Bottom-Line Performance

Previously, I focused on identifying the elusive “need to have” content that supports the performance objectives in a course design. I mentioned that, in many cases, some percentage of content exists, but not in written format. Usually this means the content lives inside the head of a subject matter expert, or SME. My job is to get it out of that SME’s head and into the course. But how? Through osmosis? Hypnosis? Charm and Persuasion? Not quite. What would you say if I told you…Mad Libs?

Remember Mad Libs? Mad Libs is a game I played all the time as a kid, usually at birthday parties and on road trips with my family. Mad Libs is basically a book of little stories that contain lots of missing words. Players must “fill in the blanks” with words they choose. The kicker is that they don’t know how their words will be used in the story until AFTER they’ve chosen the words. One player asks another for a noun, verb, adjective, etc. without giving the other player any context for that word. Once all of the blanks are filled in, you read your completed story out loud only to find you’ve created a pretty silly plotline, which is the point of the game! (Check out the Mad Libs website for more information: http://www.madlibs.com/home/)

How does this relate to working with SMEs?

SMEs don’t have a lot of time. Heck, they’re SMEs! They’re in high demand and usually play critical roles in their organizations. They know a lot and usually like being asked for their expert opinion and knowledge. If you’re lucky enough to schedule a good chunk of time with a SME, they might talk your ear off! They’ll want to tell you everything they’ve ever known about a given topic because they’re passionate about it. You need to cut to the chase…you have to get just the “need to have” content from your course design into the actual course! SMEs will love you and want to work with you again if you can use whatever time they can give you efficiently and creatively.

I’ve had a lot of luck using several types of Mad Lib course development tools with SMEs, but for now, I want to focus on just one: scenario-building worksheets.

These worksheets allow a SME to “fill in the blanks” of a case study, employee scenario, or process-in-action sequence without having to start with a blank piece of paper. For example, if I need help with an employee scenario, I create a worksheet that includes four main sections: the employee, the situation, the tools/resources he/she uses, the steps he/she takes, and the results. Within each section, I literally start writing the “shell” of the story, but I include “blanks” for the SME. Here’s a small example:

Tim, a customer service manager, has been asked to review the last three months’ worth of dropped call reports. His manager is concerned with the apparent increase in dropped calls and wonders if the staff is struggling with resolving customer issues in a timely manner.

Tim reviews the reports and notices: _________________________________.

Based on what he sees, he asks himself the following questions:_____________

To get the answers to his questions, he takes the following steps: ____________ and he reaches out to the following people: _____________________________.

To help bring the scenario to life, I may also include images in the worksheet, such as a photo of “Tim” or a graphic of a report or pie chart. I try to think of anything that might help the SME fill in the blanks.

And don’t think I just email this worksheet to a SME and say “good luck!” Just like Mad Libs, we build the story together. Sometimes this is over the phone and other times it’s face to face. Some SMEs might want help getting started and then prefer to complete the rest of the worksheet on their own. Other SMEs might want to just “think out loud” and I use the worksheet to take notes, much like an interview guide. If that occurs, I’ll send the completed worksheet to them for their review and simply ask them to verify I got it right. The point is, you must find out what your SME prefers and consider their needs, as much as possible. If you do, you’ll have a win-win on your hands.

What other techniques have you used to get the most out of your SMEs? Fill in the blank: When I work with my SMEs, I have success when I _____________________.