I developed this scenario-based learning experience to help people adapt to changes successfully.

• Audience: Department Leaders

• Responsibilities: Instructional Design, eLearning Development, Storyboarding, Visual Design

• Tools Used: Articulate Storyline, Adobe XD, Adobe Photoshop, Google Docs, Mindmeister

The client is a rapidly growing global marketing solutions company that serves many industries. The customer came to me with concerns for their high management staff. They witnessed their department heads struggling to acclimatize and adapt to the new changes as a result of their rapid business growth.

This is causing problems for their leaders, coworkers, and, consequently, the company’s sales. The client approached me to create an eLearning experience to assist them. After recognizing that employees were lacking adaptability, I recommended a scenario-based eLearning experience to thoroughly assist their leaders in adjusting to change effectively.

I was able to design and develop this interactive simulation from start to finish. I began with analyzing and creating an action map. Upon writing the storyboard and receiving valuable feedback, I was able to move forward with the visual mockups. After continuous iterations, I proceeded with the interactive prototype and continued to develop the final project.

I consulted with Subject Matter Experts (SME’s) in the area of Sales and Adaptability Skills. I needed to understand what the ultimate goal/objective was. In addition, I interviewed an expert that understood the core reasons why people struggle to adapt to change. With their direction, I was able to develop an action map using Mindmeister.

To initiate the development process, I wrote a text-based storyboard where I also added some notes and visuals for each section. The action map was my guide, keeping in mind the main objective which was to increase sales by 10% in one year. I carefully chose each action as a scenario-based question with the correct answer included.

In addition, I iterated to make the other choices as real as possible based on the common mistakes leaders were making in real life. This process was strategically written with the help of SME’s. One suggestion was to change sales to 20% which was applied to the final project. All questions, choices and consequences were approved to move on to the next step.

This process was my favorite part of all. Although it took countless iterations, I was able to visualize the story and envision the solution to this business problem. I created the visual mockups in Adobe XD while using Adobe Photoshop to get the precise visual. This process allowed me to refine and successfully transfer to Articulate Storyline.

Once I received approval to continue on, I was able to create the visual storyboard. In this step, I combined the text and visual design and included programming notes. This assisted the client in visualizing the eLearning's flow and comprehending how all of the components would interact on the screen.

The client approved the visual storyboard and that’s when I was able to develop the interactive prototype in Articulate Storyline 360. This prototype was designed to acquire a feel for the eLearning functionality that would be used throughout the project. I received feedback such as modifying button placement and the hover color contrast. I was able to make several iterations before moving on to the full development.

The full development of this project ran smoothly since the storyboard and prototype had been approved. I am especially proud of the different functionalities I was able to apply in Storyline such as layers and states. For example, I incorporated the transition sentence within the video.

By adding multiple mediums such as sound and video, it allowed me to create an engaging experience. Although there were some challenges throughout the whole process, I was able to overcome each one while learning in the process.

This scenario-based project was well received by the client and the instructional design community. The main feedback was that the project looked polished, engaging and included spot-on transitions. Most importantly, the users were able to share how they were willing to apply what they learned and shift their mindset.

This project provided me with a better understanding of the entire instructional design process. I learned to create a scenario-based learning experience that addressed real-world performance issues by designing, developing, and polishing it.

The main takeaway is how important iteration is in this whole process. I reinforced for myself the importance of having a clear objective and solid storyboard in order to produce a worthwhile interactive product.