How long does it take to build a 20-minute e-learning module or course?

I had someone ask me how long they should tell their company to expect when building e-learning courses.

This is a question I hear a lot from new instructional designers, and the answer isn't as straightforward as you might think. While you'll often hear that it takes about 40-50 hours to develop one hour of e-learning content (which is a good starting estimate), let's break this down into something more practical for you.

For a 20-minute module, you might start by estimating 15-20 hours of development time. But here's the thing – several factors can stretch that timeline, and knowing these up front can help you plan better and set realistic expectations with your stakeholders.

Here's what tends to affect your development time:

• Content Organization: Starting with messy content can really slow you down. Think about the difference between working with a clear training manual versus piecing together information from several email threads and meetings with subject matter experts. The second scenario will definitely take more time.
• Visual Design Needs: Using a template your company already has? Great – that'll save time. Need to create something from scratch or hunt down specific images? That's going to add several hours to your project.
• Level of Interactivity: Simple click-through slides are quick to build. But if you're creating scenarios where learners need to make decisions, or adding complex interactions, you'll need more time. Each interactive element you add means more development and testing time.
• Audio and Video: Adding narration isn't just about recording. You'll need time for editing, making sure it syncs with your slides, and often re-recording sections after reviews. The same goes for video content.
• Review Process: This one often surprises new developers. Getting feedback from stakeholders, making revisions, and going through multiple review rounds takes time. Sometimes a lot of time, especially if multiple people need to sign off on the content.
• Your Tool Experience: Be honest about your comfort level with your e-learning tools. If you're still learning Storyline, Captivate, or whatever tool you're using, build in extra time. What might take an experienced developer two hours could take you a full day – and that's perfectly normal when you're starting out.
• Testing Time: This is easy to forget, but you need time to check everything works right. Does your course work in different browsers? Do all your quiz questions give the right feedback? Do your animations play smoothly?

Take the above tasks and assign an approximate time commitment to each. For example, organizing content may take 8 hours. Then add all those hours together and that gives you a good estimate. It also gives you a checklist you can offer your organization to show what steps need to be taken and why you made the estimate you did.

Here's a tip from experience: whatever time estimate you come up with, add about 30% to it. This gives you breathing room for the unexpected things that always seem to pop up during development.

Question for the community: What has surprised you most about development time in your e-learning projects?

I'd love to hear about your experiences in the comments below.