One of the many challenges L&D professionals face when designing content is time. The amount of time they’re given to complete a project ultimately impacts the length of a course, the resources available, and the degree to which particular instructional strategies or activities may be used to engage learners. Given the usual time constraints on projects, it might seem unreasonable to pause design and shift focus to planning. In this article, we’ll explore why taking that extra time to plan can ultimately improve the quality of your L&D initiatives and even prevent potential costly or time-consuming problems from arising.

Why project management matters in L&D

There are many benefits to pausing for planning. Taking the time to map out the goals of a course, communicating with stakeholders, and thinking about the desired performance outcomes can help save time in the long run by ensuring that there is alignment among various aspects of a project. When L&D professionals create content that isn’t required or doesn’t meet the goal, fixing the mistakes later demands extra time and resources — issues that could have been prevented with initial planning discussions.

Project management helps to take a 30,000-foot view of our projects to aid in designing effective training. It helps to ensure that projects are completed on time, within budget, and to the desired quality. Project management provides a structured framework for L&D professionals to plan, execute, and monitor their learning programs. It helps in setting clear objectives, defining roles and responsibilities, and creating timelines, which are essential for the smooth progression of training projects.

How L&D professionals can improve their project management strategy

Embracing the “measure twice and cut once” approach helps L&D professionals establish a plan for managing the progression of their projects and addressing challenges that may arise. Through consistent monitoring and regular check-ins, L&D professionals can ensure that their training content aligns with the original goals and meets the needs of the target audience, thereby reducing the likelihood of delays. This ultimately aids in mitigating risk and developing strategies to address issues before they become problematic.

The following are four strategies L&D professionals can take to manage their projects more effectively.

1. Engage and communicate with stakeholders

One of the best ways to manage a L&D project successfully is to engage stakeholders early and often. Communicating with stakeholders throughout the life cycle of a project helps to manage expectations, identify areas warranting further attention, and ensure that everyone has a shared understanding of the goals of the project.

2. Define clear goals and objectives

Ensuring alignment between components of a project means making sure you’re addressing real needs. Needs assessment can help identify the goals and objectives for a given project. By identifying the actual needs of your learners and your organization, you can begin to establish a plan for carrying out appropriate solutions. Needs assessment also provides an opportunity to communicate and engage with your stakeholders on determining learning needs and discussing how different L&D efforts can be integrated into the overall L&D strategy for the organization.

3. Establish a plan for design and project implementation

L&D professionals typically use a variety of instructional design strategies to plan for these courses, such as design documents and storyboards. In addition to these best practices, establishing a comprehensive plan for the project that includes the scope of the project, timeline, tasks, available resources, and deliverables helps to ensure that members of the project team and organizational leadership have a shared understanding of project needs and milestones.

4. Build in feedback to support continuous improvement

One of the best ways L&D professionals can mitigate risk and avoid scope creep is by building feedback loops at various phases of a project. This provides project stakeholders with opportunities to share feedback to help refine training content. Planning for how feedback will be collected helps to ensure that training is effective, relevant, and ultimately meets its desired goals and outcomes.

Project management is an ongoing activity that helps L&D projects thrive. By engaging stakeholders, defining clear goals, establishing a detailed plan, and building feedback loops, L&D professionals can create training content that not only meets organizational needs but also fosters a culture of continuous improvement. The strategies outlined above contribute to better alignment, smoother implementation, and a greater capacity to address challenges proactively. By adopting a “measure twice, cut once” mindset in project management, L&D professionals can leverage comprehensive planning strategies to meticulously deliver high-quality learning experiences on time and within budget.