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STAFFING REQUIREMENTS FOR SCORM COMPLIANT ONLINE TRAINING DEVELOPMENT

1.1. Introduction Designing and implementing a successful training program involves a variety of people coordinating their efforts to achieve the desired outcome: delivery of a cost-effective instructional program that adequately meets the established learning need and is provided to the right people at the right time. Good instructional design and good project management go hand in hand. This module addresses the staffing requirements for content development teams tasked with developing SCORM-conformant training and defines the general management and instructional considerations associated with the ADL acquisition process. 1.2. Project Management Team 1.2.1. Project Manager (PM) The primary focus of a Project Manager (PM) is to ensure the on-time and on-budget delivery of SCORM-conformant training. The PM should be aware of current and emerging DoD and Service concept statements affecting training, as well as the ADDIE process. The PM has a variety of issues to consider at the beginning of the ADDIE process in the Analysis phase: Content Development Team: Who will do it? Hosting Strategy: What system will run it? Repository Strategy: Where will it be stored? Content Testing Strategy: Will it conform to latest SCORM version? 1.2.2.Content Development Team A strong and well-balanced development team with clearly defined roles and expectations is crucial to the success of SCORM content development projects. The content development team, depending on project complexity, should include subject matter experts (SMEs), instructional designers, graphic artists/multimedia developers, programmers, systems support engineers, and quality assurance personnel. The team member titles used here are examples of common titles used on content development teams. Your team may have slightly different titles or overlapping roles, and in some cases, a few members of your team may perform all of these roles. The titles of each individual arent as important as ensuring that all of the content development tasks are accomplished. Remember, while quality assurance is listed here as a specific role, quality control and quality assurance are the responsibility of everyone on your team. Content development projects involving SCORM require detailed planning from the beginning, so instructional designers should not feel as if they need to understand all the nuances of SCORM, but they should understand SCORMs functionality. Their primary responsibility should remain developing effective instructional materials that work within the evolving technical standards. Programmers, working with systems engineers, should focus their efforts on the technical implementation of SCORM. They should advise the instructional designers on the technical constraints that govern how sharable content objects (SCOs) are created and sequenced so that the content functions optimally both technically and instructionally.

It is essential that the two groups work together from the initial planning stages of the project through project delivery. 1.2.3.Subject Matter Expert (SME) In general, the SME is responsible for providing the technical expertise and technical resources related to the content as well as information about the needs and task requirements of the target audience. The SME should understand the time commitment required by content development projects, as well as have some experience designing and developing learning materials. SME support is required throughout the project. The SME: Provides technical expertise and resources to instructional designers and others on the content development team. Ensures the technical accuracy of the instructional materials. Approves content at various stages in the process. 1.2.4.Instructional Designer The instructional designer is typically responsible for following the systematic approach to instructional design, especially in analyzing the performance needs of learners and working with SMEs to design a solution. The instructional designer: Conducts the Front End Analysis Writes the learning objectives. Determines the instructional strategy. Considers options for reusability. Designs the content structure diagram for sequencing. Defines specific sequencing behaviors. Designs and develops content (storyboards, etc.). Oversees content through its development cycle. Front-End Analysis (FEA) - A structured process used to examine (training) requirements and identify alternative approaches to training job tasks. The process identifies job tasks to be performed, analyzes the skills and knowledges needed to perform them, asses the technologies available for training the skills and knowledges, performs a media analysis to recommend the best mix of delivery media, and provides cost and lead-time comparisons for the feasible alternatives. 1.2.5.Graphic Artists / Multimedia Developers Graphic artists / multimedia developers are responsible for developing the training solution using various Web authoring and multimedia tools. These individuals collaborate with the instructional designer to ensure that the Web-based media fits the instructional designers vision for the content. They also ensure that the media is Sec-508 accessible and SCORM-conformant. Graphic artists / multimedia developers: Identify, locate, or generate assets (graphics, videos, animations, etc.) that can be reused Design and develop new Web-enabled assets and interfaces in accordance with requests from instructional designers. 1.2.6. Programmer The programmer coordinates all aspects of the implementation and testing of the content on the LMS prior to release. The programmer: Works closely with instructional designers to ensure content structure and sequencing behaviors meet SCORM requirements. Creates SCORM-conformant content packages. 2

Ensures content functions properly in the LMS before deploying it to learners.

1.2.6. Systems Support Engineer The systems support engineer is responsible for maintaining the LMS and customizing the LMS per design requirements. The systems support engineer: Loads content packages into the LMS. May control access and rights to the LMS. Troubleshoots LMS integration issues throughout the development process. Consults with the instructional designer, if needed, on issues with learner data tracking or reports generation. May oversee help desk and learner support functions. 1.2.7.Quality Assurance Quality assurance may be the responsibility of a separate group of people within the organization or may be a function the project team will perform on its own. Quality assurance can be conducted by any (or all) members of the content development team, and is a thread that weaves throughout the content development process. Quality assurance should: Validate content packages for SCORM-conformance. Ensure functionality of courses in the maintenance phase. Review, edit, test, and approve content prior to release. Perform functional and configuration audits of content prior to release.

2. PEOPLE & TASKS AS PER DIFFERENT PHASES OF TRAINING DEVELOPMENT 2.1. Development Team Analysis Phase Purpose: To gain an understanding of the performance needs of the learners. Primary people involved: Program / Project Manager Instructional Designer Subject Matter Expert Primary Tasks: Conduct front-end analysis Develop an instructional plan / course design guide Conduct media analysis Note: The people listed in each phase are the primary individuals involved. Other team members in lead roles and quality assurance are involved throughout the process as well. 2.2. Development Team Design Phase Purpose: To develop the instructional solution that meets the needs of the learner and eliminates the performance gap. Primary people involved: Instructional Designer Subject Matter Expert Programmer Quality Assurance Primary Tasks: Identify learning objectives Determine instructional strategies Design scripts and storyboards 2.3. Development Team Development Phase Purpose: To create the electronic content that fits the defined instructional solution; to bring the content to life. Primary people involved: Programmer Graphic Artist / Multimedia Developer Instructional Designer Subject Matter Expert Quality Assurance Primary Tasks: Review storyboards and scripts Create metadata Develop Web-based content and all media elements Package content Test the course (sequencing and navigation) 2.4. Development Team Implementation Phase Purpose: To prepare a course for release by installing and testing it on the server. Primary people involved: Programmer Quality Assurance 4

Primary Tasks: Run content package in ADL SCORM Test Suite Load content package into LMS Test content functionality Register content in ADL Registry 2.5. Development Team Evaluation Phase Purpose: Assess how well the course is meeting its intended objectives and the performance needs of the learners. Based on the assessment, develop recommendations for either future training or content maintenance. Primary people involved: Instructional Designer Subject Matter Expert Evaluator Primary Tasks: Review and analyze course evaluation and pre- and post-test data Develop recommendations

Appendices Learning Content Management System (LCMS) An environment where developers may create, store, reuse, manage, and deliver learning content from a central object repository. The LCMS systems have search capabilities, allowing developers to quickly find the text or media needed to build training content. The LCMS products that deliver learning content are a type of the Learning Management System and are subject to the same SCORM conformance requirements as the Learning Management System(s). Learning Management System (LMS) Software that automates learning event administration through a set of services that launches learning content, keeps track of learner progress, determines the order (sequence) that learning objects are to be delivered, and reports student progress through a learning experience. LCMS vs LMS The terms LMS and LCMS confuse many people due to some overlapping functionality between the two systems. An LCMS is a software package that includes the functions of a content repository and some features of an LMS. An LMS manages and delivers content to learners. Simply stated, a content developer uses an LCMS to create SCORM-conformant content packages that are loaded into an LMS for learners to access during training. In the most simple terms, content developers use an LCMS to create SCORM-conformant content packages that are loaded into a SCORM-conformant LMS for learners to access during training. Most LCMSs are not intended to deliver or launch content like an LMS. There is no SCORM-conformance test for LCMSs, but the content they produce should be tested for conformance. The focus of an LCMS is on learning content, whereas, the LMS focuses on learner management. The value of an LCMS lies in its ability to manage all types of content throughout the life cycle of the training. Some LCMSs provide advanced capabilities for searching for and reusing or repurposing existing content. These factors may contribute to cost reductions over the life cycle of the training. Various methods of delivering trainings All newly acquired or developed LMS must conform to the latest version of SCORM. In SCORM, the LMS serves as the hosting environment and delivers SCOs to learners. There are several general options for acquiring an LMS: Develop a custom system as part of the overall training solution. Purchase a commercial system on which the content will be managed and delivered Lease a system from an entity that offers hosting. Use an open-source system to deploy the content. Share a system with another agency or entity that will host your content. Reference: 1. PowerPoint Presentation Show titled Acquisition Considerations for ADL Systems and Content, Published by Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Initiative, Department of Defense, USA on January 2011; Accessed on 06-03-2013