If you are working as part of an instructional design/e-learning production team there will probably be some kind of structure. If there isn’t you need to get one. Marking your own work is not a good recipe for success. At some stage you will need a fresh pair of eyes.
I always fall back on my “Five D’s” when producing elearning and this is easily communicated to clients. 5 D’s are; define, design, develop, deliver and deploy. However, if you are to establish any kind of quality control within this process there needs to be sub-division of the DEVELOP stage. Try this method:
1. Produce a Proof of Concept. If you are using a tool like Articulate™ you can produce a section of the learning design to exemplify the look and feel of the course, colour schemes, navigation and menus. Get agreement for this from your client before you press on to producing the next version. The mantra I always chant during the development and testing phase is NO SURPRISES. Slaving for weeks on a highly polished prototype that gets the thumbs down can be soul destroying.
2. The Prototype. Go for something that is as POLISHED as you can in terms of quality. Never rush the prototype. If the customer perceives any quality issues at this stage you may be putting your contract at risk.
3. Prototype testing. You must do this yourself by setting up a rigorous testing programme for things like navigation, audio, video, proof reading etc. This is hard and painful but you have to do it. Screen by screen, button by button. But you cannot rely on this method of self testing as your one and only quality assurance check. You must get a fresh pair of eyes to check it. At any testing stage try and use an external QA structure. This is notoriously difficult. You have some options:
a. Option 1 – Pay someone. Someone you can trust, who has a critical eye for detail.
b. Option 2 – Build QA into your contract with your customer so your customer’s team can be involved. This works well because they have a vested interest in the quality of what is being produced.
c. Option 3 – I like this one. Make this a payment, or “sign off” stage. No more work until they sign it off. That tends to focus your customer’s attention. They cannot come back to you with issues when you have agreed that a version meets their satisfaction.
d. Option 4 – Buddy up. If you have a fellow freelance, come to an agreement with them over testing each other’s work. Don’t get too cosy, however, as you need that “critical eye”.
e. Option 5 – Get your mum, wife, girlfriend, partner, lover, dog to check it. Don’t trust a teenager, however.
Make sure you have a reliable method of capturing the QA feedback. At least some kind of structured spreadsheet. I favour an online tool for this – Elementool.
4. The Alpha version. Make the changes. If you have a clear record of what was needed this will be much easier.
5. Repeat….. (beta, gold..whatever names you want to call each stage) until you reach an agreed final version. Make these milestones pay days!!!
