Take Time for an Instructional Design Double Take to Get Results

When it comes to instructional design, sometimes the quick impression is the wrong one.

It is the wrong one when a second look—the classic double take—is needed to truly understand the situation, what you are actually seeing, and what you should be designing toward.

In training instructional design, it is critical to take that second look and not to accept a view without thinking it through with all key business stakeholders.

Consider a situation where team members are regularly missing deadlines. Easily fixed with a time management program? Not necessarily. There could be (and most likely are) other reasons for the problem. Until you take a second, more in-depth look, you may be treating the wrong issue. Might there be equipment failures, or might your team have to depend on the timing of another department that delivers late, or might the performance management and reward systems be unaligned?

Do not prescribe a “cure” too hastily. Your first choice of a training solution may not address the real problem at all.