Managing e-Learning Projects

Managing e-Learning Projects - Part 1

With the explosion of the Internet, Wide Area Networks (WANs) and Cloud computing solutions, eLearning has been gaining ground as the preferred method for organizations to deliver learning to their constituents. Since "training delivery" has often been the focus of these plans, traditionally a great deal of emphasis has been placed on designing the courses and pushing them out to learners.However, it is only recently that organizations have started to realize that an eLearning "initiative" is just like any other "project" undertaken by the company. As such, focus is now starting to shift to end-to-end management of eLearning projects.

Why eLearning Projects fail?

Looking at the causes of failure of the most well intended e-Learning projects, the top 6 reasons that e-Learning projects fail include:

1. Lack of alignment to the organization's needs
2. Poor communication with stakeholders
3. Improper implementation
4. Inadequate organizational support
5. Insufficient post-implementation support
6. Incorrect choice of design and roll-out technology

However, when you delve deeper into the reasons why these causes were instrumental in derailing what looked like an otherwise "perfect" project, two roles appear to have significant responsibility and stand out quite starkly. Those are the roles of

1. The Instructional Designer (ID), and
2. The Project Manager (PM)

In order to avoid failure therefore, it is absolutely essential to understand, compare and contrast both roles.In my next blog post about Managing e-Learning Projects, I will discuss The Role of an Instructional designer as Project Manager - Connecting Instructional Design and Project management, so stay tuned!

Last but not least, to learn more about Instructional Design for eLearning, you are more than welcome to check the Instructional Design for ELearning: Essential guide to creating successful eLearning courses book.

Managing e-Learning Projects Article Series

1. Why eLearning Projects fail? 
2. The Role of an Instructional Designer as Project Manager
3. Stages of Effective eLearning Project Management
4. e-Learning Project Management Tips and Considerations