This resource was developed by the 2002 LearnScope "Educational Design for E-learning" team based at OTEN NSW. Many thanks to the team for contributing this resource to the community.

Purpose:  This document provides a Project Manager with a set of considerations to be addressed (ideally at an initial project planning meeting attended by all project team members and stakeholders) required to inform the planning or initiation and specifications phases (see project management methodology) of an e-learning/online project. The outcomes of the discussion should be fed into a planning/scoping document (see “Proforma for Planning/Scoping an E-learning Project”) and lead to a shared understanding of the basic information underpinning the project as well as stakeholder agreement and commitment.

Assumptions:  The project is externally funded and involves a joint and collaborative effort of partnering Institutes and the applicable Educational Services Division. As such it is ideally suited to TAFE Connect and ANTA Toolbox project preparations.

1. Title, project details and funding

1.1 What is to be the project’s title—a succinct overview of the nature and scope appropriate for the resource/product?

1.2 What will be the project’s reference number (either internal to RTO or when reporting to the funding body)?

1.3 Who will be the Project Manager?

1.4 Who is the person from the funding body to whom this project reports?

1.5 Where is the funding coming from? Are there conditions attached? Does the funding need to be expended within a particular timeframe?

1.6 Is the funding adequate for the task at hand? Will it require ‘topping-up’ by your organisation/RTO?

2. Feasibility study and strategic relevance

2.1 What research has been completed on the need for this resource/product and the demand from potential clients? Is there a niche market? If other products exist what are their strengths and weaknesses?

2.2 What impact will this project have on your organisation? The VET sector? The state? Does the project align with target areas such as the following:

• training package(s)/course(s)/modules requiring re-working to meet new course requirements occasioned by changes to curricula
  
• training package(s)/course(s)/modules in high demand areas
  
• training package(s)/course(s)/modules with isolated/dispersed spread of enrolments
  
• training package(s)/course(s)/modules with an affinity to online strategies
  
• training package(s)/course(s)/modules with assessment only outcomes/pathways
  
• extension or enhancement of existing online course/modules
  
• common modules occurring across multiple courses
  
• new course frameworks to accommodate existing modules?

3. Rationale and purpose

3.1 What are the project’s goals? Is the resource intended to:

• support a TAFE or other course
  
• supplement existing material
  
• replace existing material
  
• be integrated into an existing material
  
• provide an independent, stand-alone resource/product?

3.2 Is there a specific audience for this resource/product, or is it intended to be generic across a number of potential audiences (statewide, national, global)?

3.3 Will the resource/product lead to a qualification?

4. Stakeholder involvement and collaborative approach

4.1 Who are the major clients/stakeholders? What is the level of involvement of each of the stakeholders? Will the stakeholders have a role in design and development? Are all the stakeholders adequately represented in the planning and evaluation stages? Will the national ITAB have a role in the conduct of the project?

4.2 What expectations do stakeholders have of the deliverables and outcome/s of the project (have they seen examples of the sort of resource/product that is being developed)? What acceptance criteria do they have for evaluating/signing-off the resource/product?

4.3 What will be the collaborative arrangements with the parties involved? What elements of understanding will need to be negotiated (eg. roles and responsibilities of all parties, facilities and equipment sharing, personnel/resource requirements, communication channels and procedures, quality assurance mechanisms, reporting and review plan, professional development and support for teachers and staff, collaborative development of learning resources, times and pattern of attendance at meetings)?

5. Target audience and learner/user profile

5.1 Who will use the resource (eg. students, teachers, parents, employees, employers)? Will they all use the resource/product in the same way?

5.2 What is the profile of your typical learner/user eg. cognitive (learning style), personality (interests and beliefs), social (culture and education level) and physical (age and visual abilities)?

5.3 What are the specific literacy and numeracy levels requirements of the target audience?

5.4 What level of education are the target audience assumed to have? Are there any prerequisites for course/program entry?

5.5 What is the target audience’s previous experience of work?

5.6 What is the target audience’s previous experience with computers/software?

5.7 What media are appropriate to this audience (eg. video, sound, print)?

5.8 What is the motivation of the target audience (eg. passing exams, promotion at work, acquiring licence, basic understanding of process or legislation)?

5.9 What are the needs and expectations of the target audience (from previous research/current surveys)? What features should be included in the resource/product to accommodate the target audience?

5.10 What are the needs and expectations of the wider community? What features should be included in the resource/product to accommodate the wider community?

5.11 What are the implications of the above findings on the design of the resource?

6. Requirements specifications

6.1 What decisions about the context of use will affect the delivery of the resource/product? Will the resource/product be instructor-led or learner led? Where will the resource/product be used (eg. classroom, learning centre, computer room in educational institution home, workplace, on the road)? When will learners study (synchronously or asynchronously)? How will learners study (eg. individually, part of small group, large cohort)? If this resource/product is part of a course, at what point in the course will the resource/product be used?

6.2 What is the anticipated shelf-life of the resource/ product? Will the content date rapidly (eg. due to changing legislation or technology obsolescence)? Is there a limited time for learning to be effective?

6.3 When will implementation start (eg. semester, school term, variable)?

6.4 What course requirements exist, such as mandatory practical workshops or access to subject-specific accessories (eg. cookery, electrical/electronic equipment, scientific apparatus)?

6.5 What access to computers will learners/users have, and what type/s of software will they be using?

6.6 What are the technical specifications which can be regarded as a minimum/optimum for a learner/user?
What characteristics are desirable in the interests of the resources/product being delivered on the Internet using a Web browser and for ease of use and accessibility to the maximum number of target users? Example:

• use of readily available non-proprietary development software that can easily be modified by teachers and RTOs
  
• a file and directory structure that facilitates the location of a particular learning segment, or the selection of a single unit (where applicable), as well as the use of the whole resource/product
  
• use of HTML code where customisation can be anticipated, with more sophisticated development software (eg. Flash) reserved for components that are unlikely to be changed
  
• navigation that is easy to strip (most LMS use their own navigation so making the navigation easy to remove reduces development time significantly)
  
• avoidance of rigid structuring devices which lock the learner into one pathway through the material (although a suggested learning sequence may be desirable)
  
• using learning segments which are created as discrete and self-contained (for easy omission or interchangeability with other segments).

6.7 What media players/viewers will learners/users be required to gain access to for delivery? How will learners/users obtain these?

6.8 Are there any development restrictions due to bandwidth or accessibility issues (eg. size of media elements, limitations on page weight, use of Flash, use of Java applets)?

6.9 What technology and hardware is required for development and testing (eg. dedicated servers for development and testing)?

6.10 What learning support will be provided (eg. technical and educational)?

6.11 What limitations exist with regard to teachers’ workloads (eg. use of one-to-one activities and communications)?

7. Deliverables

7.1 What content prescription (eg. training package, TAFE syllabi, Board of Studies curricula, industry research, all or any of the above) dictates the delivery of the resource/product? What are the indicative hours for face-to-face equivalent delivery?

7.2 What media elements (eg. video or audio clips, animations, text, graphics) will be appropriate to the content and learners/users? Are the media elements feasible to produce within the time constraints and allocated budget?

7.3 Is the resource/product to be cross-platform compatible (eg. Mac and PC)?

7.4 Is the resource/product to be cross-browser compatible (eg. Explorer, Netscape and Mozilla)?

7.5 Is the resource to be stand-alone from a learning management system (eg. Janison Toolbox, Blackboard, WebCT)? If a learning management system will be used what are the reasons for its choice (eg, licensing arrangements, teacher and/or development staff experience with, advantages over of other systems)?

7.6 Is there a common understanding amongst the stakeholders of the ‘look and feel’ of the deliverables (eg. project-based/problem-based learning, simulation/role play, computer mediated communication, learning community, learning management system components/structure)?

7.7 Will a teacher guide and learner guide be required?

8.  Educational, structural and interface design and assessment approach

8.1 What learning theories or principles will the design of the learning environment be based on (eg. constructivism, situated learning, problem-based learning)?

8.2 What type of learning is involved (eg. concept or facts; process or procedure, motor or psychomotor, and affective or cognitive domain)?

8.3 Is there a preferred learning model or instructional approach to be used? Is this model or approach appropriate for a range of learning styles?

8.4 How is the resource/product to be structured (information design)? Is a shareable learning architecture to be used? How will the content/information be chunked? Will the content/information be delivered via shareable learning object architecture (learning/ skill sets)?

8.5 What will interface design be like? What ‘metaphor’ will be used for the learning environment that is appropriate for the learners/users and resource/product (eg. campus, office/workplace, museum, conference etc.)?

8.6 How will learners/users be motivated, informed and guided?

8.7 How will learners/users be assessed? Will assessment requirements fit with educational, structural and interface design?

8.8 How will learners/users be supported (eg. teacher, peers, other)?

8.9 What will be the role of the online teacher(s)? How will this role fit within a TAFE/RTO teacher’s weekly timetable?

9.  Project management and iterative development

9.1 What project stages/phases will the project pass through? Will a particular project methodology be used (eg. IMPART Methodology or Rapid Instructional Design)?

9.2 What timeframe is expected for the delivery of the resource and is this realistic?

9.3 Is the contingency figure adequate to cover the project not being delivered within the time frame?

9.4 What sign-offs or milestones are built in to the schedule, and who approves (are these linked to invoicing)?

9.5 Who is responsible for monitoring budget and deadlines, and whom do they inform of difficulties?

9.6 What is the reporting requirement, who prepares these reports, and to whom are they forwarded?

9.7 How will changes throughout the life of the project be tracked and documented?

9.8 Is it necessary to develop a prototype or proof-of-concept by a particular date?

9.9 Will the assets also involve graphics, animations, audio, video creation? How much time will the creation of these assets require?

9.10 Is the subject matter expert/developer/writer to provide raw or formatted content, or do they work with instructional/information designer to create asset in an acceptable form (eg. html, sound file, video file)?

9.11 Will an instructional template be used? Can the writers/subject matter experts/asset creators work to an instructional template?

9.12 What file naming conventions will be used?

9.13 Will the resource/product be developed with a design template? Will cascading style sheets (CSS) be used?

9.14 To what level of accessibility will the resource/product be developed to (eg. W3C priority levels 1 to 10)?

9.15 Is the resource/product to be XML compliant? Will the assets be developed in XML compliant software (eg. MX Studio including DreamWeaver MX)?

9.16 What use should be made of AEShareNet?

9.17 What material will require third-party copyright clearance? What will be the cost for the use of such items? How much time is needed to seek clearance?

9.18 How will third-party material be referenced in the resource/product?

9.19 What materials will be linked to and therefore require letters to source acknowledging that sending learners to site/webmaster and need to be notified if updates occur or changes to URL take place?

9.20 Which metadata schema will be used for describing content? What are the metadata tagging requirements of the funding body (eg. ANTA Toolboxes require DC tags)? What are the metadata tagging requirements for the learning management system (eg. Janison Toolbox, Blackboard, WebCT)? At what level of specificity (granularity) will the metadata be provided? Will a thesaurus be used to describe content and, if so, which one? Will the metadata be embedded within the materials themselves or placed in an external file? Who (eg. content writers, librarians or web developers) will enter the metadata?

10.  Project team, responsibilities and professional development

10.1 What are the titles and contact details of team members, and where are these stored so the whole team can access at any point or if updates are required?

10.2 Who is responsible for briefing team members on their responsibilities, and at what point?

10.3 Where several roles are carried out by one individual (eg. instructional designer, editor, graphic artist), does this person have sufficient time to complete all of the tasks required in the available time?

10.4 What software specific training will be required for project team members?

11.  Quality assurance

11.1 What documented quality conformance processes and procedures will be in place to ensure that delivery of resource/product and other support services meets the standards required of the funding body?

11.2 What role do the various team members play in quality assurance and approval of resource/product?

11.3 At what stage will usability test/s be conducted?

12. Risk management

12.1 How will the project deal with the inevitable delays, budget overruns, staff illnesses/ holidays? What other potential risks threaten the success of the project? How has the project team planned for these? Who has approved these plans?

12.2 What management strategies can be put into place to avoid or minimise these risks? Does the risk management process include a checklist of risk indicators with well thought-out countering activities or good practice indicators?

13.  Review and evaluation

13.1 Is there a mandated evaluation process in the funding requirements? If so what are the requirements?

13.2 How will the content/learning objects be reviewed? What criteria will reviewers use to inform this process? This will entail feedback on:

• accuracy and completeness of the content
  
• motivational and instructional strategies used
  
• screen designs, general aesthetics and user-friendliness
  
• educational approach adopted
  
• general effectiveness of the approach.

13.3 At what point/s are authentic users involved in evaluation? When and how will testing with a target group be achieved?

13.4 How will the evaluation be built into the project? Key questions such as the following need to be asked:

• Does the resource/product achieve the educational objectives for which they were developed?
  
• Is the learner’s knowledge or skill enhanced?
  
• Has the learner’s attitude to the subject matter been influenced in some way?
  
• What long-term impact did using the resource/product have upon the learners?

13.5 How will version numbers of the resource/product be controlled?

13.6 What learner/user feedback for both course and module/units of competence level will be collected, by whom, for what purpose, and what happens to this information once it has been collected?

14.  Implementation, delivery and maintenance

14.1 How will the resource/product be implemented? Does the resource/product require installation on individual machines or a network?

14.2 How will the resource/product be delivered? What are the critical elements and contingencies for delivery (eg. distance, blended and face-to-face)?

14.3 How many mediums/formats for distribution are required?

14.4 Is specialist training required to accompany the implementation?

14.5 How will updates to the resource be managed?

14.6 What maintenance strategies must be developed in order to accommodate learner/user feedback?