ADDIE Design Model

Definition

ADDIE is one of the oldest instructional design models in existence today. It originates from the the Five-Step Approach, a U.S Air Force training framework developped throughought the middle of the 20th century and later perfected for the U.S. Army by the Centre for Educational Technology at Florida State University where it became officially known as ADDIE. Today ADDIE is used by Instructional Designers as a foundational framework to inform the development of learning experiences across a range of instructional programs, courses, and materials. Over the years a number of spin offs have emerged to address perceived weakenesses and improve upon the original framework.^[1]

As an accronym, ADDIE stands for Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation.

Analysis

The first step consists of analyzing the target learners in relation to the subject matter to identify knowledge gaps and set desirable learning outcomes.

Design

In the design phase, instuctional designers set out to design the entire learning experience based on the findings from the learners’s needs assessment using learning theories as guiding principles.

Development

The development phase is when the assets needed for the learning experience are built in cooperation with suject matter experts and other professionals in accordance with the plan drafted during the design phase. This phase is typically managed like a project and broken down into milestones and tasks that are assigned to all the relevant individuals.Throughout this stage, the learning experience is continuously tested to ensure it meets all the requirements set out during the design process.

Implementation

In the implementation phase, the learning experience is deployed for use by organization and tested in a live environment to identify any outstanding potential areas of improvement and goes back to development if need be.

Evaluation

The evaluation stage binds all the steps together as it provides a mechanism to assess the learning experience against the learning outcomes. During the evaluation stage this evaluation is largely formative and typically consists of QA testing and effectiveness assessment of each component against the learning outcomes. After the course as been implemented, a summative assessment is conducted to measure the overal effectiveness of the learning experience. More assessment data is usually collected and analyzed throughout the learning experience’s lifecycle.

Weaknesses of ADDIE

Over the years, a number of weaknesses were identified^[2]pertaining to the models rigidness and lack of iterative design principles. For instance, ADDIE makes unrealistic assumptions about instructional design teams regarding their ability to obtain all the data needed during the design phase which may sometimes not be possible or practical in certain organizations. ADDIE also assume that a final learning product will be delivered at a particular point in time. In some scenarios, however, instructional designers may be expected to deliver a minimum viable product within in short timeframe and iterate over time to improve all aspects of the LX and adapt to perpetual change.

Some of these examples of these weaknesses are outlined below courtesy of Instructionaldesign.org:

1. Typical processes require unrealistically comprehensive up-front analysis Most teams respond by doing very little at all and fail to access critical elements.
2. Ignores some political realities. Opportunities are misses, vital resources aren’t made available, support is lacking, and targets shift.
3. Storyboards are ineffective tools for creating, communicating and evaluating design alternatives. Poor designs aren’t recognized as such until too late.
4. Detailed processes become so set that creativity becomes a nuisance.
5. No accommodation for dealing with faults or good ideas throughput the process.
6. Learning programs are designed to meet criteria that are measured (schedule, cost, throughput) and fail to focus on identifying behavioral changes.
7. Post tests provide little useful information to assist in improving instruction

Seven Common Weaknesses of the ADDIE Process. From Rapid Interactive Design for E-Learning Certificate Program © 2007 Allen Interactions

Variations

To address these perceived weakenesses of the model, a number of variations of addie have emerged over the past decades, bringing their own improvements and changes to the model. A few examples of these variations include:

• PADDIE+M: Includes a Planning stage and a Maintenance stage.

ADDIE ID model scenario