How to Plan E-Learning Courses Like a Pro

Whether you’re creating an e-learning course from scratch or updating an existing one, planning is key. A good plan helps you visualize your ideas, get organized, and stay on schedule. Read on for three steps to help you create a project plan that clearly outlines your course objectives and how you’ll achieve them.

1. Identify Your Deliverables 

Start by making a detailed list of everything you plan to produce and deliver. Keep in mind that deliverables can vary from project to project. For example, if you’ve been asked to create a brand-new course, your deliverables might include a storyboard, the e-learning course itself, and a post-course evaluation. But if you’ve been asked to update an existing course, your deliverables might only include a revised storyboard and the updated course. 

Whether you have 15 deliverables or just one, this list will help you understand what you need to accomplish and in what order.

2. Define Your Requirements

Once you’ve identified your deliverables, define your requirements and outline what you’ll need to achieve your goals. This list might include:

• People who can help you with different pieces of the project
• Software and hardware needs
• Multimedia assets (video or audio files, images, logos, etc.) for building your project

By outlining these requirements now, you can help your team understand what’s needed and avoid problems and delays later. And if you share this list with your stakeholders or project managers before the project starts, they can give you access to the right people and tools when you need them. 

3. Create a Review Process

It’s essential to gather feedback from a variety of reviewers. Doing so reduces the chance of overlooking things and also brings fresh perspectives to your project. So, before completing an e-learning course, be sure to have others review it, even if your organization doesn’t require a formal review process.

There’s no right or wrong way to complete a review process, but here are a few things you’ll want to consider:

• Who should provide feedback (subject matter experts, stakeholders, etc.)
• How often or when to collect feedback
• Methods for collecting and incorporating feedback

And don’t forget to keep your stakeholders involved every step of the way. If you do, you’ll be more likely to achieve a final result that makes everyone happy. 

The Bottom Line

Using these three steps can create a solid project plan for each of your e-learning courses. By doing so, you’ll set yourself up for success before your projects even begin!

If you want to learn more, check out these helpful articles:

• How to Manage E-Learning Project Scope Creep
• How to Write Requirements for Your E-Learning Project
• 5 Steps to an Easier E-Learning Course Review Process

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