A Standardized Method to Document Project Information

Generally, it’s the instructional designer’s responsibility to accurately document and track project information: basically, the project Who, What, When, Where, How, and Why. From a front-end analysis perspective, using those terms may not sound as technical as one would expect. However, I do find it this terminology effective when working with teams who are not familiar with instructional design process.

Queue the Project Initiation Worksheet (PIW). This is a form I’ve continually perfected over the years to help brainstorm (directly with the requesting team) and document the project’s specifics required throughout the instructional development model.

As you can see below, it’s the standard fair: project scope, audience, dates, roles, etc. But wait…take a second to read the Skill/Knowledge Gap Assessment section on page one. I pay special attention to this section when brainstorming with the project sponsor and subject matter experts. I’ve learned that focusing on the skills and knowledge gaps uncovers the true business need behind why the project is being requested in the first place.

I’ve had clients come to me with stacks of PowerPoints, whitepapers, even existing training documents. These are great to have, and I’m happy to review. However, tell me what your folks are NOT doing now, that they need to be doing in order to be successful in their job. Once this is nailed down, there’s a much better chance we’ll enjoy some ROI success after the solution is rolled out.

And then, here’s the tough part—proving ROI (See the Client must prove ROI section on page 1). I strive to glean from the client what they feel would be a measurable unit of success. Starting the ROI client discussion up front enables the team to better understand and agree on what success looks like at the end.

This document is imperative to driving the conversation, and more importantly it provides a great historical reference when you must update the delivered solution in 5 years (or more).