Design Thinking and ADDIE
As instructional designers, we create learning products. This is an opportunity to think like a designer and weave elements of Design Thinking into our ADDIE processes. While these two models come from different disciplines, I’ve identified areas of overlap.
I’ve been using design thinking for 5 years now to develop curriculum and was fortunate enough to take a workshop with the Stanford d.school on how to implement Liberatory Design Thinking for more equitable product development at SXSWEDU. Here’s what that would look like!
Analysis - In Design Thinking terms, here we would be in the Empathize/Define stage. Empathizing with users should be a part of our analysis as instructional designers. We need to understand the context of our learners and meet them where they are; recognizing their background knowledge and life experiences. Defining the problem also fits in here, as we would be establishing what business problem needs to be solved and what skills learners need to successfully perform their job duties.
Design - This is both the Ideate and Prototype stages. Outlining our plans and beginning to map out ideas is the bridge to creating a draft. We write storyboards, start gathering visuals, and begin collecting preliminary feedback on our work from SMEs. During this stage, we are using the information we gathered from our analysis to inform our designs. They are fundamentally inclusive and accessible, and consider the learners’ experiences.
Development - Prototype and Test fall under the Development step in ADDIE. The reason I include testing here is that we should QA our own work, have other IDs test functionality, and request that SMEs review content. Prototypes come in waves of iterations as we are making discoveries.
Implementation - The Test phase is a huge opportunity to gather feedback. Your pilot group should be closely monitored. As you implement this new content, check that reporting is accurate in the LMS or other digital platform and that objectives are being met.
Evaluation - This is the stage where Design Thinking is under-developed, in my opinion. A formal process for evaluating program success is missing from the equation. Measurement is vital to concluding any instructional design project and is how we convince the business that our partnership is valuable.
There are other theories and models that I draw from throughout this process. For example, I find Action Mapping extremely helpful during the Analysis and Design phases of ADDIE. The Kirkpatrick Model can be informative during Evaluation as it provides many means of collecting and interpreting data. Learning theory is the reason why not just anyone can do our job; I will always make an effort to continue studying and growing to hone my craft.
