I like this month’s Big Question because I can relate so much to it.
I right away answer all the questions:
Do you sometimes feel stuck?
I always feel stuck. The only time I feel unstuck is when I blog because here is when I
can blurt out all my ideas without any hindrance.
Feel like you have so many more ideas about how you could help your organization or your clients, but that What Clients Want is just some training?
Yes. For example I start working on an e-learning project. I feel that there is a better way of doing things.But then I am told not to bother much because the client is not expecting much.
I wonder how the client can decide the best instructional design solution because the client usually has no clue about instructional design. The client only gives requirements. It is the expert that gives a solution.
Should you attempt to get unstuck?
Of course, you should, if not in your organization atleast otherwise. Only when you attempt to get unstuck you get better and better. My blogging effort is my major attempt to get unstuck.
How hard should you push your internal or external clients to get them to see the full range of what is possible? Or should you give them what they ask for?
You cannot do what the client wants because the client is not the expert. The responsibility of coming up with the best Instructional Design solution is on you, the expert.
When the client asks for an e-learning course,a few things you do is project cost,effort estimation, project schedules and so on. The way Instructional Design should be done depends a lot on the cost and schedules to such an extent that you forego good visuals, interactivities etc. And then you say “The client wants only this”.
It is very important to gather requirements completely, research and study the subject matter and decide on the best Instructional Design solution keeping in mind the cost and schedules. I have seen instances when content study has happened after deciding on project deadlines only to realize that there is more work than was actually anticipated. In such a case you do not do the best job but only what can be done.
If you are feeling some level of stuck, what should you do to get unstuck? How important is it to get unstuck? Is it okay to learn a lot about all kinds of different solutions, but to primarily work on simple training solutions?
In an organizational set up it is really difficult to get unstuck because change in organizations do not happen fast. You have to follow processes and adhere to rules and standards, no matter what you think.
If you cannot do much to bring the change, you have to work on the existing stuff. I do not think there is much option.
However you should be aware of all kinds of solutions. You might be able to use it at some point. It is worse if you are stuck and you do not know what is better.
If you are stuck, should you be concerned about your future?
Yes, you should be concerned about your future. I have come to realize when you attempt to get unstuck you get a better picture of what you want to do and what you want to be and you work towards that.
Good stuff Rupa! I wonder if it might be effective to do NOTHING sometimes when you are stuck. I ask that because I think it is possible that “stuck” could be a symptom of burn-out and you might just need to get away for a minute and relax or do nothing
. Regarding the clients, you say that you cannot do what the client wants because they are not the expert. But, at the end of the day, I have had clients that are VERY specific in what they want not because its good or great, but because that’s what they have seen somebody have and someone in their organization thought it was good. As an “outsider”, there is only so much you can say. I will answer this big question in my own blog later. Let me know your thoughts there.
Robert
Hi Robert
I completely agree with you.
I was just voicing out things I have seen from my experience. I have seen instances when people have not even suggested better solutions to the client, no matter the client finds it ok or not
Thank you for taking time to pen your thoughts.
Great site this blog.thewritersgateway.com and I am really pleased to see you have what I am actually looking for here and this this post is exactly what I am interested in. I shall be pleased to become a regular visitor
Hi Rupa,
Thanks for this lovely post once again.
I have a request. As an ID, I have often wondered about the way I should proceed when I am the lone iD working on a particular project , and the entire ID part of that project rest upon me.
I will make the question more specific for you.
Could you pls elaborate on the questions/ information an ID should look for from the client/ the Project manager when he/she is the lone ID handling a project?
It would be great if you could provide a questionnaire of sorts regarding the same.
Thanks in advance,
Nivedita
@ broolodaurf – Thank you. I will be glad if you become a regular visitor
@ Nivedita – Thank you. I shall get back to you on your question soon
A first time reader of this blog, I am very glad I stumbled on to this one.
Will be a regular.
I completely agree with what both you and Robert have voiced here. I have very recently worked on a project where the client was very very specific about the requirements—precisely because he had seen a similar course previously. Much to my chagrin, I failed to convince him that what he demanded would not lead to an effective course or a learner-centric one. He refused to budge. I somehow feel that it was partly my failure and partly the fact that clients (especially in India) are not yet aware of the potentials of e-learning. This latter fact needs to be rectified.
The PM, right from his perspective, just said, “Give him what he wants or he will come back with a zillion change requests…” Sounds familiar?
More on this in my blog…
Hey Rupa,
Nice insight to your experinces. This must be true of so many IDs out there.
The point is in finding a way to make the client have faith in you and presenting your ideas in such a way that he is not overwhelmed and at the same time thinks what you’re saying is practical.
Thanks for sharing this!
Sreya
[...] skip rocks. Go skiing. Do something that makes you feel “unstuck” if only for a moment. Rupa likes to write in her blog. That’s cool as [...]
[...] I have been thinking of populating this blog for a very long time. But somehow, it just wouldn’t happen. Work pressure, delivery, deadlines, and all such criminal hindrances posed as stumbling blocks. Nothing new. Till this morning, when I literally stumbled upon this blog: The Writer’s Gateway. An avid reader of blogs related to ID, I wonder why I never read this one. One post by Rupa addressing this month’s big question was my trigger. Big Question: Stuck? Getting Unstuck? [...]