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I get asked this question often and there is no easy answer. How I answer depends on the consumer’s needs however, there is some logic behind how I work through obtaining the answer.

LET’S START WITH TRAINING FIRST

There are tried and true methods for developing training content as evidenced by the various methodologies developed over several decades. For the purposes of this blog post, I’ll focus on ADDIE as its systematic approach can be applied to many project types even outside of Learning and Development.

I like to use the first phase of ADDIE, analyze, as a time to pause and consider all factors that can be used to determine the time to completion and may impact the desired output. During analysis, I want to understand available resources such as existing documentation. What I have found is that if no documentation exists that can be used as a source to feed training development then it’s common for the documentation to be created as a part of the training process.

During analysis, I spend time  researching and shadowing subject matter experts to learn the ins and outs of the topics at hand. While conducting this research I like to document what I’m learning and this can often include task analysis-related documentation. The training development timeline is expanded when there is no existing documentation and when confronted with this situation I utilize my technical writing  skills and simply create my own both for record-keeping during analysis and have found that what I document comes in handy during design and development as job aids or other related documentation.

IF DOCUMENTATION ALREADY EXISTS

When documentation already exists then the gap between project start and completion is often sped up  a bit. In this instance I am able to shift my focus from creating what I need to build a successful program  reviewing existing documentation to learn processes while determining if pieces of the content are viable source files for future job aids and references in the training content. Edits to the existing materials may be made along the way but having a good, viable set of documents to start with can be a time saver. Of course, the content of the existing documents is a huge factor as well. For example, if there are documents available but they have not been properly updated and maintained then there is also the possibility that existing materials can become a hindrance so there is also a balancing act to consider.