Yes but coding is still concerned for that’s the end of a process – not the only process. As we agreed, there are a lot of factors to be considered when estimating development times, and yes, pedagogy and well-design of learning modules are just two of them.

Catchya later

“Oh, see, it’s easy to create a multiple-choice question.” “I can use this for a drag-and-drop.”

I remember a very serious debate at a client site between two “learning specialists.” The heart of the matter: what was the correct ratio of “lecture screens” to “testing screens?” In other words, they seemed to feel there was a golden heuristic — ten to one, eight to to — that was part of a recipe for learning.

They seemed surprised when I asked what the topic was.

And thanks for replying to my comment. I agree with you that there are a lot of factors to be considered when estimating development times. But isn’t that always the case where coding is concerned? There’s the specifications, the planning and the coding to put a too simple summary for it. Development of elearning really is no different from much of that.

I have a lot of questions, and I don’t expect you to answer them. But, for instance, how does a software developer estimate the time taken to develop what they do? Obviously this has been done in the past, and Project Management will have a few pointers to offer us with this I’m sure.

For me, the most interesting factor is one you mentioned. “How well?” How that is quantified or estimated is in itself problematic. There are many parameters to decide the ‘wellness’ of any learning that is developed. My short answer to that, of course, is, “Does it teach effectively?” It’s amazing how effective simplicity can be when it comes to teaching and learning. It’s amazing how convoluted and intricate an elearning development plan can be when the developer wants to earn more cash.

Nuff said?

Catchya later

I worked in corporate training / learning for decades, and I agree with you on several fronts.

One (maybe not obvious from the post) is that it can be very good to “get some real numbers.” It’s hard in the middle of a project to think about what you’re doing, how long it’s taking, and whether you’re getting the results. It’s valuable after the fact if you can analyze that data and use it to improve results.

Second, you’re talking about your own organization and its own work, not a theoretical average from all over the map.

As for stakeholders–yes, I do think some stakeholders are at high strength for turning an estimate or a rule of thumb into a law of nature. One way I can think of to deflect that is to look at the stakeholder’s area of expertise and try to find analogies–situations in which a simplistic average is, well, simplistic.

If I knew how to do that consistently, I’d probably have a book on that topic.