This document outlines questions to ask stakeholders at the beginning of an eLearning project scoping discussion. It addresses determining goals, measuring success, understanding previous related projects, defining the target audience, assessing existing content, planning the development process, and setting expectations for the project kick-off meeting. Key topics covered include objectives, stakeholders, points of contact, metrics, content formats, subject matter experts, development tools, and file sharing methods.

1.
eLearning Scoping Questions
1. Stakeholders/Owners and Results Needed
a. What is the ultimate objective/goal for this project and its target audience?
b. Who are the stakeholders and what will be their involvement?
c. Who will be our primary point of contact (project owner) for tracking, progress reports and
issue escalation?
d. How will the client want to measure satisfaction, learning and/or performance?
i. Post course survey
ii. Pre and/or Post testing
iii. Completion of course, including quizzes
iv. Time taking the course
2. Previous eLearning Projects and Expectations
a. Has this group or client done an eLearning project before?
i. If not, have they seen an eLearning course that they like? Can they show it to you?
If not, show them some eLearning courses and assess what they like and dislike.
ii. If so, take a look at their existing eLearning course(s). Are they pleased with the
result? What do they want to do the same/different?
b. If they’ve done eLearning before, have they established templates, and style guides that
they can provide?
c. What development tool(s) did they use for their previous eLearning project?
3. Target Audience and Course Delivery
a. Who is the target audience for this course?
i. Where are they located?
ii. What OS and browsers do they use?
iii. What internet connection speed can you assume they have?
iv. Are there any firewalls or corporate IT policies that may prevent access to certain
file types?
b. Does the client have a Learning Management System?
i. Which one?
ii. Is it SCORM or AICC conformant?
iii. Have they used it to deliver courses to the target audience?
4. Existing Content
a. What existing content do they have on this topic? Is it current and relevant, or does it need
work?
b. What format is the content in? (e.g. PPT, .doc, .pdf, ILT, people’s heads)
c. How solid is the content? Does it change frequently, regularly, or it is relatively evergreen?
d. How much content needs to be covered? Try to get a feel for the target course length based
on conversations and what exists. Does their desired course length make sense in light of
what you can see?
e. Who are the SMEs for this topic and what role do you want them to play? Explain the
different ways that you can work with SMEs and have them select what would work best for
them.
P.O. Box 1067, Elmhurst, IL 60126 jennifer@bluestreaklearning.com 630‐842‐1865

2.
5. Course Development/Production
a. Does the client have a preference for certain authoring tools? (e.g. Articulate, Captivate,
Lectora, Toolbook, Other) Or does the client have a Learning Content Management System
that they want to use? (e.g. CourseAvenue, DominKnow, Xyleme, etc.)
b. Will the client provide photos? Videos? Graphics? Do you need to use a stock library or
create new media?
c. Does the client want voiceover? If so, do they have a particular voice that they always use?
d. Discuss the process that you will use to develop the course and ask how many
review/revision cycles they’d like at each stage?
i. Course Design Document
ii. Storyboards
iii. Alpha version of the course running outside the LMS
iv. Beta version of the course running inside the LMS
e. Will they be doing a beta test of the course with some target audience members?
eLearning Development Project Kick‐off Items
The premise of the project kick‐off meeting is to get everyone on the same page with regard to the
project process, parameters, timeframes, roles and responsibilities.
1. Team introductions
2. Goals for the project (stakeholder/project owner)
3. Work Process ‐‐ Go over the work process and timeframes for the project, including the deliverables
and number of review/revision cycles. Show sample deliverables, if appropriate.
4. Roles and Responsibilities ‐‐ Discuss roles and responsibilities and time commitments (including
SMEs and Project Owner). Air any disagreements and make sure everyone is on‐board and ready to
do their part.
5. Tools and Templates ‐‐ Confirm the tools and templates that will be used for the project.
6. Branding/Style Guidelines ‐‐ Ask for branding/color/writing style guidelines, if you don’t already
have them.
7. Visuals and Media Elements ‐‐ Discuss visuals for the course. Where will the photos, graphics, and
any other media elements come from? Get access to the appropriate photo library, if there is one.
8. File Sharing and Version Control ‐‐ Discuss methods for file sharing. How do you best exchange files
and track versions? What methods will the whole team use for that?
9. Action Items and Next Steps ‐‐ Change the project plan, as needed, based on the discussion. If
necessary, ask client contact to clarify roles/responsibilities, get people on‐board. If client roles or
other scope items have changed, discuss cost of changes with client in an appropriate setting.
P.O. Box 1067, Elmhurst, IL 60126 jennifer@bluestreaklearning.com 630‐842‐1865