What are the most effective tips for Successful Custom eLearning Content Development?

There are so many elements to designing successful, custom eLearning programs.  It has been my experience that the absolute most important items are effective communication and understanding of the clients’ needs and goals. Even in designing the most engaging, interactive course out there, if the content is off-target of the organization's needs, you will have missed the first critical step in being successful.

1. Understand Your Organization's Needs

Through years of working with a diverse base of clients from all industries, it is apparent that even within an organization, the individual stakeholders usually have a slight to significant variation of the end goal of the eLearning project. This makes it critical to fully discover the organization's needs from the top to the bottom. It is awesome that currently most companies have the buy-in already established for eLearning. There were many years where even in meetings the executives were promoting online learning and managers were resisting or vice versa.

2. Communicate Project Goals

Now, the key is to work with all the levels affected by the training to get their input. After communicating one on one with each stakeholder, then it is recommended to go back to the entire group of the stakeholders to present your full understanding of the entire goals for the eLearning project. If key people are left out or concerns are addressed in a group setting only, you may not get the fullest picture.

3. Start Off With A Well-Planned Curriculum

After completing the process of discovery then present your findings and plan to the group, thereby covering the basis of all levels of user’s needs.  It does take time to do this but starting off with a well-planned curriculum, if you will, is a critical key to success. Taking the time to do this ensures that you will please most of the stakeholders, thus, making the majority happy.

Happy clients usually become repeat clients!