ADDIE - Analysis stage


I was having a chat with a work colleague the other day. The common work methodology at this work place revolves around the ADDIE method. While talking to her, I had a feeling that my colleague did not really understand this process very well. I say very well because although she knew what ADDIE stood for and had a broad idea of what needs to be done in each stage, she did not have a good understanding of the constituent elements of each stage or how to apply them. This got me thinking that perhaps there are many such instructional designers out there who might have been using this process on paper but do not understand it at a deeper level. This in turn gave me the fodder for my current entry.

The ADDIE process is perhaps the most well-known and oldest of instructional design methods.

ADDIE stands for Analyse, Design, Develop, Implement and Evaluate.

It is fairly intuitive and logical in nature. Also, it needs to be kept in mind that the ADDIE method while closely associated with instructional design is actually a development methodology and is not an instructional technique or even an instructional strategy.

I will start with the Analyse stage and discuss other stages in the coming entries.

Analysis

In the first stage of the ADDIE process we essentially try to make sense of our situation vis-à-vis the development of the course. We are trying to figure out what work related problem are we trying to solve and what would be the best approach to get to that solution. As such we will talk/think through the following in this stage:

Learning objectives – Learning objectives refers to identifying what we are planning to teach or what skills are we planning to impart. These objectives need to be measurable and are usually developed based on the work performance problem that we are trying to solve.

Learner analysis – In this part of the analysis phase we tackle issues with learner characteristics like - Who will be doing this course? What are their current skills and knowledge? Are there any gaps in their current skill and knowledge level and if so how do they impact upon their job performance? What is their preferred mode of instruction? Etc.
Asking these questions and getting an effective answer for them will inform what we include in our course and how do we present the for the learners.

Instructional requirements – This stage is about working out the learning environment as well as the ideal structure of the course. In effect things like – What type of course (eLearning or instructor led training), What are the technical or logistical requirements for the course? What would be the course duration? Is there a learning resource already available and if so then how can we best use it? How much time will it take for us to develop our own content? What kind of learning tools and resources be provided to the learner? What should be the number of modules and focus areas? What sort of assessment should be there and how many of these assessments should be there? What should be the assessment criteria? Etc.

Resources, process requirements and limitations – This phase of the analysis stage is concerned with identifying basic requirements to be met in order for a learner to do the course. These might include technical requirements such as the operating system being used, minimum skills with a particular software to things like what will be the development timeline, what might happen if the project gets delayed, what is the budget and what happens if you go above budget, subject matter expert availability, reporting requirements etc.


The above is not an exhaustive list of things that need to be considered but it does catch most of the important considerations. If any of these things has not been considered than you probably are missing out on some aspect of the analysis stage.

Till next time!

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