The implementation phase of the the Instructional Design process

The instructional design process is similar to the design process of a house. In the building process the engineer or builder does some undertakings concerning the plan of the ground on which the building will be erected and some analysis of the soil. He closes the lot and starts preparing the design of the house. Then he develops and implements the design. When he finishes building the house the owners are ready to move. The builder will be satisfied with his work when everything works properly in the house. Usually things don't work well and the owners have to call the builder in order to have other workers to fix whatever that doesn't work properly..

The same thing happens in the ADDIE process. After the development process things might not work the way they were designed. That's the reason why some experiments have to be done to make sure that things work the way they are supposed to. Learner problems and challenges may arise. Some bugs in the media may be found. In this case flexibility is recommended  because as mentioned before things might not work the way they were planned, This situation can cause to redesign and redevelop some elements.

The experimentation phase consists in asking a few students to use the project. You watch them to see if they can use the elements of the project. You ask them questions and write down their answers. You find out what they like about the learning experiences and what is confusing to them. You also ask them about what they like you to fix about the project.

During the implementation phase you will have to do the following steps after developing the project enough to try it out:

• Conduct an alpha test with a few people
• Make revisions of the course based on suggestions from the alpha test
• Conduct a beta test with 5 or people in your target audience

Some considerations to take into account during the implementation phase are listed below. They are what you would like to achieve with your project and the reason why you are doing this experiment or pilot test.

• All parts of the lesson are appropriate and useful
• The lesson or course flows in a satisfactory sequence
• All relevant topics are included
• Learners gain skills and knowledge
• Instructions and learning activities are appropriate, appealing, effective and efficient.

Step One: Conduct an Alpha Test. These instructions have to be followed:

• Find three or five people to try the project
• Give each of them a copy of this Evaluation form and have them return it to you
• Write a list of questions to ask them at the same time they are trying the project
• Write down the answers to these questions in order to make the revisions.

Observe the learners to find out :

• They move through the lessons and media materials
• What could be causing negative feelings or confusion
• What are the positive feelings and behavior about this project and the learning experience

Step Two: Make revisions

Use the notes from the previous step to plan changes about some specific areas of the project. Keep them for redoing later some parts of the project.

Use this worksheet  to make the revisions that will improve the project. The assignment consists in:

• Making lists of all the revisions to be made
• Do the improvements
• Try out the revised project before conducting the Beta test.

Step Three: Conduct the Beta Test

The beta test allows to make a few other changes that couldn't be done during the alpha test. Use this worksheet to list the changes necessary to make the project better. The assignment consists in doing the following checklist:

• Make the lists of changes base on feedback received.
• Do the improvements
• Write 3 things you learned from doing this project and describe them.