Start learning design with a question about the work

When someone asks for training, I want to understand what people are trying to do and where they need support. That gives the team a way to decide what learning could help and what else needs attention.

Why bring research into learning and development?

A performance problem comes with questions we still need to answer. People may need knowledge or practice. They may also be working with a difficult tool, unclear expectations, or limited authority to complete a task.

I want us to investigate those possibilities so we can choose a response that fits. Learning design becomes more useful when the team understands what people need to do and the conditions around that work.

Start with the work

Get clear about what people need to do and what would help them do it.

How do you turn a request into a useful question?

I ask what someone is doing now and what they need to do differently. Then I ask how the team would recognize that change.

For example, a request for manager training needs more detail. A working hypothesis might be that new managers delay feedback because they are unclear about when to coach and when to use a formal performance process. We would need to check that explanation with evidence before deciding what to build.

I would also ask which decision the team is trying to make. Updated guidance, practice with feedback, and a clearer escalation path could address different parts of that problem.

What would you look at before designing?

I watch the task where possible and talk with the people doing it. I want to understand what they know already, how they use their tools, and where they have to work around a problem.

I would look for:

• the cues people use to decide what to do
• the judgment the task requires
• the feedback people receive
• what happens when someone makes an error
• conditions the learning team would need another team to address

Strong performers can help us understand the task. We still need to examine how they make their decisions and which parts other people would need to practice.

How would you try an approach on a small scale?

I choose something specific enough to try and observe. That might be a worked example, a decision aid, or guided practice with feedback. The choice depends on the task and what we learn about the problem.

Before the trial, I’d document what happens now and how we would judge a change. We should also consider what might happen without the intervention. A pilot can give us encouraging feedback while leaving the effect on the work unclear. That comparison helps us explain how far the result supports our recommendation.

What would you measure after learning?

I would start with what we expect people to apply. Work samples or observation may help us see the behavior. Follow-up questions can help explain what makes it easier or harder to use.

Completion and satisfaction still have a purpose. They tell us whether people reached the material and how they experienced it. For a claim about performance improvement, we need evidence of what changed in the work and an appropriate way to interpret that change.

The evaluation should fit the decision and the consequences involved. Agreeing on an intended outcome early gives the team something concrete to plan around.

How would you help a team work this way consistently?

I would build a short problem-framing step into the way requests are reviewed. Make room to observe the task, agree on the starting point, and review findings with the operational owner.

Keep a record of the decisions and what the team learned. When a similar request returns, we can check what has changed and use that earlier work to ask better follow-up questions.