The thought of taking a leadership role might be overwhelming when you’re brand new in instructional design. Well, allow me to clarify that the instructional designer’s role as project manager isn’t as scary as you think!
Even the term Project Manager may make you shake your head at first. It’s that word, “manager”. If you’ve just landed your first instructional designer role, you probably don’t fancy yourself a manager. Or, maybe you’re searching for your first position and see project management listed as a required skill.
Don’t worry, in instructional design everyone can be a project manager!
The Instructional Designer as Project Manager
Do you keep track of work meetings and family appointments in a calendar? Do you break down your work into a series of smaller tasks that you must complete to meet a deadline? Ever planned a vacation? How about just prioritizing that to-do list?
If you said yes to any of these, you’ve already been managing projects.
The process of designing and developing a course is a much bigger project, of course. But, lucky for you, the project management skills are the same. Once you understand what project management is and why you should embrace the instructional designer’s role as project manager, you’ll see that it’s not that scary after all.
What is Project Management?
Project management happens when you use methodology plus your skills and experience to meet project goals on deadline. It sounds simple when I put it that way, doesn’t it?
You can indeed spend a lot of time and money on project management certifications. The PMP (Project Management Professional) is the most well-known. Unfortunately for beginning instructional designers, the requirements, exam cost, and maintenance of the certification might not be in the cards right now.
The good news is, you don’t need a fancy certification to develop and effectively use project management skills. You can step into the instructional designer’s role as project manager! Here are some essential tasks that project managers typically perform:
- Identifying why a project is needed
- Defining project objectives
- Estimating how long project tasks will take to be complete
- Identify outside resources that will be needed to meet the project goals
- Keeping a project delivery team on target to meet deadlines
- Communicating with project stakeholders
Did those tasks sound familiar to you? Try replacing the word “project” with the word “course”. These are all skills that a good instructional designer will bring to his or her course design process.
What the Instructional Designer’s Role as Project Manager Brings to the Table
Your instructional design work will almost always be project-based. A project can be something as simple as putting together a short presentation for your boss. Even the work you do to job search and put together your resume is a project.
On the other hand, you’ll also have bigger projects like courses or a course series. The bigger the project, the more important it is to bring in some project management skills.
Depending on your job, you may have a supervisor or a team member who officially acts as the project manager. If you’re freelancing or working for a company that hasn’t had an instructional designer before, you may be expected to project manage.
Regardless of your team, bringing your own project management skills to the table will benefit your project.
Here are some more specific benefits to working on your project management skills and embracing the instructional designer’s role as a project manager:
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Successfully contribute to and manage projects
Even if you’re not the lead on an instructional design project, you can still use knowledge of organizing and managing projects to contribute. The success of your project depends on good project management!
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Equip yourself with tools, strategies, and resources you might need in the future
Knowledge of project management methods is invaluable in instructional design. You never know when you’ll be expected to manage a project. Or, step into management when a project manager gets pulled into a different project.
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Take the lead on a new initiative
Instructional designers are on the front lines of innovative ideas and technology. So, even if you’re not a project manager, you’ll likely find yourself in a position where you have to step up. Maybe you see an opportunity to solve a problem in your company with training. Perhaps you just think of a better, more streamlined way for your team to work.
Either way, stepping into the instructional designer’s role as project manager can help you turn an idea into reality.
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Provide leadership in your role even when you’re not the lead
Being a good leader is important regardless of your title. If you work on a team (and in instructional design, you usually do) leadership skills help a project stay on track. You can better organize your tasks and support your team members with a little bit of project management. Two things that will contribute to a successful course!
Project Management Methodologies for All Instructional Designers
Now that you understand why project management skills are important for instructional designers, let’s review the two most common project management methodologies.
Your instructional design process happens within the project management method. Think of the project management method as the structure that supports your instructional design process and ensures you stay on deadline.
Waterfall
When you have a set deadline from your company or a client, the waterfall method is probably a good fit for this project. With waterfall, you have several distinct project phases that culminate with finishing the course on or ahead of the deadline.
Using this method requires that one phase be completely finished before you move on. These phases are:
- Define Requirements
- Design
- Development
- Testing
- Deployment
There’s not a ton of wiggle room for review, or you risk not meeting the deadline.
Agile
Using an Agile methodology is a bit more flexible. The major difference here is instead of being given a set deadline, you and your team produce the end product based on the length of time it takes to get the project done. So the work you do and how fast you do it drives the timeline.
In Agile we also work in sprints to finish a smaller part of the course before we move on to a new sprint. For example, we might have a two-week sprint devoted just to module 1 of the course.
You’ll still cycle through the same phases as Waterfall, but the products are those smaller tasks instead of the whole course.
Wagile
What’s this, a third methodology?! Kind of, Wagile is just a hybrid method that combines Waterfall and Agile. You might have a set due date for the project, but you still divide the work up into smaller sprints.
Many people prefer the flexibility of Agile, it gives your boss or client the opportunity to review and offer feedback before they see the whole course. If you’ve completed a thorough training analysis and presented the project scope accurately, there shouldn’t be any surprises either way. But it can be nice for your client to see the direction you’re heading.
Any changes they request in an early sprint can advise how you complete future sprints with less feedback necessary. If your boss asks for changes at the end of a Waterfall cycle and you haven’t left enough time for review at the end, you’re in danger of not hitting your deadline.
6 Tips to Improve the Instructional Designer’s role as Project Manager
You didn’t think I’d leave you without any amazing resources and tips to help your project succeed by using project management strategies? With each of these tips I’ve linked some helpful resources so you can improve your project management skills.
Who knows, maybe you’ll even take them to the next level and apply for that job that lists project management as a preferred skill or offer to take the lead on your company’s new training initiative!
1. Complete a thorough training analysis
Your training analysis can set your project up for success, or failure. It all depends on how careful and thorough you are. The trick is to invite the right people to the project conversation and ask the right questions.
This free instructional design toolkit has a template you can use during your scoping meeting that will guide your questions and help you pull out all the information you need. It also has an outline guide you can use to sketch out the project for your boss or client so you can make sure your analysis aligns with their vision. If it doesn’t, better to learn that right away so you can return to the analysis!
2. Watch out for scope creep
Understanding the scope goes hand-in-hand with a thorough training analysis. If you understand the training needs and spell out the scope as you understand it, you’re in a better position to manage scope creep.
Scope creep happens when you’re in the middle of design or development and the client or SME says, “This is great, but what if we add in a video simulation to this module?” Whatever the suggestion is, it may benefit the learner and add to the effectiveness of your course. But guess what? If it wasn’t in the original plan, it’s out of scope.
It’s up to you to refer to the initial project plan or statement of work and point out that this would be extra. Extra work can change the project price and push back the deadline.
You can enroll in the 12-week immersive Instructional Design & Tech Accelerator System and Certificate Program where we dive into the instructional design process and managing an instructional design project. Included is a template to make sure you accurately outline the scope so you don’t suffer from scope creep!
3. List every single thing that must be accomplished during a project
I use this strategy at the beginning of any new course project. You can hear me talk about this (and other helpful tips) in my project management Youtube video.
Get out a pen and paper, a stack of sticky notes, or open up your favorite online project management tool. Now, think of every granular task that must be completed to successfully finish this project. I mean it when I say no task is too small!
This exercise does two things. One, it gets you thinking. Especially if you’re new to instructional design, you might be thinking a bit too big at first. For example, “scripting” would be too big of a task for this exercise. Instead, you’d need to list, “Scripting for Module 1”.
You’ll really appreciate all that goes into course-building and project completion when you see all that has to go into it. This will also help you estimate how long a project will take to complete.
Second, it’s how you can organize your project into sprints if you’re working in an Agile environment. If you’re following a Waterfall methodology, each of those tiny tasks gets sorted into one of the phases.
4. Organize your projects in a transparent way
Organization is the key to success in so many different areas. It goes without saying that you must find an organization technique that works for you and your team if you want to churn out some quality courses on deadline.
I like to use a shared board like Trello with my team. This way, everyone can see what’s currently in progress, what’s finished and what’s still in the backlog. Transparency and communication are crucial in project management, and Trello helps me achieve both.
There are many different tools you can use that are similar. If you scroll down to the project management section of this article, you can read more about the different resources that are out there.
5. Prioritize your projects thoughtfully
Whether you’re working as a corporate instructional designer, for higher education, or freelance, it’s very possible you have multiple projects happening at the same time. When this happens, it’s important that you manage all the projects by planning and prioritizing.
First, plan! Stagger your projects so you don’t find yourself in crunch-time with multiple projects. Different project phases have different workloads. You can effectively complete multiple courses at the same time if you plan to be in a lighter phase of project 1 while project 2 is really heating up.
Second, prioritize. Which project must be complete first? Do you follow a “first in, first out” with your training requests? Or do you allow a new, but urgent, course to skip the line ahead of a request you’ve had in your inbox for awhile?
In corporate, the training projects that have the greatest impact on the business or organization should be prioritized first.
In my client work, I use first in/first out. Of course, I usually have a lot of projects at once but I prioritize subsequent projects based on what I am currently working on and what resources I have available.
You can find more strategies for managing project priority in this article.
6. Broaden your knowledge of project management
As I’m writing this I’m looking ahead to a new (and hopefully much improved) year. I like to challenge myself with new intentions with each new year. Learning new things is always on my list of ways to improve myself personally and professionally.
If you’re interested in learning more about project management, check out the course Everyone Is A Project Manager. You’ll get a much more detailed look at project management principles, processes, tools, and so much more!
What Are You Waiting For?
Whether you’re still in the process of finding your dream instructional design job or you have a course or two under your belt, upskill yourself with project management skills. Embrace your role of instructional designer as project manager in your current position by using the simple tips mentioned above.
Looking for more? Join my Facebook community, The Hangout, for live trainings, Q&A’s and tons of tips for career changers, new grads, and teachers who are transitioning to instructional design.
Ready to dive in and become a full-stack Instructional Designer, without getting another degree? Check out my 12-week immersive program: Instructional Design & Tech Accelerator System and Certificate Program.
The Testimonials are In:
Client
Shola Richards
Working with Shanwtay and Katie at the Instructional Design Company was a dream come true. Their creativity, expertise, and professionalism throughout the entire process was beyond top notch. I engaged them to help turn my first book into a training course, and I could not be happier with how the final product turned out. If you have an instructional design project and you’re considering which company to work with, you can stop your search and thank me later. They are truly the best in the business.
Shola Richards
Student
Graphic Designer
I joined the Instructional Design & Tech Accelerator Certificate Program because I struggled to find jobs in instructional design beyond the development phase. I’ve done a couple of training programs with lots of random projects, but I was overwhelmed, not connecting the dots, and not good at structuring my writing to hit learning objectives. I was looking for motivation and direction at beginning a better Instructional Designer.
After taking the Instructional Design & Tech Certificate program and joining my fantastic team for support, I found the structure and approach to be what I need to take my next steps, evening improving my skills in the development stage.
Gayle Bower
Student
Teacher, Future Instructional Designer
I love how this course let’s you work at your own pace. I got great tips and learned many things. The ongoing support for multiple people and groups is what I love the best. You are never alone in this process. I have been able to adjust my resume and began creating a portfolio of work I’ve completed to add when applying for jobs. I use many of the PowerPoint skills in my lessons and trainings. I would highly recommend this for anyone wanting to become an instructional designer.
Laurie Henderson
Student
Teacher, Future Instructional Designer
I have searched for the last few years to find some suitable career change where I wouldn’t have to earn another degree and where I could use the talents and skills I already have as a teacher. When I came across the Instructional Design Accelerator course, I loved the fact that Shawntay was a former teacher and could relate to a teacher’s need to transition from the classroom. This was what sold the course for me. Her experiences are invaluable especially when translating teacher duties to instructional designer duties. I would (and have) recommended this program to other teachers I know who are looking to transition out of the classroom. I do appreciate ALL of her feedback on my projects!
Wendy McMillian
Student
L&D Project Manager
The Instructional Design & Tech Accelerator certificate program is one of the most comprehensive ID programs out there for beginners. If you’re looking to grow your schools in ID and development then I highly recommend this program. Not only will this program give you an overview of theory, but you will receive a thorough walkthrough of how to apply what you have learned. Although I had already secured a position in Learning & Development when I bought this course, it helped me to move up into a new position as a Learning & Development Project Manager!
Gabby Grimaldo
Student
Future Instructional Designer
If you have any interest in ID, sign up for this program NOW! Shawntay and her team are top notch! The course content exceeded my expectations in a big way and the encouragement and support continues to be so valuable. You will not feel alone going through this course, you will learn so much, you’ll have many cheerleaders, and you will have fun!
Shanna Howe
Student
Future Instructional Designer
I am really enjoying this program! It’s prerfect for someone who is thinking about a career shift to Instructional Design and does not have a lot of experience. This is my first real introduction to Instructional Design and it’s been the perfect beginner course to help me get my feet wet. The modules are broken down well and it’s great to go at your own pace and at your own time. The modules themselves are very comprehensive and you learn a lot from all of them. I really like how each one build upon each other and you’re working towards the bigger project of designing your first training course from scratch. I’m learning so much from going through this course! I was provided great feedback from Katie and Shawntay through the process via Trello Boards, comments on the Google documents, and Facebook group. This course has been well worth the time and effort and I appreciate the fact that I will always have the resources available to me after I complete the training (just in case I’m not quite ready to transition yet).
Aviva Berkowitz
Student
Future Instructional Designer
I can’t say enough great things about the Instructional Design & Tech Accelerator Certificate Program! The length of the program is perfect; it doesn’t feel rushed and there’s just the right amount of structure to give you the accountability you need. There are so many opportunities to get live answers to any questions you have related to the course content or anything ID-related! This program gave me the support and structure I needed to both feel affirmed in the relevant skills I already had coming in and to fill in the gaps I had as a career-changer going into ID. Shawntay, Katie, and all the coaches are super helpful and supportive. I now feel confident that I have the tools and access to resources I need to apply for ID jobs without wondering if there’s something I’m “missing” in the preparation process. I’d highly recommend this program to anyone wanting to transition into ID or who just wants to brush up on their skills in the field.
Krista Johnson Awomoyi
Student
Freelance Instructional Designer
I’d highly recommend the Instructional Design & Tech Accelerator Certificate Program. I’m blown away by how much I learned in just 12 weeks. I had ID experience prior to taking this course and was just looking to get a better understanding of applying adult learning principles. This course well exceeded my expectations! Not only did I gain a clear understanding of adult learning principles, I was also able to apply those principles by creating assets for your portfolio using PowerPoint, Adobe Premiere Pro and Storyline. The hands on support that we received was top notch.
Darlene Dalgleish
Student
Instructional Designer
This program is one of the most robust yet fulfilling L&D programs I’ve seen. I learned so much about the industry and about the limitlessness of my own capabilities. I am so appreciative of Shawntay and all of the trainers who took part in the program. They went above and beyond with not only guiding, but communicating live and working one on one or in small groups. If you are on the fence, I say take the leap and you will not regret it! There’s so much to learn, not only from the trainers, but also the learners in your group. Everyone comes in with their own skills and can be additional support and guidance for you. Thank you for creating this program!
Shawnice Edge
Student
Instructional Designer Training Facilitator
Shawntay is an amazing individual. She is very knowledgeable in all aspects of ID and eLearning. She is also very compassionate and loves to help and see everyone around her grow and prosper. Shawntay has been a great mentor to me and she has helped me mature as an instructional designer and eLearning developer. She has provided me with opportunities when others have overlooked me. I am very grateful to have met and built a lifelong relationship with Shawntay.
I recently got hired into my first instructional design / training position and Shawntay was one of the first people to congratulate me!
Brian Hightower
Student
Freelance Instructional Designer
My teacher-to-instructional-designer journey began two years ago when I left my teaching comfort zone and started my first freelance ID job. Now, I’m stepping out of the classroom and taking my freelance work full-time, so I’m thrilled to be joining the Tech Accelerator program. Adding technologies like Articulate 360 and Adobe Premiere Pro to my qualifications will help me take my courses to the next level and attract more clients!
Sarah Smith
Student
Teacher Transitioning into Instructional Design
I am genuinely grateful for this course. I wanted a real-world perspective and feel like I got it. I’m teaching now, but nearing retirement age but can see myself working as an instructional designer well into my retirement years. My other goal is to take as many courses in statistics as possible in hopes of bringing some mathematical precision to the ROI question. Like you say, getting accurate metrics to measure ROI can be a challenge, but I intend to work on that part. That’s unimportant right now, what is important is the fact that I feel like this course was well worth every penny I spent and I would to it again in a heartbeat. I have too much going on right now, but as soon as I get some time freed up I intend to take your course in project management.
Lee R
Client
Turns Your Written Thoughts Into a Masterpiece!
Shawntay Skjoldager can turn your written thoughts into a masterpiece. She is great to work with and the most organized person I know!
Sheryl Rhoades
President and CEO, The Creative Entreprenuer
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Shawntay has been incredible!
Shawntay has been incredible and her team is responsive and effective in translating my training programs into professional presentations. Don’t hesitate to contact her for your project.
Beth B. De Lima, MBA, SPHR-CA, SHRM-SCP
President and Principal of HRM Consulting, Inc.
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IDC is My Secret Weapon to Soar Above My Competition!
The IDC team has been my secret and special weapon of success. They have delivered above and beyond with every single project out in front of them. They have met and beat timelines. They have been Uber responsive every step of the way. I keep them on speed dial and have and continue to recommend them to friends and clients. If you are in need of instructional design and plenty more, this is THE ALL-STAR team that will more than deliver and help make you and your project soar above the competition.
LT. COL. Jason O. Harris
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A Tremendous Asset to the Project Team!
Working with Shawntay and the Instructional Design Company has allowed our university to meet the growing demands of our programs. Shawntay’s expertise allowed for the course development to be completed on time and met all of the university requirements. Shawntay’s project management skills were phenomenal and allowed my team to work on other areas while she completed this project for us. Her work is of high quality and her professionalism and willingness to help made her a tremendous asset to the project team.
Amanda Buckley
Academic Quality Assurance Specialist, Abilene Christian University
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Creative & Highly Talented!
Shawntay is a creative and highly talented instructional designer. She brought a wealth of knowledge, expertise, and leadership that enabled her to own the design and creation of a full scale facilitator curriculum and train-the-trainer program. It was a pleasure to partner with Shawntay, her project management and communication skills ensured the project was on time and on budget.
Susan Gatti
President, IMMIXID
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Breaks Down Mammoth Projects
“Shawntay is quick study and carefully synthesizes information for presentations that are clear, concise and captivating. Her personality draws the audience in and her content mastery is excellent. A team player and organizer, Shawntay has the ability to break down mammoth projects, keep everybody on time and on task.”
Rick Miller
Author, Speaker, Strengths Coach
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eLearning Development
“I have had many opportunities to work with Shawntay—mainly in the support of implementing new eLearning initiatives. I have been very impressed by her ability to quickly learn how to use rapid eLearning development tools and effectively use them to create multiple courses within a short timeframe. Shawntay’s enthusiastic nature, attention to detail, and dedication to her work make her a pleasure to work with and a great asset to both Texas A&M University-Commerce and the broader training community within the Texas A&M University System.”
Ashley Christian
Director of Learning Strategy, Caveo Learning
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Top Notch Professional
Working with Shawntay has been an immense pleasure. She is atop notch professional who brings enthusiasm and extensiveexpertise to professional curriculum development and execution. Her knowledge of tried and true techniques to maximize the effectiveness of presentations is invaluable.
Nancy Drapeau, PRC
Vice President of Research, CEIR - Center for Exhibition Industry Research
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Fortunate to Find Shawntay!
“I was fortunate to find Shawntay when our organization was looking to expand and update our educational offerings. Shawntay proved herself to be an educational and personal development expert who immediately made an impact with our clients throughout Europe. Everyone who came into contact with Shawntay was immediately impressed by her level of expertise and willingness to share her knowledge with those around her. I would not hesitate to recommend Shawntay to anyone looking for an education subject matter expert.”
Jonathan Burt
Director of Qualifications and NSD Services, Mary Kay Inc.
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Dave Beeman, CPP
Vice President, Andy Frain Services
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Marketing Director, Academic Partnerships
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Transformational Leadership Coach
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Get yourself signed up for Shawntay Skjoldager’s Instructional Design & Tech Accelerator Certificate Program today and be on your way to success! Within the first week of taking her course, you will experience growth! Be sure to plug into her Facebook Q&A sessions for personalized help, too. This is THE course to take if you are new to instructional design or have landed on the training team and need help getting started.
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Shawntay has exceptional knowledge and experience with all aspects of creating and implementing effective, performance based training for adults. She is exceptional at needs analysis – identifying target audiences and collaborating with business owners to keep training focused on business needs. And she is great to work with – always providing great support to get projects done on-time and on-target. She is always on the look-out for new and more effective ways to engage learners. Her enthusiasm for adult learning is contagious!
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I have known and worked with Shawntay as a education program director and use the expertise of ShawntayMichelle for the development of my presentations. The service has always been “spot on” with professionalism, care and attention. Shawntay’s recommendations to my ideas make me look good to my clients.
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I am new to the training design and development world and I was SO excited to get in there, but I really lacked the real-world knowledge that would set me apart from my peers. And, then Shawntay Skjoldager walked into my life with an outstretched hand and a seemingly endless list of ways to knock every training out of the park. From the Training Analysis Form to the Tay Tay tips, this course made my life so much easier and even ironed out the review process that I had been struggling with for months.
Take time to invest in your own learning and make sure to put Shawntay Michelle at the top of your personal development list!
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Training Specialist, LegalShield
