eLearning Design Process

My Mosaic Learning Design Process is in Beta!

I am intrigued about the methods behind creative and effective eLearning. It seems as though everyone I admire and respect uses some sort of iterative process. Allen Interactions uses SAVVY, Cathy Moore suggests Action Mapping and many others are beginning to use Agile Design. This got me thinking about how important it is to develop learning through a technique that incorporates tweaking and testing along the way. For all of you (current and former) classroom teachers out there, have you ever designed a lesson and had it work perfectly the first time you taught it? I never did. Good instructional designers might argue that my lesson probably had some holes in it. I have to agree--it did, and testing it in front of a group of students was the fastest way to figure out the holes. When designing great eLearning (or any learning, in fact), if testing and iterations can be worked into the process, the client will have a much better idea of what the product will look like in the end. 
I've been playing around with an approach that I like to call Mosaic Learning Design. It came about when I realized that when I design a learning event or product, my process isn't always linear. In the background, I am moving toward completion, but all around that progression, there are spatters of thoughts, activities, and re-imaginings that amp up the end product. I didn't mean to call it a Mosaic process--when I began to put my ideas down on paper, it originally resembled a flow chart. As I began to brainstorm in different colors, however, it turned into a mosaic. Some of this has been tested, but I won't deny that it's in Beta right now! I also won't disagree that many of these ideas sound familiar because all of the leaders in this industry have proven that this is a good way to go. Mosaic Learning Design owes them a great debt.

AGILE ADDIE with Rapid Prototyping

What was my favorite quote of ASTD ICE 2012?
ADDIE is what we do, and AGILE is how we do it*
My head has been spinning in the last few weeks as I try to superimpose new learning models on top of what I have experienced while working in other environments. What I am finding is that a waterfall implementation of ADDIE feels structured and safe, but sometimes can be limiting. Creating good learning can be more of an art than a science. So for me thinking of developing learning in an assembly line method seems a bit awkward. 
I'm trying to figure out why the concept of Agile speaks to me, and I think it's because designing and implementing training (especially elearning) takes a more creative and "organic" approach. I have always worked on a team, and because of this, our solution has continued to evolve as we tweaked our ideas together. Agile promotes early and continuous communication with the client, as well as multiple iterations of the product. 
This is not unlike an artist commissioned to design a piece of public art (I thank Ethan Edwards for this example). She might start out with a text-based description of the project but without at least a rough sketch or a model, the end result could look very different than the agreed upon idea. This is when rapid prototyping comes in--especially in elearning design. Nowadays, with the visual nature of learning, signing off on a text-based document is like agreeing to marry your spouse after reading his Match.com profile--he sounds great, but does he really know how to disco?
*Quote from Leveraging Agile Methodologies in the Learning and Development Function, presented by Diane Tiger and Karen Hart from Vanguard. Thank you for an inspiring introduction to Agile 
*Also thanking Amy Groves and Connie Cassarino from IBM for their great workshop, Leverage Points for Targeting the Desired Results: Are you ready for Agile Learning Design? This highlighted rapid prototyping in Agile