Overview of the Phase

This phase, often referred to as the creative phase, takes the functional specifications to a further level of detail in which the Design Document: Identifies the human activity that the proposed interactive system will support; Identifies the people, or users, who will perform the activity; Sets the levels of support that the system will provide, otherwise known as the system's usability; Selects the basic form of solution to the design problem.

In this methodology functional specifications are not frozen; on the contrary, team members in consultation with the client, are encouraged to revise and change their requirements as prototypes are evaluated and tested. However, there needs to be a balance between proposed changes to the Design Documents and their likely cost to avoid the 'creeping features' syndrome. The feasibility of the project is once again reexamined.

It is at this point that developers give priority to the specified learning outcomes of the product and the ways in which end users will interact with the product. A user centred attitude in all aspects of the Design phase including instructional, interface, technical and graphic design is essential. The use of metaphors to place the information into a familiar context for users should be considered. A modular approach to design suits most educational/training courseware; modules can be reused and tracking of errors is less complex.