Instructional design has changed dramatically since the fourth edition of this book was published in 2008. Those changes were just as dramatic as what happened between the first edition of this book in 1992, its second edition in 1998, and its third edition in 2004.

Managers are trying harder than ever to improve human performance. In some respects, this pursuit of productivity improvement remains the modern business world's equivalent of the medieval quest for the Holy Grail. There are good reasons for improving performance. The competitive environment has never been more fierce. The outsourcing of products and services—including instructional design work—is taken for granted in many settings. And there is increasing willingness to outsource or offshore services and manufacturing. Blended learning has grown popular, and it has led many instructional designers to feel like they need to relearn their profession from scratch. Then it, too, has undergone dramatic reformation, transformed into unique learning blends that include social media and m-(mobile-) learning. But one thing has not changed: the long-term success of organizations continues to hinge on improved human performance. That is important to remember even as new forms of technology are used, and experimented with, in design and delivery. Media use remains only the means to the end of improved performance, and instructional designers are still subject to the pointed complaint by managers that they are too obsessed with media and not interested enough in achieving learning results that align with achieving their business strategies.

For some, efforts to improve human performance have led to headlong plunges into flashy fads and quick fixes—modern-day snake-oil remedies. Others, however, are meeting the challenges they face by taking a more thoughtful approach: supporting and participating in the systematic analysis of human performance problems, identifying the root causes of those problems, finding and leveraging organizational and individual strengths, considering various improvement strategies, and carrying out the strategies in ways designed to reduce the unintended consequences of action. The desire is keen to accelerate this process through new models and approaches to instructional design, but many people have grown wiser (and more wary) about what it takes to make change happen, even as they have tried to do things faster.

Instructional designers are often the standard-bearers of these calculated efforts to improve human performance. They continue to work under the guise of many job titles. They are sometimes called talent developers, performance technologists, performance consultants, trainers, training and development specialists, workplace learning and performance professionals, learning and performance professionals, instructional developers, staff development specialists, performance consultants, or instructional designers. A 2015 study revealed that over 30 percent of respondents to a global survey felt that the job title “instructional design” did not adequately reflect what they do—and one respondent felt that a better title was “jack of all trades” (Rothwell, Zaballero, Asino, Briskin, Swaggerty, and Bienert 2015). Whatever their titles, instructional designers share a common goal of improving human performance. Perhaps training remains as the best-known performance improvement strategy, although many people are experimenting with approaches that integrate planned learning, unplanned on-the-job learning, and social learning. Management solutions that do not include training range from using job aids, redesigning organizational structures and reporting relationships, redesigning work and jobs, refocusing employee selection methods, re-engineering work-related feedback methods, and designing and implementing employee reward systems. Thousands of ways exist to improve human performance, and the sheer choice of strategies is as daunting as discovering root causes or building on strengths.

The examples and references incorporated in this book grow out of our own experiences in instructional design. Since our experiences have not been universal, we have attempted to focus on what we know. Our goal is to make this book a practical tool for instructional designers to develop their own skills and build their competencies in down-to-earth ways.

But one theme should be stressed from the outset: instructional systems design (ISD) is not about the mindless application of step-by-step schemes or new technology. Improving human performance is hard work. Both an art and a science, instructional design requires a blend of intuitive and analytical thinking. And it requires a willingness to meet needs to solve organizational problems, which (in turn) may demand that instructional designers skip steps in traditional instructional design models, multitask to do several steps at once, rearrange steps, add steps (such as translation), or even reinvent design models to meet the unique needs of unique clients in unique situations. The growing desire for accelerated approaches that align with the fast-paced demands of new technology has prompted new interest in diverse models to guide instructional design.

The Audience for the Book

This book is for instructional design professionals and professionals in the making, whatever their formal job titles. It is intended as a desk aid to help professionals carry out their work and as a text for students. A list of references appears at the end of the book. We suggest that readers use it to pursue subjects of interest to them.

Mastering the Instructional Design Process: A Systematic Approach, Fifth Edition, should also interest others, such as human resource professionals and operating managers, who have reason to analyze human performance problems systematically, pinpoint the root causes of those problems, identify strengths, consider various solutions to the problems or methods of building on strengths, and carry out the performance improvement efforts in ways designed to reduce the unintended side effects of action.

Overview of the Contents

This book is adapted from The Standards. The chapters do not exactly follow the sequence of competencies in The Standards. That is necessary because print media is linear. Some may want to follow a step-by-step approach. But others, more wisely, will know to adapt their project approach to meet client and learner demands and project constraints. See a graphic illustrating the book's organizational scheme in Exhibit P.1.

The book opens with an Advance Organizer. The advance organizer helps readers assess their own grasp of instructional systems design.

Part One comprises only one chapter. Chapter 1 provides a conceptual foundation for the book. Its focus is on summarizing the instructional design field. This chapter sets the stage for the remainder of the book by defining instructional design, describing instructional design as an emerging profession, and summarizing key issues affecting human performance in organizations. It also addresses several important critiques of traditional instructional design approaches.

Part Two is entitled “Planning and Analyzing for Instructional Design.” It comprises Chapters 2 through 6. Chapter 2 is about conducting a needs assessment, Chapter 3 is about collecting and analyzing data about instructional design projects, Chapter 4 is about identifying the target population and environmental characteristics for instruction, Chapter 5 is on using analytical techniques to determine instructional content, and Chapter 6 is entitled “Analyzing the Potential Use of Existing and Emerging Technologies.”

Part Three is called “Designing and Developing for Instructional Design.” Chapter 7 examines how to use an instructional design process appropriate for a project, Chapter 8 discusses ways to organize instructional programs and/or products, Chapter 9 reviews how to design instructional interventions, Chapter 10 reviews ways to plan noninstructional interventions, Chapter 11 advises on ways to select or modify existing instructional materials, Chapter 12 offers suggestions on developing instructional materials, and Chapter 13 focuses on how to design learning assessments.

Part Four is called “Evaluating and Implementing Instructional Design.” It includes Chapters 14 through 16. Chapter 14 suggests ways to evaluate instructional and noninstructional interventions, Chapter 15 examines ways to revise instructional and noninstructional solutions, and Chapter 16 gives advice on implementing instructional and noninstructional interventions.

Part Five is “Managing Instructional Design.” Chapter 17 explains how to apply business skills to managing the instructional design function, Chapter 18 offers tips on managing partnerships and collaborative relationships, and Chapter 19 suggests how to plan and manage instructional design projects.

Part Six is “Predicting the Future of Instructional Design.” It comprises Chapter 20, which concludes the book. It lists some trends that will shape the future of instructional design.