All good plans have a solid beginning. Knowing all of your options before you dive headfirst into the water keeps you grounded and prepared. In the case of the ADDIE Process, that beginning is the Analysis phase.
According to G. Muruganantham in a published journal from the International Journal of Applied Research, "The Analyze phase is the foundation for all other phases of instructional design." The analysis phase will set the pace for the rest of the project. It this phase where the designer/project manager identifies any problems and, through research, begins to define the sources of conflict and to prepare methods for tackling the issue. During this phase, a designer might begin to collect data from their clients to inform their work. An instructional designer (ID) might implement assessments and task analysis to generate things like learner profiles and descriptions of the problems they are facing. It is also important to note that the outputs of this phase "will be the inputs for the Design phase" (Murugantham, G. 2015).
What is most interesting about the analysis phase is that even though it sets the groundwork for the rest of the project, it is often the most overlooked portion of the ADDIE model, "Like any significant project, excitement to get started often overtakes methodical planning, and the eagerness to see the finished results can put relevancy and quality at risk"(Shelton & Saltsman 2011). Essentially, professionals will get caught up in the excitement of the rest of the process and forget to identify issues and plan a method of attack. If the ADDIE model were used in a restaurant, skipping the analysis phase would be the equivalent of opening a restaurant and trying to prepare food without recipes or researching the establishment's locale in order to determine what products would sell.
When it comes to designing an efficient learning platform, the analysis phase is critical. Take the time to identify problems, research solutions, and formulate project goals. There is no amount of "over-preparing" when it comes to instructional design. Knowledge is power. The more knowledge, the more power.
Resources
Muruganantham, G. (2015). Developing of E-content package by using ADDIE model. International Journal of Applied Research, 1(3), 52-54.
Shelton, K., & Saltsman, G. (2011). Applying the ADDIE model to online instruction. In Instructional design: Concepts, methodologies, tools and applications (pp. 566-582). IGI Global.
Comments