Oct 15 2021

Curriculum Architecture Design (CAD)

I’ve been doing CADs since my 1st at Motorola as an employee. As an ISD Consultant I’ve done 76.

Why Bother?

To meet the real business needs of the company, any training curriculum must meet the true needs of those people who are performing the work. If the curriculum is based on a review or brainstorming of subject matter or topics, rather than a systematic analysis of the work processes and the human job performance requirements, it is likely to contain training that is not directly relevant to the job.

In addition, it is unlikely that all the key training will be identified—subject matter experts (SMEs) tend to miss the practical but necessary application training that true practitioners require. Also, the curriculum is likely to end up with redundant coverage of related generic training areas (such as negotiating skills, delegation, etc.), but it may lack coverage of tasks in the actual work processes that the individuals must perform.

Finally, without a CAD approach to each target audience, the multiple curriculum efforts are likely to end up with redundant coverage of training content areas (such as policies, procedures, systems, shared tasks, teamwork, interpersonal styles and communications, etc.). A non-CAD approach across multiple audiences produces a higher than necessary first cost (due to redundant development efforts), plus much higher T&D maintenance costs (which are due to the unnecessary redundancy of content).

And, T&D that is content-oriented rather than performance-oriented may lack coverage of tasks, outputs, and standards derived from a model of the actual work outputs, tasks, and processes that the individuals must perform.

A 4-Phase Curriculum Architecture Design (CAD) effort designs a performance-based modular Learning Path and Individual Planning Guides, incorporating the client’s existing Information and Instruction as appropriate.

Guy has conducted 76 CAD projects since 1982, and did his first as an employee at Motorola in 1981.

He was a co-author of the first published article on Curriculum Architecture in Training Magazine in 1984: https://eppicinc.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/cad-training-mag-1984.pdf