When you involve SMEs from the beginning of the course creation process, they will have a better understanding of the thinking behind it and what you expect of them. They will also feel a greater level of ownership and they’ll feel more valued as a contributor.
Only include SME when necessary - This is an important additional point to the one above as it’s equally important you don’t waste an SME’s time by including them in parts of the course creation process that they are not directly involved in.
In other words, you must strike the right balance between involving them from the beginning but not involving them too much that they spend time on the e-learning course development process when they are not required.
An SME need not necessarily come from an instructional design background. Hence it is necessary to make them understand the process involved in designing an eLearning course. Take your SME through the entire online course development process, with the help of supporting examples. This will help them appreciate good eLearning, have better understanding of the possibilities an online course can offer, and guide IDs to present content effectively.
The SMEs involved in developing your e-learning course should understand what you want them to do and how long you think that should take them. Providing this clarity will help ensure you get the buy-in and commitment you need.
Unless the SME is a full-time member of the course development team, you need to set a realistic timeframe that would accommodate their busy schedule.
For most SMEs, their time will be valuable. Plus, creating an online course may not be central to their main area of responsibility. Instead, the online course might be additional work.
Therefore, you need to make it as easy as possible for SMEs to participate. This includes, for example, making sure all the preparation work before meetings is done, so your team can get straight into getting information from the SME.
- Provide a detailed overview of how you plan to go about the development. Explain the stages where the SME is expected to be involved and the time they will have to spend on each stage.
- Provide a timeline for each deliverable. This will help them streamline their schedule and focus on the relevant areas.
- Agree to a deadline for each deliverable and review cycle.
Creating a course that requires the involvement of an SME is a collaborative process. This means good communication is essential, so it’s important you help to establish this from the very beginning. To create a good working relationship with the SME during both the design and development stage of your online course, you need free communication and well-defined expectations.
