Because they’re about people DOING something … Not just an information dump where learners magically “ABSORB” the content (picture me doing air quotes).
I started building scenarios almost 20 years ago and I can tell you this … It’s really easy to make mistakes when you’re building scenarios.
So, you know scenarios are important…but how do you actually create good ones?
Rather than waste 20 years learning, I’m going to save you some time …
I asked the world’s most respected scenario authors, professors, bloggers, and speakers a single question:
What’s your #1 tip for creating effective eLearning scenarios?
Guess what? 60 of them agreed that these are the 13 most important elements:
- Keep it real
- Make it relevant
- Follow a structured approach
- Plan and analyze before you build
- Keep the learning objectives and outcomes in mind
- Tell a story
- Provide accurate context
- Find nuance in the scenario
- Consider scenario choices carefully
- Collaborate with your subject matter experts
- Collaborate with your actual learners
- Challenge your learners
- Let learners experience consequences
I highly recommend you check out all of the amazing quotes below. But if you only have 4 minutes, I’ve packed the highlights of all the tips into this single video:
Read on, and start building better scenarios! 🙂
Make it real … write those stories down and transform them into a digital experience
Make it real. And by that, I mean something that would really happen in the real world. Ask your subject matter experts, stakeholders, and end users to tell you stories about real people doing the tasks or encountering the situations you’re covering in your learning program. Write those stories down and transform them into a digital experience. You can change the names to protect the innocent, of course! This level of authenticity will ensure your scenarios help people connect back to their own tasks and context, adding relevance and contextual fidelity.
Make scenarios real-life. Use stories to draw in the learners.
Make scenarios real-life. Use stories to draw in the learners. Present an incident and ask learners what they would do. If the correct answer is, “Recognize Susan’s feelings,” show an event after the decision that shows that, with Susan saying, “Wow, I truly appreciate your feedback.” This allows learners to continue the story flow.
Hypothetical scenarios gets you hypothetical answers
It’s probably been said, but something I cannot emphasize enough is the importance of your eLearning scenarios dealing with some sort of real life, real world, in-context problem. This is to help learners gather knowledge and then develop the necessary skill sets, so they are directly applicable after the completion of the eLearning module. Then, part two of scenario creation is encouraging learners to apply their knowledge/skills appropriately. It’s key to remember that hypothetical scenarios gets you hypothetical answers. You want to people to react and reflect on real life examples. This creates a stronger opportunity for long-term memory storage as you have connected prior experiences to current learning. Win-win.
Know your audience and personalize the scenario for them
Know your audience and personalize the scenario for them. Create scenarios that will resonate with your learners and are true to what they’ve experienced. Immerse them into the scenario and create an emotional connection to it.
Scenarios should reflect actual situations in which people may find themselves
Scenarios should reflect actual situations in which people may find themselves, so work closely with your subject matter expert(s) to develop realistic situations, options, and consequences resulting from decisions made. If people can make an error but fix their mistake by taking another course of action in the workplace, reflect this in the scenario design.
The more authentic it is, and the more dangerous it feels, the more effective it will be
People often think that they need to be creative to create effective eLearning scenarios. Nope! You don’t need to make reality, just repeat it! Look around at what really happens in the world pertaining to your topic. Find the tense stuff that no one wants to talk about, and find a way to present it that’s uncertain and still uncomfortable for everyone to approve. As a rule, the more authentic it is and the more dangerous it feels, the more effective it will be.
Present it as a real-world situation or choice learners will have to make on the job
Reframe your content and present it as a real-world situation or choice learners will have to make on the job!
[Give your audience] something that seems real, so that they can become fully immersed in it
A scenario is like a running metaphor, so probably the most important thing for your scenario is that it’s relevant to your audience so that you don’t run away from their understanding. That means it needs to be something they can relate to, something that seems real, so that they can become fully immersed in it and connect or even empathise with. As your metaphor runs, it needs outcomes or consequences that feel real, too, or you’ll lose that immersion.
Provide sufficient guidance to avoid learner overload and frustration
Base your scenario on actual work situations and provide sufficient guidance to avoid learner overload and frustration.
To increase transferability, make the scenario as realistic as possible
To increase transferability (remembering and applying), make the scenario as realistic as possible to what the learners will experience in their daily lives. To avoid cognitive overload (brain fatigue), you may need to select less important details to leave out so learners can focus on the essentials. If using characters, select ones that represent the (ideal) diversity of your organization, and choose their names and behavior carefully to avoid stereotyping.
The context of a scenario-based experience should match real-life situations learners face
The closer the context of a scenario-based experience matches real-life situations learners face, the greater the chances they’ll be able to recall and apply that knowledge/skill in the future.
Focus on what has happened and how the business learned from those experiences
Effective eLearning scenarios are relevant and true to the work environment. Speak to those doing the job and living the experiences you want to simulate; that’s the best way to make scenarios worth experiencing. Instead of focusing on what could happen, focus on what has happened and how the business learned from those experiences.
Ensure that the content is realistic and relevant
The most important tip for creating effective eLearning scenarios is to ensure that the content is realistic and relevant to the learners. A good subject matter expert (SME) is invaluable in helping you to create meaningful content.
-Is this a challenging situation that could actually happen at the learners’ workplace?
-Are processes described in the scenario actually done the same way in which you portray it?
-Do any character images used look like an actual person employed in that field?
-Are the written words attributed to a character authentic? (i.e., educational level and the industry jargon used)
Start a project…with an elegant construction of sequenced multiple choice questions
Master the fundamentals. After I cut through the clutter in their programs, my clients are always surprised to learn what can be achieved with an elegant construction of sequenced multiple choice questions. Starting a project knowing the design is taken care of (with multiple choice questions) will let you focus all of your energy on the most important parts: awesome context, engaging language, and powerful consequences.
Use a coach character to introduce, wrap up, and provide friendly feedback
Use a coach character to introduce, wrap up, and provide friendly feedback. My favorite “voice” for the coach tonally is either (depending on your age) Jarvis from Iron Man or Jeeves from Wodehouse. Never combative, but opinionated, and there to deferentially deliver the periodic bad news when things don’t work.
Pair a “good” scenario with a “bad” counterpart
Pair a “good” scenario with a “bad” counterpart. Run the bad one first, and prompt critical analysis in the context of the theory. Then run the good scenario exemplifying the theory in action, leading to the desired outcome.
Use the SEDA (Situation, Evaluation, Decision, Action) model to craft your scenarios
Use the SEDA model to craft your scenarios. SEDA = Situation, Evaluation, Decision, Action.
Ensure that your scenario paints a relevant situation. Make sure your learners have to evaluate that situation (understand its meaning) and do this without hints. Have learners then make a decision, and have them take an action.
Make sure you’ve analyzed in depth the decision you want them to practice
Make sure you’ve analyzed in depth the decision you want them to practice. Answer questions like: What makes it hard? What’s going on emotionally? What’s going on in the environment? What are the common mistakes, and why do people make them? With this understanding, you can recreate the challenging aspects of the context in the question and write realistic, thought-provoking options.
Plan, plan, plan!
The best thing I can recommend for creating effective eLearning scenarios is to plan, plan, plan! Before you dive in to all-out scenario development, put the scenario to pen and paper and flesh it out there. Doing this will streamline your scenario development and reduce unnecessary rework.
Build a concept map of the topic with interaction points and other elements
At the highest level, build a concept map, or mind map, of the topic with interaction points and other elements. Once you can see the big picture using the map, it becomes much easier to “see” the scenarios within it.
Brainstorm different actions, options, choices and paths
Brainstorm different actions, options, choices, and paths. Document them all. Don’t discount any at first review, no matter how silly or weird they may be. You may find a unique opportunity to encourage critical thinking that a straight line or clear path wouldn’t have provided. I use a different color of sticky note, marker, or highlighter to note the options we eliminate during our reviews. Often, I go back to one of those weird suggestions and add it in because it works with what we are trying to accomplish.
If your scenario involves branching, use appropriate planning tools
If your scenario involves branching, use appropriate planning tools. Word processing and presentation software lead you down a linear path. They make it difficult to visualize where you’re going from one screen or decision point to the next.
Instead, put sticky notes on a wall. Draw nodes on a whiteboard or sketch pad. Connect boxes on a PowerPoint slide (or diagramming software such as Visio). Try free mind mapping software. Learn how to use Twine. Practice to make your chosen method fluid.
Then flesh out each screen in whatever software you use for storyboarding—whether it’s full PowerPoint slides or tables and pages in Word.
Use your objectives to drive the action in your scenarios
Align your scenario with your objectives. An engaging scenario that doesn’t help learners practice relevant decisions tied to your objectives is a waste of time and resources. Use scenarios to provide learners with a realistic context where they can make choices. In a scenario, the main character’s goal often reflects achieving or demonstrating the learning objective. Use your objectives to drive the action in your scenarios.
Our scenarios must be realistic but focused on the desired learning outcome
Scenarios need to be challenging. The learner must have the chance to guide the scenario to an appropriate outcome—and to do so by making choices that require thought. It shouldn’t be easy.
In real life, situations are messy, and we juggle lots of things at the same time. Our scenarios must be realistic but focused on the desired learning outcome. Don’t include other things that might be going on if they aren’t critical to that outcome.
It needs to be authentic and believable. We’ll lose our audience if they can’t picture themselves in the situation.
Gamification works because it creates interaction specific to a goal or objective
Distracted driving deaths are directly related to cognitive load theory (CLT). You can save a life or your eLearning with CLT. According to cognitive load theory (Sweller, 1988), working memory for all learners has limitations, which are dependent on the learner’s existing knowledge and experience. Based on this theory, there are acceptable levels of extraneous cognitive load, cognitive resources dedicated to portions of a course not related to the learning goals, and germane cognitive load, cognitive resources dedicated to the learning goal. When eLearning is designed effectively, there is more germane load and less extraneous load, which enables learners to achieve learning outcomes and improve on-job performance. Gamification works because it creates interaction specific to a goal or objective and therefore, if designed well, increases germane load.
Sound has to be used judiciously and only as it is true to the scenario and the learning objective
Sound has to be used judiciously and only if it is true to the scenario and the learning objective.
— Chopeta Lyons
We can best enhance the mind and spirit of our learners when we engage their emotions
We are emotional beings. Emotions react quickly; much faster than our logic and more deeply. We can best enhance the mind and spirit of our learners when we engage their emotions. Tip: think like a movie script writer. Don’t jump right into content presentation, but take time to develop characters learners can relate to personally. Make the characters real and immersed in a context learners care about. Then introduce some challenges and alternative actions learners can take (solving a problem, helping someone, making a difference). Memorable scenario-based instruction is completed by revealing the consequences of selected actions.
Make it…more like a movie of outcome choices and less like a story problem from grade school!
If you’re looking to make effective eLearning scenarios, you must have a compelling story that provides suspense and interest throughout the experience. This includes character personalities and plot twists! Make it interesting and more like a movie of outcome choices and less like a story problem from grade school!
Good scenarios are like good movies: They don’t copy life, they imitate life.
Good scenarios are like good movies: They don’t copy life, they imitate life. Learn screenplay writing tricks, such as selecting elements and choices that matter, so while the situation is lifelike, it’s designed to deliver impact without distraction. Nobody reads scenarios to you in real life: You see it, you hear it, you feel it. Show, don’t tell! Don’t put words into your characters’ mouths. Give them hidden agendas, attitudes, and relationship histories. Then, let them speak! What’s not said in a scenario is as important as what is. And finally: Playtest! Playtest! Playtest!
Think like a five-year-old. Have an imagination. Tell a story.
Tell a story. That’s it. People respond to stories. Anything, absolutely anything, can be a story. Think like a five-year-old. Have an imagination. Tell a story.
Engineering ways to connect with the audience through a story [is] the “secret.”
Recently, I designed scenario-based eLearning that went viral inside a multinational corporation. Engineering ways to connect with the audience through a story was the “secret.” It was a tale of conflict and transformation, with which people identified on an emotional level, and that’s creating word-of-mouth. So here’s my tip: If you struggle to design eLearning that holds attention, having a basic education in storytelling principles will help you. To get started, I suggest you read and re-read Michael Hauge’s Storytelling Made Easy.
Focus on the people who use [what] you’ve been tasked to train. People have stories…
Elearning scenarios should tell a story. Ha! You say…but how do I turn 30 pages of policy gobbledygook into a story? The trick is to focus on the people who use the application, process, or procedure you’ve been tasked to train. People have stories—they have jobs to do, problems to solve, and a world to live in. Our scenarios should reflect these stories.
Application developers often focus on user stories to help them capture a description of a software feature from an end-user perspective. We need to do the same when creating our scenarios. If you are developing training on a software application, make the scenarios about the user’s relationship with the application—how it affects them, and how they need to deal with it.
Go follow people around for a day—take pictures, get stories.
I think one of the most crucial elements of creating a good scenario is to properly understand your learners’ context. Go follow people around for a day—take pictures, get stories. The better you understand their context, environment, and behavioral triggers, the better your scenarios will be.
Be sure the dialogue, imagery, characters, and setting are true to the context
In a word, authenticity. If you’re building conversational scenarios, be sure the dialogue, imagery, characters, and setting are true to the context in which the learner lives and works. We understand that learning happens best when it’s close to the work performed. If the learner cannot identify with the scenario portrayed, they will disconnect, regardless of whether the content is accurate and relevant.
Use natural, everyday language—you are writing dialogue, not formal prose
The key is authenticity. No learner will engage with a fanciful story that does not reflect “how we do things here.” Do not exaggerate the positive or negative outcomes, and use natural, everyday language—you are writing dialogue, not formal prose.
An eLearning scenario always needs to be authentic to the learner’s job performance context
An eLearning scenario always needs to be authentic to the learner’s job performance context—just enough like back on the job that it doesn’t create cognitive overload with real, but unnecessary, details. And sometimes you need a series of scenarios: from simple to less simple to complex.
The nuance of a realistic scenario is critical for immersing the learner in the scenario
Don’t work in a vacuum. Nothing kills a scenario faster than an unrealistic, too-shallow, and unchallenging story arc that was clearly developed by instructional designers who have no connection to the reality of the learner’s situation. The nuance of a realistic scenario is critical for immersing the learner in the scenario. Check your details—facts, scripting, graphics, choice options, feedback—with subject matter experts and members of the learner population. When you test each iteration of your scenario, make sure it feels right and that it’s got the right amount of challenge.
Help people learn how to navigate the gray areas and the exceptions to the rules
For scenarios to be effective, they need to authentically reflect real-life decisions your learners need to make. Nothing turns people off faster than scenarios that are full of stilted corporate-speak, with easy decision paths that don’t reflect the real complexities they face on the job. Scenarios are at their best when they’re helping people learn how to navigate the gray areas and the exceptions to the rules.
Offer [the] “gray” scenarios and give insightful feedback on what to do when those situations arise
Come up with realistic and relevant scenarios, responses and feedback. A successful strategy to do that is to avoid a single correct response, because that’s when we get into “obvious right/obvious wrong” responses, or the even more obvious “all of the above” response. Instead, consider a “good/better/best” response and corresponding feedback. While some situations in which employees find themselves have an obvious right/wrong approach, many tend to fall in the middle, so we should offer those “gray” scenarios and give insightful feedback on what to do when those situations arise.
Effective eLearning scenarios need immersion, interactivity, [and] data-backed examples as a basis
Effective eLearning scenarios need immersion, interactivity, [and] data-backed examples as a basis.
Don’t make things clear cut, because life rarely is
Don’t make things clear cut, because life rarely is. Work situations are often complex, and the choices are often murky and hazy. You can add nuance by putting the responses on a continuum. Perhaps there is a best choice that isn’t perfect and a lesser choice that has some positives. Perhaps none of the consequences are fantastic, but one results in a somewhat better outcome. For example, in customer service, the learner’s response to a customer’s problem resolves an issue, but getting there was difficult, and the customer rates the call as average, not great. Provide explicit feedback outlining the pros and cons of each choice. Or, if there is a social component associated with the course, ask audience members what they think.
Make sure the alternatives to the right answer are plausible and common ways learners go wrong
Figure out the decisions you need the learners to be able to make, and then embed those decisions in a setting/story that learners will “get.” That means it’s a meaningful application of the knowledge, relevant to the learner, with a sufficient amount of appeal and challenge. The challenge is to make sure the alternatives to the right answer are plausible and common ways learners go wrong (you’ll have a chance to address them before it matters!). That’s the core of writing scenarios.
Real learning happens in the space between right and wrong
Life rarely takes the format of a multiple choice quiz, so don’t assume an eLearning scenario needs to have right and wrong paths. Real learning happens in the space between right and wrong. I find the best scenarios exist in this gray area, exploring situations where there isn’t a single correct answer. Create scenarios that require people to put information in context. That enables them to apply what they’ve learned to solve problems beyond the scenario itself.
— David Kelly
Issues that targeted audiences face are contextual in nature with no single correct answer.
When writing scenarios, it is important to remember that many of the most challenging issues that targeted audiences face are contextual in nature, with no single correct answer. That is, in fact, why scenarios are necessary, and a simple course will not suffice. In these instances, in order to navigate complicated situations, scenarios should provide participants an opportunity to practice situational awareness and to understand the influencing context on whatever topic is being addressed. Environmental dynamics, such as demographics, relationships with stakeholders, time of year, and years of experience, to name a few, all contribute to a situation and can influence both the decisions and their respective consequences.
Make choices real and difficult—in life and work, decisions are seldom black and white
Elearning scenarios should reflect real situations as much as possible, but should also be targeted. Provide enough context for relevance, but remove the fluff. Make choices real and difficult—in life and work, decisions are seldom black and white. There are always pros and cons. Design scenarios to reflect this ambiguity. And, make sure the result of a choice is also realistic—a “great” choice should lead to a “great” consequence; a “good enough” choice should lead to a “good enough” consequence.
[SME] stories will give you a richer, more authentic set of events to use as the foundation for your scenario
Get real-life stories from SMEs and users. Ask for examples from your subject matter experts and the people who are doing the job today. You can always modify any confidential personal information to protect clients and employees. These stories will give you a much richer, more authentic set of events to use as the foundation for your scenario.
Get your SME to explain the one thing that learners…continue to do incorrectly
I find you have to get your SME to explain to you, “What is the one thing that learners are doing incorrectly and continue to do incorrectly?” Once you can get the SME to focus in on that item, you can begin to develop with them the scenario around what learners are doing incorrectly and how they should be approaching the situation. Ensure you are including real-life outcomes/consequences to incorrect decisions. A simple right/wrong is not enough when the company bottom line or safety/lives are at risk.
Rather than putting together a scenario story from scratch, first talk to your SMEs
Scenarios can resonate well when you blend in true stories and experiences. Rather than putting together a scenario story from scratch, first talk to your SMEs (and even audience members for your project, if you can) and ask for real stories related to your content. In particular, find out what common challenges are associated with that content and where people typically make mistakes. Then use that information to craft a scenario that feels true to the lived experience of your audience and actually highlights the difficulties they really face.
Many experts no longer notice the nuances of what they do and how they make decisions
Any scenario must immerse the learner into an authentic experience. You will only be able to create that experience if you are able to accurately identify how employees are using the content to support their real-life performance. Getting this information is not easy because many experts no longer notice the nuances of what they do and how they make decisions. You’ll have to ask several questions, and often the same question in different ways, to get the answers you need. See yourself as an investigative reporter or documentary filmmaker. You’ll know you’ve arrived when you can see the world through their eyes. Build scenarios from that perspective.
Make it real! Speak with the people who typically encounter similar situations
Make it real! Too often, training scenarios are very basic or just plain unrealistic. This can happen when L&D pros, who don’t do the job every day, create the scenario on their own, or rely too heavily on subject matter experts, who also don’t tend to be on the frontlines. Before building a scenario, speak with the people who typically encounter similar situations. Gather context and nuance from their real-world stories. This will help you create a more realistic and impactful challenge.
Workshop scenarios with everyone the workflow touches at all steps, from go to whoa—that’s where the gold is
Workshop scenarios with everyone the workflow touches at all steps, from go to whoa—that’s where the gold is. Find out all the actions taken in current workflows, or brainstorm anticipated actions in new workflows, and prioritize them in order of “most likely to occur.” Build as many of them as you can into the learning, incorporating immediate feedback. Then get all those people—and some new, green people—back into testing and feedback loops until there are no gaps left.
Involve a subject matter enthusiast in the design and development of the scenario
Involve a subject matter enthusiast in the design and development of the scenario. Enthusiasts are individuals in an organization who are excited to share their experiences and knowledge but are not as far removed from the daily reality, or as challenged for time, as a Subject Matter Expert. It’s only by partnering with representative users that designers are able to craft great eLearning scenarios that are representative of real-world challenges, provide realistic consequences, and are set in a meaningful context. So, get some enthusiasts involved early in the design and keep them involved through development.
Add mystery or intrigue…eLearning scenarios should not have obvious outcomes
Add mystery or intrigue to your scenario. eLearning scenarios should not have obvious, straightforward outcomes. Mystery or uncertainty draws in learners. Create a “need to know,” which can be highly engaging, causing the learners to work to fill the knowledge gap or solve the mystery. Mystery and intrigue is the “what happened and why” element. For example, not knowing why a piece of machinery breaks down, or not knowing whether a particular situation is a compliance violation or not.
Give learners an opportunity to solve a realistic problem before they’ve been taught the solution
Consider using scenarios to replace some of your traditional passive methods of presenting information. For example, give learners an opportunity to solve a realistic problem before they’ve been taught the solution. Shifting learners from passively receiving information to actively processing it has significant benefits. Research suggests that this scenario-based approach can lead to “desirable difficulties” that enhance learning and retention.
Design scenarios that balance the challenge aspect with the learners’ abilities
Design scenarios that balance challenge with the learners’ abilities. Scenarios that are too easy don’t help develop the needed skills. Scenarios that are too hard leave learners frustrated. It’s about finding that balance between the challenge presented and the learner’s ability.
Like in real life it is OK to fail a scenario as long as you provide feedback
Elearning scenarios are a great way to develop new skills and apply new knowledge. When I develop scenarios my first aim is to ensure that they are relevant to the topic as well as being as realistic as possible. One thing I love to do to ensure that it is as realistic as possible is to ensure the users can only go forward and that their decisions have consequences and ultimately the scenario has different end points based on these decisions, like in real life it is OK to fail a scenario as long as you provide feedback to ensure they know whether failed.
Also the scenario should be interactive and challenging for the user to complete, there is no value in passive scenarios where the users just clicks next and by making the scenario challenging you can ramp up the engagement.
Nobody in real life jumps out with a sign and yells “CORRECT!” Good scenario feedback shouldn’t either.
One of the most crucial aspects of scenarios (especially branching scenarios), is realistic feedback. Nothing pulls you out of the illusion more than typical eLearning feedback. Nobody in real life jumps out with a sign and yells “CORRECT!” Good scenario feedback shouldn’t either. The subtle nuances of actual human reactions is what lets scenarios mimic real life. Forcing learners to gauge reactions, and letting their interpretation of the gray areas impact their decisions, is what makes great scenarios. It’s also what helps the skills transfer from the course back the learner’s real life.
Make sure to let your learners fail!
When creating eLearning scenarios, make sure to let your learners fail! It’s through failure that your learners will understand the consequences of making the wrong decision and the outcomes of that decision.
People learn best when you create scenarios that allow for delayed feedback
People learn best when you create scenarios that allow for delayed feedback, so that they can see the consequences of mistakes they make, just as they would in real life (albeit in a safe and accelerated environment). If learners are trying to master a new client contact system and enter the wrong data in a field—and in real life that could lead to the eventual loss of a client—don’t immediately tell learners, “You’re wrong!” Better to let them believe all is well, allow them the opportunity to realize their own mistakes and remedy it, or show after several more steps the error of their ways.
Allow space for your learners to critically think—don’t fill in all the blanks!
Allow space for your learners to critically think—don’t fill in all the blanks! Remember back to the last movie you saw. Did the director answer every question and tie up every loose end, or were there times during the film where you got to participate in the story, by thinking though options and considering the consequences for the characters? Scenarios aren’t meant to be glorified multiple choice questions, and not every situation has to have a “right” answer. Invite your audience to “come along on the journey” and think for themselves.
What’s your favorite tip on building effective eLearning scenarios? Let me know in the comments below.