Answer Geek
QUESTION: Is there a formula for calculating development hours for e-learning? What factors need to be considered?
Edward Prentice III
The most important factors to consider when estimating development time are the complexity of the content and the audience.
A number of people with specific skill sets are required to produce effective e-learning programs--for example, instructional designers, graphic artists, 3D artists, programmers, and so forth. It's important to keep this in mind when trying to determine a formula.
A rough formula that's fairly common today is 20 hours of development time for every hour of e-learning that's produced (20:1). The 20 hours includes time spent by everyone who will work on the project, as listed above. The number can expand or contract based on the complexity of the content (i.e. simple text and still graphics versus fully animated screens with advanced programming and 3D visualizations). Here are two examples.
In scenario A, the training content covers accounting formulas mathematical equations. Due to the nature of the content, the training consists of a large amount of text. In this case, the production time would be reduced because developers wouldn't need to create a large number of complex graphics. The programming would be simpler as well. If content doesn't need advanced programming or intricate visuals, then the formula for production to finished program may be 10:1.
In scenario B, the training content covers how to repair and troubleshoot a wireless base station. This training will need 3D models of the base station with removable components, so the program will require many time-consuming complex graphics, such as 3D models of cabinets with removable components. This type of program will also require advanced programming to create the screen interaction that simulates installing a circuit board, for example. More time is necessary on the front end for instructional design and content gathering as well. For this scenario, the ratio might be 20-40 hours of development time to every one hour of the course.
Another factor to consider before beginning development is the audience. For example, developing a basic program for an audience that's used to high-end graphics, such as those used in video games, won't be effective. It's important to match the course content to the audience when determining visual and interactive complexity.
Aina Irbe and Beth Tang
Our research turned up no set formula to determine the time involved in developing e-learning, although Aina has found a general rule of thumb to be 100 hours of preparation for one hour of e-learning course time. Factors that influence this ratio include
- e-learning format (CBT, WBT, CD-ROM, and so forth)
- amount of content that already exists and the format it exists in
- access to a subject matter expert
- development tools (for example, Authorware or Dreamweaver)
- complexity of the interaction.
This presentation on calculating development time offers more information on factors to consider.
Aina notes that her own experience with developing live "Webinars" (real-time online collaboration tools; for example, Raindance) does prove the 100-hour rule. That estimate includes time for the SME to prepare material, the training department to review content, and the presenters to learn how to use the online tool. Generally, she says, two to three people work together for a total of 80-100 hours to create those events.
In another real life example, a team of five people worked about 300 hours to storyboard, rewrite content, design graphics, and program Web pages to develop a simple Web-based tutorial with no interaction, five modules, and text-based content .
For more information about the instructional systems design process, Beth and Aina offer these links:
Roberta Westwood
Development ratios are much higher for online learning than for face-to-face training. It's often difficult for organizations to accurately estimate development hours and create project plans for their initial e-learning ventures, so there are huge variances in estimates.
Bryan Chapman, an e-learning analyst for brandon-hall.com, suggests that developing one hour of e-learning instruction can take from 30 to 40 hours for a simple "page turner" with text, graphics, and minimal interactivity to up to 750 hours for a highly interactive, simulation-based course. Because learners don't get a high level of engagement or learning from "page turners," the number of hours needed to develop an e-learning intervention is likely to fall somewhere in between.
The factors that you need to consider include
Experience. Is this the organization's first e-learning course? If so, expect each step to take longer as the team learns the ropes of designing for a truly new way of learning.
Project team. While many trainers have developed courses from scratch by themselves, e-learning is seldom a solo endeavor. Even if people wear multiple hats, the time required for all roles must be factored in. You'll need a sponsor, project manager, subject matter expert, instructional designer, programmer or person to use the authoring tool, graphic designer, and IT support.
Development tools. Will you be using an authoring tool or will a Web designer be developing the course? What's the experience of the individuals performing this aspect of the project? Are they seasoned developers or learning as they go?
Multimedia. How much multimedia do you plan to use, and of what type? Will you need to develop graphics? Record audio clips? Script and shoot video? Write complex simulations?
Existing material. Will you be migrating an existing face-to-face course online? If so, you'll save time over a course created from scratch. But a word of caution: expect quite a bit of reworking and fill-in writing regardless. Participant materials will need to be rewritten in an online-friendly format with conversational style, shorter sentences, and so forth. For detailed help in writing for e-learning, see "Write Right: Polishing Your E-Learning Prose."
Testing. While a good classroom instructor can adjust a course on the fly when an exercise doesn't hit the mark, there's a greater responsibility in e-learning to work out any kinks before launching the course. That means building in beta testing with real users and time for any necessary rework.
Additional Tips
You may have heard the suggestion that after you estimate the number of development hours for an e-learning project, you should add another 50 percent. Personal experience has shown that this is sage advice.
Yet, there's also much you can do to reduce the gap between your estimated and actual development hours. Put a project manager at the helm, someone with specific experience in developing e-learning or consult with one to map out a structured development process. If you don't, you may find key decisions being made out of sequence that will require a lot of rework as the project progresses.
Although external experts you contract with will track their hours, don't assume your internal resources will do the same. In many organizations, instructional designers or subject matter experts don't--and may not have needed to before now--track time spent on specific projects. But if you're serious about getting a handle on what it costs to develop e-learning, the discipline of tracking hours can provide valuable information.
Once an e-learning project is complete, include a discussion on development hours in the project debriefing process. Explore where estimates were high or low--and use what you glean as you develop your next project.
Finally, to reduce development hours for a range of courses, plan ahead so that one user interface can be applied as a template for future courses.
Published: September 2001
|