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KimberlySmith-K's avatar
KimberlySmith-K
Community Member
4 years ago

how long does it really take to build training?

Hello - 

I'm in a hybrid role - training specialist/project-based HR Generalist.  Because this is a hybrid role, I need to clearly communicate the time it takes to actually build a course, whether it's ILT or eLearning. 

I'm curious:  how long does it typically take you to build out a course - ILT or eLearning?  I'm aware of the 40-ish hours to build a 1 hour ILT course... all the industry-wide research.  I've built out a project plan.  

I'm curious about the experience of other instructional designers/trainers and how you handle project timing discussions.

Some background:  I recently received a directive to develop and deliver 5 courses in 4 weeks and I'm really struggling with this conversation.  I've pushed back in a professional manner (not the first time I've had this conversation with leaders), but I want to check myself to make sure I'm not being unrealistic is stating that it's an unrealistic deliverable, given time to design/develop/review...and manage other projects.  Maybe everyone is working this way and I need to step up my game.  For some reason, I'm having a hard time with this. Open to all feedback!

General E-Learning

2 Replies

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  • JudyNollet's avatar
    JudyNollet
    Super Hero
    4 years ago

    Hi, Kimberly,

    Estimating development time is the hardest part about creating courses. There are so many variables: 

    • Topic/scope. How much are you supposed to cover? How difficult is the content to understand and to organize? What's already available? 
    • Interactivity. Will it be a simple, linear presentation, with maybe a few click-tell interactions? Or does it need to include branching scenarios? If so, where are those stories going to come from? 
    • Media. Will there be any audio narration and/or videos? If so, the time needed to write scripts, get them approved, and then do the production work can really add up.
    • Design. Do you have a basic design template to work with, or are you starting from scratch? 
    • SMEs. How much help do you need from SMEs? And will they be responsive? 
    • Review process. How many people have to approve the course? Will they conduct their reviews in a timely fashion? 

    So five courses in four weeks? Well, maybe if they're short, easy, and everyone answers questions and completes their reviews right away. Otherwise, that seems like too big an ask (especially when you can't make it a full-time effort). 

  • SarahHodge's avatar
    SarahHodge
    Former Staff
    4 years ago

    Hi Kimberly! Judy brought up some great points. There are a lot of things to consider. This article shares a few additional considerations and some examples of how other community members estimate course development.  

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