Rapid Instructional Design is a book by George M. Piskurich that takes a wide-scoped look at how to make the learning and creation of instructional design more efficient. Piskurich asserts that the biggest disadvantage of instructional design is how long it takes to create. He spends the rest of the book walking the reader through how to conquer this disadvantage
Chapter 1, or What Is This Instructional Design Stuff Anyway?, identifies why instructional design is essential, provides an overview of the process, and lists some of the most common advantages and disadvantages of instructional design. The opening sentence of the chapter illuminates what the author sees as a critical aspect of instructional design: “There is an old saying that if you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” The objective, or ultimate goal of learning, is vital to instructional design.
The first significant insight that I had while reading chapter 1 was that when training fails, it is usually attributed to poor instructional design. While failed training is a minor inconvenience for employees, it can mean wasted money and resources for companies. According to a 2013 industry report, over 1.5 billion dollars was invested in training. Piskurich explains that if 5% of that spending went towards bad training (which he identifies as a smaller percentage than what likely occurs in reality) over 75 million dollars is wasted each year on failed training.
Another portion of chapter 1 that interested me was the table of possible instructional systems design activities and outputs. This table provided a clear scope of the responsibilities of an instructional design professional in a way I had not seen before. I especially appreciated the inclusion of “key performance indicators,” or KPIs, a frequently used term in the instructional design community. The table explains how KPIs are measured in the planning phase of instructional systems design and returned to in the final stage, evaluation. Key performance indicators can evolve, and instructional designers should intentionally track those changes and apply them as necessary.
In chapter 2, Before You Do Anything: Pre-Instructional Design Activities, Piskurich contrasts the types of assessments used to plan instructional design, how to conduct needs assessments, defines performance assessment and human performance technology, explains how to build a needs analysis report, and how to do a cost/benefit analysis. The author explains early that while the planning phase may not be the most exciting, it is crucial to the process.
At first, it surprised me to read that one benefit of identifying an organization’s needs to plan instructional design is that you may determine that costly training is not necessary after all. Often, flaws in a system or organization can be attributed to a lack of resources, negative feelings among employees, or out-of-date technology. By conducting a needs assessment before developing training, it could be resolved that no training is necessary after all. Because one of the advantages of instructional design is cost savings, this step can ensure that training dollars are spent wisely.
This chapter was packed with tips that will come in handy during my instructional systems design career. This chapter is all about planning before doing, and the first step is asking questions that answer why or if training is necessary. Piskurich shares with us that when asking these questions, you should try to get to the highest level of the organization possible. If two high-level figures agree on issues that require training, that’s a good indicator that their assessment is correct. He goes on to explain that these questions should focus on the organization’s needs and should be specific enough that issues can be pinpointed.
Based on the description of analyses in Chapter 3, there are several technologies that would support data collection. One that works well for me and could be used for this purpose is Google Suite. One of the programs in the Google Suite is Google Forms which can be used as a questionnaire. The information can be imported into Google Sheets, which is very similar to Microsoft Excel, making it easy for the data to be analyzed.
Another technology to support analysis would be cameras and videos. Videos can be taken of employees on the job, performing tasks to be trained over. If these videos are done well, they could serve the purpose of job/task analysis and be used to support training people for that position in the future.
Overall, chapter 1 provides a helpful introduction to the importance and advantages of instructional design while empowering future instructional designers to combat disadvantages. Chapter 2 gives the reader the feeling of holding a job in needs analysis. This crash course on the types of assessments used by instructional designers to determine the needs and effectiveness of training was invaluable for my future career.
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