Instructional Design Front-End Toolkit

Six guided tools for the planning work that comes before you build any training, so the training you build solves the real problem.

Who it is for

• L&D and HR professionals who want a consistent, documented way to take in and plan training requests.

• Small-business owners with no training staff who have been asked, or have decided, to "put together some training."

• Managers and shift leads who now train others and want to plan it properly.

• Supervisors and subject matter experts asked to turn their know-how into a session or course.

The problem it solves

Training requests usually arrive as a solution: "We need customer service training." If that guess is wrong, the business spends time and money, people attend, and the problem stays. This toolkit walks you through the planning work, from the first conversation to an approved design and a project plan, so you find the real cause, aim the training at what training can fix, and send the rest to the right person.

What is inside

• How to use this toolkit (page 1; 1 page)

• Overview: how the front end works (pages 2 to 3; 2 pages)

• Tool 1: Training request intake form (pages 4 to 6; 3 pages)

• Tool 2: Needs analysis question guide (pages 7 to 12; 6 pages)

• Tool 3: Audience profile (pages 13 to 15; 3 pages)

• Tool 4: Learning objectives builder (pages 16 to 19; 4 pages)

• Tool 5: Design document (pages 20 to 22; 3 pages)

• Tool 6: Project plan timeline (pages 23 to 25; 3 pages)

• Wrap-up and front-end checklist (page 26; 1 page)

• Editable Word version of everything above (27 pages)

• Excel workbook (project plan timeline, filled-in example plan and training request log)

How to use it

1. Read the overview to see how the six tools fit together and how much of each to use for a small, medium or large request.

2. For each tool, read its short guide, then fill in the template. A completed example follows every template.

3. Follow one request through all six tools. The examples all come from one realistic case, so you can see how each answer feeds the next tool.

4. Use the Excel workbook to plan the project timeline and to log every training request you receive.

Formats and file types

• Printable PDF (26 pages), US Letter.

• Editable Word file (.docx, 27 pages) with every template as tables.

• Excel workbook (.xlsx): project plan with automatic weekly timeline bars, a filled-in example plan, and a training request log.

Frequently asked questions