snow white & the 7 smes - tips on how to work successfully with smes on elearning projects

Disclaimer

No SMEs were harmed in the making

of this presentation.

Any likeness to a SME, living or dead,

is purely coincidental.

SMEs are expert

in their subjects

BUT…

usually don’t

speak ‘learner’

…which makes

you a translator

Would the real SME please stand up

Initiation

Scoping

Design

Development

Review

When SMEs usually

get involved

…and when they should be involved!

(but how often are they?)

SMEs have many faces.

Snow White knew that what worked for Grumpy

would not work for Sleepy.

I can give

you 10

minutes in 6

weeks time

Big meeting

with very

important

people

TIPS #1

Tweak their role

Schedule & stick to it

…but build in buffer

Go where they are

I don’t know a

thing about e-

learning

Why don’t we

create a handout

with all the

information?

TIPS #2

Involve them … but be

very very patient

Lists, checklists, guides

Give them visuals

Present scripts verbally

I’m not sure –

I’ll have to

check with

my boss

Sorry THEY

didn’t tell me

this before

TIPS #3

Clearly define roles

Advise and support your SME

Find other ways to get the information

Listen for the warnings

WE think that…

WE want this…

WE can’t agree...

I’LL put that

to the..

..committee

..team

..group

..business

TIPS #4

Create a lead-SME

Tie down ‘sign-off’

Allow time for review

But …. hold your

ground

There’s a typo

on page 63,

3rd word on

paragraph 12

We’ll need the

legislation

written out in

full

TIPS #5

Allow 5x more reviews

Review with screen shots

Edit using style guide

Throw in an error

…jargon …

jargon …

jargon …

jargon

Big word…

complex

sentence

…wordy

explanation

TIPS #6

Prepare & be credible

Ask for the book

Record everything

….you’ll probably only

get it once

The way I

would explain

this to

learners on

screen is …

I’ll review

that by the

end of the

day

TIPS #7

Clearly define roles

Figure out your SMEs

face and adapt

Involve SMEs

throughout the process