xAPI-enabled scenario-based
eLearning module
This concept project is a branching scenario intended for CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) product managers. The scenario gives the intended learner - a new hire at a CPG company - the opportunity to explore the impact of decisions at different stages in the new product development process in a safe environment, drastically reducing the amount of time it would take new product managers to learn the essentials of the process. In turn, this would help them add value to their customers more quickly. I developed the tutorial using Articulate Storyline and Twine and incorporated xAPI and JavaScript programming to track learner choices.
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Multiple decision points
Learners must navigate authentic decision points in the typical CPG product development process.
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Multiple outcomes
Depending on their choices, learners may be rewarded with a successful product launch or left without a product to sell through to retailers - or many variations in between.
The challenge
New product managers develop an understanding of the costs and benefits of different pathways for developing new products only through extended time on the job. They need an opportunity to explore and learn about the consequences of different decisions in a low-stakes environment.
My solution
A virtual branching scenario is an ideal way for learners to experience the impact of decisions in a safe environment. Articulate Storyline is my preferred tool for developing virtual branching scenarios because of its customizability.
Design process
I began by conducting interviews with an SME (Subject Matter Expert) who has over a decade of experience in CPG product management. Over the course of these interviews, I led the SME in developing an action map that clarified the most significant decision points en route to bringing a new product to market, as well as the most common mistakes and their likely consequences.
Next, I crafted a storyboard including illustration variations and script that the SME reviewed for accuracy. I then mapped the branching scenario out using the interactive storytelling app Twine, incorporating feedback from the SME. I also developed a prototype of the decision point slides and asked the SME and a fellow instructional designer to rate them in terms of effectiveness.
I asked the SME and another instructional designer to review several options for the decision point slides. Three of the options considered are shown above.
Then, I developed the scenario in Articulate Storyline using assets from storyset.com. I tested color contrast and incorporated alternative text for all images in order to follow WCAG guidelines for accessibility.
Finally, I added custom JavaScript triggers to track learner choices and feedback using xAPI. Each time a learner makes a choice at a key decision point, data is sent from the module to an LRS (I used Veracity for testing purposes). My goal was to enable a manager to see the choices of their new hires so that they could talk them through in a group or 1:1 setting, as well as access and compile the advice that learners share in the final section of the module.
Features
The module is designed to ensure that new CPG product managers can accurately assess the costs and benefits of the most common pathways for developing new products. In designing the scenario, I applied several of what eLearning visionary Michael Allen has identified as “magic keys” to engaging eLearning for adults: the learner experiences a sense of risk in a highly relevant context with direct applicability in their day-to-day professional life, and I ask the learner to go through multiple authentic and emotionally evocative decision points before providing feedback about the likely impact of their choices.
The final section of the course also applies a core principle of active learning: evoking deep processing helps learners move information into long-term memory. In the final slide, learners are invited to share advice that they would give to another new product manager. This step prompts learners to actively reflect on what they have just experienced, making it much more likely that they will remember and apply these lessons when needed in the future.