Approach to E-Learning Need Analysis

E-Learning Needs Analysis
This process can be broken down into the following steps:

• Determine the objectives of the training program
• Conduct an audience analysis and analyse the data gathered
• Develop a high-level course outline
• Develop a recommendations document
• Present the needs analysis findings and recommendations to management
  

Determine Objectives of Training Program

• Determine key internal players on the project,
• Create an initial contact log capturing the necessary e-mail, phone, and other information you will need to arrange meetings with other players identified,
• Set and agree on program objectives, and
• Talk openly with your sponsor about what their vision is for the curriculum

Create an action plan that contains items like:

• Names of vendors or consulting firms to follow up with,
• Ideal start and end dates for the project,
• A range of budgets, to work within, or
• Ideas of what the sponsor would like to see and would like NOT to see happen on the project.
  
  Return on Investment: You need to make sure the objectives you agree on with the sponsor are measurable items that can be used to indicate the success or failure of the curriculum.
  It is very important for the executive team to understand the difference between direct ROI measurements and indirect ROI measurements. Direct ROI can be correlated back to the e-learning curriculum itself. Another way to directly examine the impact or effectiveness of e-learning is by examining statistics related to user participation or completion of training. There are several ways to measure this, including:
• Number of people registered to take the training
• Number of people who completed the curriculum
• Number of people who were able to pass assessment tests and receive certificates as a result of the training
  Items such as increased revenue that are based on "bottom line" factors are indirect measurements of ROI.

Audience analysis
The process of gathering information, creating profiles, and analyzing data specific to the needs of your learners is referred to as an audience analysis. The audience analysis is the most critical phase of any needs analysis. The data you gather during this phase is used to create the foundation upon which your recommendations for the curriculum will be built. To ensure your audience analysis is successful, you are going to need to know:
What to ask: This information can be grouped into several categories including:
· Background information,
· Technology,
· Existing training delivery, and
· Current knowledge of content.

Whom to ask: You will need to gather information from a well-rounded blend of individuals with different perspectives and needs related to your e-learning curriculum. These individuals should include:
· Managers,
· Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), and
· Learners.

How to ask it: Your surveys can be distributed using a variety of formats, including:
· Word document via e-mail,
· HTML-based Web surveys accessed via a URL, and
· Web-based survey-assessment software.

For an e-learning needs analysis, you should focus on the information you need to determine:

• If an e-learning curriculum is appropriate for your audience,
• How you should deploy it,
• What content you should develop your curriculum around,
• How the content should be designed, and
• What the profile is of the average learner within your audience.
  

Develop High Level Course Outline
Based on the information gathered from SMEs and learners during the audience analysis, you should be able to develop a basic outline that contains:

• A list of Modules for the curriculum
• A list of lessons for each module
• A list of Learning Objectives(Los) for each lesson
• Ideas related to instructional activities for each module
• An assessment approach for each Module
• Ideas related to interactivity and activities within each Module
• An estimate of how many screens each Module will contain
  

This outline is also critical from a scoping and planning perspective. As you create the project plan and budget for the development phase of your project, you will need to identify the total number of hours that will be necessary for development.

Develop a recommendation document
The recommendations document is the primary deliverable you should present to the managers and corporate sponsors of your program. It should contain easy-to-read, high-level information about your findings during the needs analysis, and should include your recommendations, and strategy for moving forward.
The recommendations document contains the following sections:

• Executive Summary
• Background
• Audience Analysis
• Recommendation Overview
• Instructional Strategy
• Design Strategy
• Assessment Strategy
• Delivery Strategy
• Communication Strategy
• Maintenance Strategy
• Project Plan
• Budget