Saturday, December 5, 2009

ADDIE should have been DADDIE all along

By Jay Lambert

Being in the realm of performance improvement, we are always searching for ways to improve our own processes. So it was an “aha” moment when I read Gerry Wasiluk’s post about the DADDIE model on the Articulate Forum. Basically, his former group borrowed from Six Sigma and added the ‘Define’ step to the beginning of the learning industry-standard ADDIE model. (As a reminder, ADDIE stands for Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate.)

What constitutes Define? Things we are all already doing anyway really. Tasks such as creating a team charter, gaining a high-level understanding of the issue being addressed, creating a project plan, kicking off the project, etc. Define encompasses the logical first steps of a project.

Yet, I truly like the D being called out because these first steps are so critical to later success. I can think of times where we moved too quickly into a fast-paced project only to hit major bumps. The root cause? We had skipped over a key Define task and all of our ducks, so to speak, were not in a row.

By switching to the DADDIE model, the risk of this becomes much less likely. Charter documents and such are no longer an item to complete before starting a project, they are a called out and integral part of the project. Adjusting the model emphasizes their importance.

Give me a D all the way. Truly, ADDIE should have been DADDIE all along.

2 comments:

  1. Yep, adding Define is a great insight that makes the whole process more sound. I've often thought that the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) Six Sigma model is perfectly useful as a training design model with the one concern over the Control step. Training needs to grow and evolve and Control tries so hard to button things down that it can slow innovation.

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  2. Hi All,

    Can anyone help me in implemeting six sigma project on E-learning. Maybe the DMAIC methology to ensure quality

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