ADDIE Model Vs. SAM Model: Which Is Best For Your Next eLearning Project?

Choosing Between The ADDIE Model Αnd SAM Model For Your Next eLearning Project

ADDIE (Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate) and SAM (Successive Approximation Model) are often pitted against each other. In many ways, SAM was created to counter the ADDIE model. The latter hails from a military system that was translated for the technological world. SAM, meanwhile, is an IT-based solution. Each learning system has its benefits and drawbacks, which you must weigh carefully. The ADDIE model, for example, is systematic and repeatable but doesn’t allow for backtracking. The SAM model was upgraded to AGILE (Align, Get set, Iterate & Implement, Leverage, Evaluate). Let’s review ADDIE and SAM, exploring which would work for you and why.

Understanding The ADDIE Model

This entered the scene back in 1975 at Florida State University and was intended for military applications. Steps were followed in a sequential order, with a review at each stage before proceeding to the next. This makes sense from a military perspective because it shows a clear pattern of cause and effect. It relays basic instructions and shows the direct consequences of not following them. Plus, it’s effortlessly replicable. In that setting, it can be a practical teaching tool.

In the eLearning sphere, ADDIE is ideal for streamlining the eLearning development process. The eLearning developer can tabulate the next step and see how far they've come at each stage. This makes it easy to chart progress. There’s a tangible result at each stage and a paper trail for troubleshooting. Unfortunately, the presence of said paper trail doesn’t necessarily resolve the problem. It’s a waterfall or a top-down hierarchy.

The 5 Steps Of The ADDIE Model

Let’s first understand what this model is actually about if you are considering ADDIE vs SAM. ADDIE is essentially a systematic framework that focuses on a structured approach. Instructional Designers and developers spend more time creating content geared towards efficient learning so that learners don’t need to repeatedly attempt to absorb a concept. Here’s what ADDIE’s five steps represent:

• Analyze: Identifying the learner’s needs and goals, alongside the context of the training. This also involves understanding learner demographics, the technical infrastructure, and the specific challenges the eLearning content will address.
• Design: Designing efficient and informative eLearning programs by establishing a training blueprint, highlighting learning goals, forming the content structure, and implementing instructional strategies ideal for the program’s learners.
• Develop: Creating the eLearning material, including learning activities, assessments, audio-visual content, and scoring metrics. This development phase highlights the significance of personalizing the eLearning content to the target audience’s preferences and learning goals.
• Implement: Executing the development process, where the eLearning program is delivered to its target learners. This stage is vital for assessing the eLearning design’s effectiveness; hence, prioritizing the readiness of both learners and instructors is key.
• Evaluate: Assessing the practicality and efficiency of the eLearning material to identify areas for improvement. This involves gathering learner feedback, evaluating learning outcomes, and monitoring performance metrics for continuous improvement.

Example Of The ADDIE Model

To better understand how the ADDIE model works, consider the following example, which shows how an IT company can utilize it to enhance sales for a new product.

• Analyze: The company conducts the analysis phase through interviews and surveys with sales managers to identify bottlenecks in selling the product.
• Design: After analysis, a training program is designed accordingly, focusing on sales techniques, product know-how, negotiation tactics, and customer engagement strategies.
• Develop: Tutorials, product databases, role-play guides, and other training materials are developed for hands-on learning.
• Implement: Training materials are deployed to the sales team through the in-house learning management system (LMS). Sales managers and representatives complete the self-paced eLearning modules and engage in role-playing sessions to practice what they’ve learned.
• Evaluate: Stakeholders assess post-training metrics, collect feedback, and evaluate training performance. Evaluation shows improved sales due to better product knowledge and sales skills, and the training is rolled out for new and future hires for stronger outcomes.

Understanding The SAM Model

Allen Interactions believed their new system would fix the waterfall problem. Instead of following a single vertical path, Step 1 became the Savvy Start. This step is a focus group that theoretically reviews the process from start to finish. The group brainstorms any potential problems and establishes contingencies. This is all done and approved before the actual eLearning course development begins. It develops a template of if/then scenarios. Of course, no system is foolproof, but SAM gives more forewarning than the ADDIE model. It creates an atmosphere of problem-solving rather than simply following instructions.

Created by Dr. Michael Allen, the eLearning pioneer, SAM is an instructional model focusing on iterative design and development. This is the fundamental difference between ADDIE and SAM, as the latter doesn’t prioritize getting things right the first time. Instead of spending more time developing eLearning content to achieve perfection, the SAM model encourages instructors to make feedback-based, quick adjustments.

Components Of The SAM Model

SAM consists of three main components:

• Prepare: This is the first phase, where instructors define the objectives, scope, limitations, and expectations of their training. Analysis and design begin with a performance evaluation of learners to understand their skill gaps and needs.
• Design: Instructional designers create prototypes, such as sample eLearning modules or storyboards, and test them with the learners, using their feedback to improve the end product.
• Develop: The development process involves creating the full-scale eLearning program based on the prototype adjustments. Designers continue to test the program and assess its outcomes to improve it until it reaches the required quality standards.

Example Of The SAM Model

To understand SAM’s real-world application, consider this example of a corporate onboarding program being adapted to target a global workforce.

• Prepare: The existing program followed a traditional instructional design approach, which was too rigid to accommodate changing organizational policies or diverse cultural norms. Designers thoroughly analyze the program's shortcomings through feedback and surveys, identifying key areas for improvement.
• Design: Based on the learning, designers create a new, prototype onboarding program and test it on a selected group of new employees. Based on feedback—both positive and negative—they refine the program to increase engagement among international learners. Designers make rapid changes to incorporate geography- and culture-specific elements that better align with the global audience.
• Develop: After multiple iterations, the program is refined enough to be rolled out company-wide, creating an onboarding experience more befitting for a culturally diverse team.

This strategy is better suited to IT and eLearning, vs the military strategy of unquestioningly doing what you’re told. It offers more autonomy to both online learners and eLearning developers. And while both the SAM model and ADDIE are tools for eLearning content development, they influence teaching styles too. After all, the structure of your eLearning course affects what and how you learn from it.

SAM Vs. ADDIE Model: Which Approach Is Best For Your eLearning Development Project?

When deciding whether ADDIE or SAM is better for your eLearning project, the best approach is to compare their pros and cons, evaluating which one fares better for your needs.

The Benefits And Drawbacks Of ADDIE

ADDIE is widely considered a leading eLearning development model because of these benefits:

1. Versatility

Because ADDIE is a linear system, it’s easy to look back and see what went wrong. It’s also versatile in that you can use it for a variety of eLearning applications, regardless of the subject matter, niche, or learning objectives. The ADDIE model also allows you to easily track measurable outcomes based on customized criteria.

2. Ample Opportunities For Iteration

Its iterative nature is one of the key reasons why ADDIE is popular among instructional designers. It allows feedback at every stage of development to ensure the end product is completely ready and fulfills the target learning objectives.

3. Evaluation Advantage

Tracking measurable outcomes enables organizations to easily assess the effectiveness of their eLearning content, which helps them improve training programs efficiently for future iterations.

However, ADDIE’s linear approach does yield some drawbacks. Here are its major disadvantages:

1. Limited Room For Fine-Tuning

Because the error has already been compounded by subsequent phases, it can be hard to undo. Given that each stage has to be completed before moving on, you may be several steps further before you spot a problem.

2. More Tedious

Some argue that ADDIE is lengthier and costlier, as well. As you’ll have to go back to the beginning to make necessary adjustments or revise eLearning content if you spot an error further into the process.

3. Possibilities Of Misalignment With End Goals

Another issue is that you may discover that the deliverable doesn’t align with the learning objectives or goals in the end. Thereby, forcing you to retrace your steps to see what went wrong and how you can steer the eLearning strategy back on track.

The Pros And Cons Of SAM

While ADDIE is popular, the SAM model has quickly become a preferred development model as well, mainly due to the following benefits it offers:

1. Easier Implementation Through Faster Problem-Solving

SAM enables you to resolve issues quickly due to its non-linear structure, facilitating the development, implementation, and evaluation of this framework more easily. You’re able to course-correct without starting from scratch. Once the Savvy Start is complete, SAM model has six stages of design and development that run simultaneously. This makes it easy to spot a problem in one phase, repair it, and correct any related factors. It’s not a top-down system. Everything is collaborative, with each team and process feeding off each other. In a sense, working together slows the process. But because every stage runs in parallel, you can save time and quickly deal with errors.

2. Leaves Ample Room For Fine-Tuning

Another pro is that you get to produce a less polished version of the product early in the process. Thus, you can fine-tune the eLearning content as you move forward and ensure that it aligns with the learning goals and objectives.

3. Less Costly

Its flexible nature allows eLearning programs made with SAM to be very economical. You can make changes in real-time, gather early feedback to avoid last-minute hiccups, and ultimately build a successful program faster without incurring significant costs from multiple iterations.

Meanwhile, the SAM model has the following disadvantages that you should consider as well:

1. Less Structured

One of the main drawbacks is that many Instructional Designers prefer to have a more structured Instructional Design approach that involves more planning. While the ADDIE model follows the straight line, SAM is more of a cyclical process. The iterative nature of the model means that rapid prototyping is often the most essential step, with less emphasis on the prep phase.

2. Time-Consuming

SAM’s approach itself makes development time-consuming, as you’ll need to conduct repeated testing and evaluation. You’ll have to allocate sufficient time and resources to continuously refine prototypes and create an end project that’s systematic enough for its target audiences.

3. Challenging to Manage

While the SAM model is easier to implement through rapid prototyping, it also requires managing multiple elements. It’s a dynamic model, so stakeholders must be clearly informed, learning goals must be strictly defined, and instructors must have robust management skills for efficient implementation.

ADDIE Vs. SAM: Key Differences

For a clear understanding of how ADDIE and SAM fare against each other, here’s a quick table outlining their key differences:

Factors To Consider When Choosing Between ADDIE Vs. SAM

Choosing between ADDIE and SAM hinges on key decision-making factors, which include the following:

• Project Scope: Larger-scale, complex projects work better with the ADDIE model, as they require detailed planning and structured progress. SAM works better for simpler projects where quicker development through rapid feedback is possible.
• Resources: Availability of resources is a vital consideration. ADDIE’s thorough process requires ample resources (including time and money), whereas SAM’s agile methodology requires fewer, ensuring faster turnaround.
• Stakeholder Involvement: Limited stakeholder involvement works best with ADDIE’s structured feedback process, whereas ongoing involvement is better-suited for SAM’s iterative framework.
• Flexibility: The ADDIE model works best for projects with stable objectives that don’t require excessive flexibility. Meanwhile, SAM is more ideal for dynamic projects that need higher flexibility to accommodate rapid feedback.

Conclusion

How do you pick between the SAM model and the ADDIE model? Both systems have been tweaked and upgraded, so while their "founding principles" remain, their iterations look very different. ADDIE has a military background. It utilizes the step-by-step procedures, and clear instructions are the key. So, it can be hard to go back a few stages to fix any mess, and even harder to find exactly how and where the problem started.

On the other hand, SAM is a more concurrent system. It begins with a brainstorm, then once everything is mapped out, subsequent stages run at the same time. ADDIE works well for online training courses with sequential modules, like compliance online training courses. The SAM model is better for interwoven free-form online training, like departmental onboarding or field training.

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