Chief Learning Officer - January 2009 - (Page 41) Avoid the Most Common (Costly) Error Experience has taught us that sound planning and preparation are good things. So why do so many organizations and experienced professionals bypass the analysis and design phases? The brutal truth is that many learning organizations undertake blended learning initiatives without a strategic mindset and approach. They go tactical and pay the price. They may not set out with that intention; however, they often end up at that destination point. They focus on a training event and find themselves diving into the e-learning or the content development without first stepping back and assessing the right learning tools, environment or target audience. Our most trusted designers, developers and project managers become victims of time constraints and subsequently make a significant and often costly error. They stop planning and jump headlong into the project. This ready-fire-aim approach almost always results in a lack of the most important aspect of the entire process: the front-end analysis. Without the benefit of some up-front analysis and design efforts, the outcomes tend to be very predictable. This is validated by the volume of calls learning professionals receive when the damage already has occurred and someone needs an emergency response to remedy a learning solution gone wrong. Understandably, many people are reluctant to get involved in detailed job-task analyses. Many professionals respond with something like, “We are not trying to start up a nuclear reactor, so why do we need to analyze the learning environment? We have deadlines to meet, so let’s get started!” Analysis does not have to equal mind-numbing details capturing every single task, subtask, element and so on. However, some form of analysis does need to be conducted. Too many analysis and design decisions are subjective judgment calls based on a few facts weaved together with some discussion. Later down the road, we start to see the errors of that “skipped” step when we realize our solution has not taken into account important considerations associated with the learner or the environment. Unfortunately, there is another problem. Too many people say they already know what is needed, so there is no need for an analysis. We have all learned that taking the up-front time to plan and design the right outcome does not cost more. In fact, it actually saves you money in the long term and results in a more effective program. What You Have and What You Need While the front-end analysis process can be perceived as tedious, it is absolutely integral to accurately capturing the learners’ current state, visualizing their future state and identifying and understanding how to bridge the gap. An easy way to start is by breaking down the analysis process into three discrete components: • Target audience: Know your audience and prepare a training solution that directly matches the learn- Chief Learning Officer • January 2009 • www.clomedia.com 41 http://www.clomedia.com
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