One of the goals we've long talked about—but often struggled to implement—in instructional design is rapid prototyping. In other industries - from design thinking to product development and programming - building and testing early versions of ideas is a critical part of their work and proven to lead to better outcomes. Working prototypes spark clearer stakeholder feedback than static documents, and early user testing saves costly rework down the line.
Research shows that the same is true in instructional design. Rapid prototyping of courses, modules or even discrete activities is shown to improve instructional product quality, shorten development cycles, and enhance collaboration between designers and stakeholders (Daugherty et al., 2007; Gerber & Carroll, 2012). Compared to traditional linear “waterfall” models, prototyping enables instructional designers to integrate formative evaluation at every step, improving usability, learner engagement and likelihood of impact (Tripp & Bichelmeyer, 1990; Nixon & Lee, 2001).

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