Designing on the Fly: How Rapid Prototyping Speeds Up Smarter Learning Design

Feeling overwhelmed by tight deadlines and shifting expectations in your instructional design projects? Discover how Rapid Prototyping can transform your approach to creating effective learning experiences.

Rapid prototyping flips traditional design on its head by encouraging you to start with rough drafts—low-fidelity prototypes—instead of waiting until the end to test a final version. Through a continuous cycle of design, test, tweak, and repeat, you'll create learning products that genuinely work for your audience while saving valuable time and resources.

Ready to transform your instructional design process? Start small—sketch before scripting, test early, and watch how rapid prototyping revolutionizes your approach to design challenges. Your future self (and your learners) will thank you!

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A Guide to Rapid Prototyping

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Episode Transcript

Jackie Pelegrin (00:01):
Hello and welcome to the Designing with
Love podcast.
I am your host, Jackie Pelegrin, where my goal is to bring you
information, tips, and tricks asan instructional designer.
Hello, GCU students, alumni,and fellow educators, welcome to
episode 57 of the Designingwith Love podcast.

(00:22):
Today, we're diving into afast-paced, flexible, and
feedback-friendly instructionaldesign model that just might
become your new favoriteapproach to rapid prototyping.
If you've ever found yourselfworking on a tight deadline,
facing unclear expectations, orneeding to test an idea before
it's fully developed, thisepisode is for you.

(00:44):
So grab some coffee, yournotebook, and let's get started.
Rapid prototyping is all aboutdesigning smarter, not slower.
Instead of waiting until theend of a project to test a final
version of your learningproduct, rapid prototyping
encourages you to start with arough draft, or what we call a

(01:05):
low-fidelity prototype, andrefine it over time, using real
feedback from stakeholders andlearners.
It's a continuous loop ofdesign test, tweak and repeat
until you've created somethingthat not only looks good but
actually works for your learners.
Here's the best part you don'tneed a fully fleshed out plan or

(01:28):
polished slides to begin.
Sometimes all it takes is asketch on paper, a simple
storyboard or a sampleinteraction built in your
favorite authoring tool.
All right, so now that you havea better understanding of what
rapid prototyping is, let's takea few minutes to outline how it
works.
Here's how the process usuallyflows Step 1.

(01:51):
Identify the learning need.
What is the problem you aresolving and who are your
learners?
Step 2.
Build a quick prototype.
Think just enough tocommunicate your idea.
Step 3.
Share and gather feedback.
Ask questions like what'sworking, what's unclear, what's

(02:11):
missing.
Step four revise and test again, repeat until it's refined.
Step five develop the finalproduct.
Now you can build withconfidence.
No-transcript.

(02:35):
Now here's where things can getconfusing, especially if you're
new to instructional design.
If you've heard of the SAM modelthat's the Successive
Approximation Model you mightwonder aren't these two models
kind of the same?
They do share similarities Bothare iterative, both emphasize
feedback and both aim to reducethe risk of major redesigns late
in the process.
And both aim to reduce the riskof major redesigns late in the

(02:57):
process.
But here's the difference.
Rapid prototyping is more of atechnique or design approach.
It's fast, informal and veryflexible.
Sam, on the other hand, is afull-fledged instructional
design model with defined phases, team workflows and a more
formalized process.
So you could say that rapidprototyping lives inside SAM,

(03:21):
especially during the earlydesign and development phases.
One is a tool, the other is ablueprint Great.
So now that you know thedifferences between rapid
prototyping and the SAM model,I'll take a few minutes to
provide a real-world example soyou can hear it in action.
Let's say you've been asked todesign a new data privacy

(03:41):
training course and you've gottwo weeks With rapid prototyping
.
Instead of writing a fullscript and building out all the
interactions up front, you coulddo the following Number one
create a quick outline.
Number two mock up a few sampleslides.
Number three add placeholdercontent.
Number four send it to thelegal team and a few learners

(04:04):
for feedback.
Number five from theirresponses, you realize some
terms are too technical and youneed to include a scenario-based
quiz.
Great, you adjust, test againand then build the full course
without wasting time or guessingwhat your audience needs.
All right, so here are some ofthe key strengths of the rapid

(04:26):
prototyping model and when youshould use it.
Here's a quick list of whenrapid prototyping really shines.
Number one you're short on time.
Number two you're not 100% surewhat your learners or
stakeholders want.
Number three you're workingwith a team that values speed
and collaboration.
Number four you're developinge-learning, mobile learning or

(04:51):
micro-learning content.
Number five you want to testideas early and often before
finalizing anything.
You want to test ideas earlyand often before finalizing
anything.
It's perfect for e-learning,corporate training, startups and
anywhere.
Agility is valued over rigidplanning.
All right, so let's wrap up witha short reflection you can jot

(05:11):
down in your journal or planner.
Think about a past or currentinstructional design project.
What part of that project couldhave benefited from faster
feedback or early prototyping?
How might rapid prototypinghelp you streamline your
workflow in future projects?
Write down three ways you couldincorporate prototyping earlier

(05:33):
in your process.
Even small shifts likesketching before scripting, can
save time and lead to betterlearning outcomes.
At its core, rapid prototypingreminds us that we don't have to
get it perfect the first time.
Designing is a journey.
Remember.
With every quick test, tweakand conversation, we move closer

(05:55):
to building something trulymeaningful for our learners.
As a recap, we covered whatrapid prototyping is, how it
works, how it is different fromthe SAM model, a real-world
example, key strengths and whento use it, and a reflection
activity.
You are welcome to review theresource I created at the link
provided in the show notes,which includes an overview of

(06:17):
what was covered in the episode.
In addition, please check outmy blog site, which is also
provided in the show notes.
As I conclude this episode, Iwould like to share an inspiring
quote by Joyce Meyer step outand find out.
You don't need perfection tomake progress.
You just need the courage tostart.
Keep testing, keep learning and, as always, keep designing with

(06:42):
love.
Thank you for taking some timeto listen to this podcast
episode today.
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