaluating Visuals in Training Materials. Pfeiffer, 2004.
Clark, Ruth, and Mayer, Richard E., e-Learning and the Science of Instruction: Proven Guidelines for
Consumers and Designers of Multimedia Learning. Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, 2002.
Driscoll, Margaret, Web-Based Training: Using Technology to Design Adult Learning Experiences.
Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer, 1998.
Flanders, Vincent and Willis, Michael, Web Pages That Suck. Sybex, 1998.
Gagne, R.M., Briggs, L.J., & Wager, W.W., Principles of Instructional Design. Harcourt Brace, 1985.
Hall, Brandon, Web-Based Training Cookbook: Everything You Need to Know for Online Training.
Wiley Computer Publishing, 1997.
Hassell-Corbell, Rives, Developing Training Courses: A Technical Writer’s Guide to Instructional
Design and Development.
Horton, William and Katherine, E-Learning Tools and Technologies. Wiley Publishing Inc., 2003.
Horton, William, Designing Web-Based Training. John Wiley & Sons, 2000.
Jonassen, D.H., Task Analysis Methods for Instructional Design. Erlbaum, 1999.
Kirkpatrick, Donald, (1994). Evaluating Training Programs. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler
Publishers, Inc.
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Les, William W. and Owens, Diana L., Multimedia-based Instructional Design: Computer-based
Training; Web-Based Training; Distance Broadcast Training; Performance-Based Solutions,
2004.
Mager, Robert, F. (1975). Preparing Instructional Objectives (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Fearon.
Marzano, Robert J. (1998). A Theory-Based Meta-Analysis of Research on Instruction. Mid-continent
Aurora, Colorado: Regional Educational Laboratory.
Masie, Elliott, The Computer Training Handbook: Strategies for Helping People to Learn Technology.
Lakewood Books, 1997.
Mayer, Richard E., Multimedia Learning. Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Merrill, M. David, Instructional Design Theory. 1994.
Merrill, M. David., Teaching Concepts: An Instructional Design Guide.
Morris, Mary E. S., and Hinrich, Randy J., Web Page Design. SunSoft Press, 1996.
Nielsen, Jakob, Designing Web Usability. New Riders Publishing, 2000.
Priskurich, George M., Rapid Instructional Design: Learning ID Fast and Right
Rogoff, Rosalind, The Training Wheel: A Simple Model for Instructional Design. Wiley.
Rossett, Allison, First Things Fast: A Handbook for Performance Analysis. Jossey-Bass Pfeiffer, 1999.
Rossett, Allisoon, Training Needs Assessment. Educational Technology Publications, 1987.
Shrock, Sharon A., and Coscarelli, William C.C., Criterion-Referenced Test Development. International
Society for Performance Improvement, 1989.
Shrock, Sharon A., and Coscarelli, William C.C., Criterion-Referenced Test Development. International
Society for Performance Improvement, 1989.
Siegel, Kevin A., Essentails of Technical Writing and Instructional Design., 2000.
Skinner, B.F. (1974) About Behaviorism. New York: Alfred A. Knoph.
Stolovitch, Harold D. and Keeps, Erica J., Handbook of Human Performance Technology: a
Comprehensive Guide for Analyzing and Solving Performance Problems in Organizations.
1992: Jossey-Bass Managem.
Stolovitch, Harold, Telling Ain’t Training. 2002: American Society for Training and Development.
Thiagarajan, Sivasailam, Design Your Own Games and Activities: Thiagi’s Templates for Performance
improvement. 2003: John Wiley & Sons.
Thiagarajan, Thiagi, Thiagi’s Interactive Lectures.2005: American Society for Training and
Development.
Tufte, Edward R., The Visual Display of Quantitative Information
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Tufte, Edward R., Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative
U.S. Army Field Artillery School (1984). A System Approach To Training (Course Student textbook).
ST - 5K061FD92
Websites
www.thecounter.com – source of statistics of Internet users.
www.trainerslink.com/ - source of good information on training and instructional design
www.stcsig.org/idl/ - Instructional Design and Learning Special Interest Group of STC web
site.
Jane L. Smith
JEM Communications, LLC
www.jemcommunications.com
928-284-0455
