| |
| |
|
Web Design Information |
|
|
|
The Monster Garage of eLearning
Have you seen Jesse James on the Discovery Channel's Monster Garage? Big boys like big toys Did you see the episode when the: WOW they were great... and it got me thinking...Jesse's approach to monster car design is directly related to leading successful eLearning programs. Here's why... Each episode starts with a sketch of the "dream machine" and Jesse's verbal description of what he expects the machine to do. Just like Jesse's articulated vision, the training project leader has to be able to articulate the program vision and expectations to his boss and the team. If you can't describe the training purpose, it's time to re-think the project! The Monster Garage rules are simple: 1) When completed, the monster machine must appear to be stock. 2) The team can spend no more than $3,000 cash for parts. 3) Jesse and his crew have only seven days and nights to design, build and race the machine. So let's relate this to your training team... Have you taken time to create a simple set of rules for your team? Maybe you should take a lesson from the Monster Garage pit crew and make this a priority! For the record, Jesse doesn't take NO for an answer, and whining is NOT an option. Hmmm... yet another good project managment tip! Each Monster Garage project starts with a day of planning Even though the team is running on a very short time schedule, the first full day is set aside for PLANNING. Then the construction begins. How often have you been tasked with developing a huge training project and no one really bothered to schedule time to PLAN? Using the Monster Garage analogy, if you are planning a 5 week development process, a full week should be devoted to planning. This is a good rule of thumb with about 20% of the project time should be spent in planning. Why? Because you can clearly articulate expectations, conduct essential research, collect information from a variety of stakeholders and produce a solid strategy for achieving the stated objectives. Keep in mind if you fail to plan, you plan to fail... Just like the Monster Garage creations, online learning projects are big beasts and require a team effort. Jesse assembles his "dream team" based upon individual areas of expertise. He has welders, mechanics, fabricators and custom air-brush painters. His team must make the transformed vehicle not only look good, but "deliver on the promise" of functionality. Likewise, the training project manager sets the scope with clearly defined roles and responsiblities for each team member: Researchers determine existing content to leverage and competitive information as well. Instructional designers look for ways to create standardized templates that facilitate the learning process. They create the instruction sequence and determine the best way to create meaningful activities for accountable training. Programmers must produce solid error-free code. Developers take raw content and create lessons while the graphic artist adds visual elements with graphics, animations and color cues. The tighter you define roles and keep people on-track, the better. When it all comes together, a training project is truly a work of art. And finally....the moment of truth and accountability happens...will the monster creation work? Jesse always takes "the dream machine" out for that victory spin. Just like the monster's moment of truth, it is inspirational when the AHA moment (light bulb) happens for your students in your beta test. It is fun to see students demonstrate proficiences from the training you created. When your training team is successful and your training customer are happy, it's a win-win!! You accomplished what you set out to do. We thank Jesse James and the Monster Garage for his inspiration on project management! Karen Miller has over twenty years experience in applying instructional systems design principles to create blended training solutions. She consistently delivers web-based training products on-time, under budget while exceeding customer expectations. She is a national training award winner (ASTD'98, ISPI'02), published author, adjunct college professor and an ISPI-Certified Performance Technologist. Her company, Instructional Design Consortium provides instructional expertise and USA-based outsourcing services for the design, development and delivery of online training.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
How to Avoid the Biggest Mistakes Member Sites Make in Their Marketing Copy If you have a web site to which people pay a periodic member fee, it's likely that you belong to other member web sites and have done so for at least a year or two. Thus it's easy for you to overlook the fact that to the average person, member web sites are either a relatively new phenomenon or a completely new phenomenon. Images: How To Make Them To Load Fast On Your Web Pages? 1. Use . Quality Graphics for your Web Site For most people graphic design does not come easy. Unfortunately this is why there's an abundance of shall we say "struggling websites. Flash Design Adds Website Versatility You have probably viewed many Flash-based components while surfing the Internet. Most smooth animations on websites and in banner ads, short films, and presentations are built in Flash. 5 Powerful Ways To Get Zero Sales From Your Website I want you to imagine a lemon. In your mind's eye, see its yellow skin. Internet Tip of the Week: First Impressions First impressions are extremely important if you hope to do business on the Web. After you refine your ads, and if you make your pitch to a targeted group, you will start to get visitors to your web site. 6 Reasons Why Web Templates Are Todays Trend As the Internet blooms at an alarming rate, so as the number of websites out there. Appearance, layout, presentation and loading times are just a few of the main essential characteristics of a successful website. Should You Bother Learning HTML to Build Webpages? The most popular method to build webpages today is to use WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) software. Microsoft FrontPage and Macromedia Dreamweaver are prime examples of WYSIWYG software. 10 Reasons Why You Need A Multilingual Website The internet continues to grow and has become the default point of call for businesses and individuals searching for goods, services or information. For businesses wishing to get that competitive advantage, a multilingual website now presents one of the most high impact means of expanding a client base and securing greater sales volumes. 50 Surefire Web Design Tips Tips to brand your websiteInclude your logo in all pages. Position it at the top left or each page. Custom Icons For Your Specific Brand Developing a software application is not easy at all; apart from the effective creation of the application you'll have to think of other things as well, like: making the software easy to work with, giving it a unique and appealing look, making it better than other software, etc. Apart from the qualities of the application, these little things are the ones that promote your software application among the end users. Web Design Tips To Boost Your Sales The way you design your web site affects your visitors' online experience. As each visitor to your site is a potential customer, the easier they find your web site to use and the more they enjoy being on it, the higher the chance that they will make a purchase. How To Use Color Effectively When You Create A Web Site Colors are powerful, and create strong feelings. They can also make your web site look professional - or look like a circus. Introduction To CGI Scripts Using CGI scripts to add automation to your web site may seem a little daunting, but once you have incorporated a few into your web site, they become easier.The best way to start is to add a simpler script. How to Create an Enjoyable Web Page Design Novice and professional designers alike - you may probably be skilled enough of any one or all of the techniques in creating a Web page and designing them. However, not all designs, even those made by authorities in the field, prove to be enjoyable and entertaining enough for the users. Can Your Visitors Contact You From Your Website Argh, where's the contact button?! Believe it or not, some websites just DON'T WANT any visitors (even customers) to CONTACT them. There's no email address, no contact form, no NOTHING!What if a potential customer wants to BUY something from your website but have a few questions or doubts that he/she needs to ask you first? If you have a FAQ page, that's the first place he/she will definitely seek answers. 14 Ways to Add Content to Your Web Site - Part 1 When I surf the Net, I often see web sites filled with beautiful graphics that strive to capture my attention. Well, they do so for an instant, however I click away when I don't immediately find relevant content. HTML - A Website Language Explained - For Over 35s This is a very perfunctory look at the website code HTML, for those who never did any kind of Computer Studies at school and have never had the need or opportunity to look 'under the skirt' of your average website. There's nothing that an experienced webmaster will find here that's not very basic, but for those who have just begun to discover the 'website' and especially those venturing into. 6 Reasons Why A Website Is Crucial To Your Business Since I'm a web designer, I have a tendency to think everyone understands that having a website is important. Every once in a while, I have to remind myself that some people just haven't heard yet!Why is having a website such a big deal? Here are 6 reasons:A website increases your credibility. Tips On Effectively Organizing Your Navigation Not all links are created equal.While all of your links may be important, you must sort and prioritize to come up with an effective navigation scheme.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2007 |
