©2008 media 1 ● all rights reserved. learning: designer/developers (dds) are from mercury, smes...

©2008 Media 1 ● All Rights Reserved.

Learning: Designer/Developers (DDs)

are from Mercury,

SMEs Are from Pluto!

October 2008

Chris F. WillisPresident / CEO

Media 1 Interactive, [email protected]


Once upon a time, on the distant planet Pluto, life was good. Business was booming, and NGOs were growing and hiring new staff (our future SMEs).


But for our SMEs, there was no way to get all their students through the classroom in time. Training costs were escalating at an alarming rate. The Plutonian SMEs needed a new training solution.


Fortunately, at the other end of the solar system, the technology-savvy Mercurian D/Ds had created a new way to offer high quality training.


By helping the Plutonian SMEs move their learning programs online, the Mercurian D/Ds showed them how to train more team members quickly, saving both time and money.


But the relationship did have friction. The language of instructional design and technology was foreign and misunderstandings did happen.


Our Plutonian SMEs and Mercurian D/Ds came together today in search of down-to-earth solutions. Let’s discuss our differences openly and break through misunderstandings.


Should we collaborate on a

design prototype?


Scenario 1: They want a demo. I can take that blue interface that was rejected for Project Z and slap something together.


Scenario 2: We don’t have time to create a new prototype. Can’t we just show relevant examples from other courses?


Scenario 3: I grabbed an animated character from a web site and spent a week creating a demo... It looks great and I think it instructs well, but I sure wish I knew more about the SMEs and their target audience.


SME Response: Cartoons! I hate cartoons! That’s why I always make them build a demo. What else do they have to do with their time? Now, this blue one here looks great!


How do you

make sure you’re

speaking

the same language?


SME: We need this course to be highly interactive and engaging.


Scenario 1: We’ll make sure there’s something to click on every page.


Scenario 2: We’ll make sure there’s an interesting animation to watch on every third page.


Scenario 3: We’ll make sure there’s an exercise with prescriptive feedback at the end of each module.


What does it mean

to partner

using SME content?


SME: We’re doing the hard part; we’ll provide the content and all the photos. It’s only 15 pages in Word and shouldn’t take much.


Scenario 1: They’re providing all the content; we just need to build the pages and link them to the menu. I can do this in a couple days, max.


Scenario 2: I always budget for QC and re-writes to SME storyboards. They never want to give me resources to fix their mistakes, but it’s my name on the course. 120 hours, at least.


Who will maintain this course?


Developer: This project is a simple one-off. Once we are done with it, our job will be done.


SME: We are so glad we can count on you to update all the Dreamweaver, Flash, and Photoshop files for us when things change out in the field.


Are we really

that different?


In the end, don’t we want the exact same thing?


Questions?Ask me!

[email protected]

www.practicalcreativity.us

Chris F. WillisPresident / CEO

Media 1 Interactive, Inc.www.media1.us

©2008 media 1 ● all rights reserved. learning: designer/developers (dds) are from mercury, smes...

Documents

plutonian smes

sure theres

future smes

sme content

new way

new prototype

sme storyboards

sure youre