Edward Prentice, president of custom e-learning developer Centrax Corp.; eprentice@centrax.com.

It’s still difficult to offer a single standard for development hours due to the many types and complexities of e-learning programs. It’s more realistic to provide a range of hours.

There are a number of factors that affect the total hours necessary to develop a program. I have seen estimates online of 400 to 600 hours per finished hour of e-learning. With many projects requiring rapid turnaround development cycles (for example, four to six weeks) those hours may not suffice.

The most important factor is the level of complexity of the content—not only from a storyboard standpoint but also regarding the end product. For example, developing e-learning for a software application in which all of the steps are straightforward would require less time. On the other hand, if you are developing a sales training simulation with 3D virtual backgrounds and character animations, then you’ll need additional time.

We have developed internal processes such as active storyboarding and videoconference-based review sessions to reduce development time considerably. Most of our projects come in with four- to six-week deadlines and require advanced 3D simulations and enhanced visual components. Yet our development times are below 200 hours per finished hour of e-learning. If you use a centralized development process along with best practice models, then development times can be reduced and you can still deliver a comprehensive and engaging e-learning program.