Course Design Document: [Course title]

Course design document (CDD) template for an instructor-led, online or blended course, organised by the five ADDIE phases: Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation. It covers needs and learner analysis, learning objectives by Bloom's levels, assessment strategy, module outline, instructional strategies, media, accessibility, the development plan, pilot and rollout, evaluation at the four Kirkpatrick levels, and maintenance. Replace every [bracketed] value and every row marked Example.

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Revision history

Contents

1. Analysis
2. Design
3. Development
4. Implementation
5. Evaluation
6. Maintenance and review
7. Appendices

1. Analysis

1.1 Needs analysis and business goal

[Describe the performance problem or opportunity, its evidence and its cost, and the measurable goal the course supports.]

1.2 Learner analysis

1.3 Task and content analysis

[List the tasks learners must perform on the job, with the knowledge and skills each requires. This becomes the basis for objectives.]

1.4 Constraints and assumptions

[Budget, deadlines, tools (authoring software, learning management system), policies, and assumptions that, if wrong, would change the design.]

2. Design

2.1 Learning objectives

Write objectives with an observable verb, a condition and a criterion. Classify each by the cognitive process level of the revised Bloom's taxonomy (remember, understand, apply, analyse, evaluate, create).

2.2 Assessment strategy

2.3 Alignment matrix

2.4 Content outline and modules

The diagram shows the learner path through the course.

2.5 Instructional strategies

[Describe the approach and why it fits the learners and objectives. Name the model you use to structure lessons, for example Gagne's nine events of instruction or Merrill's first principles.]

2.6 Media and technology

2.7 Accessibility and inclusion

[State the target conformance level, for example WCAG 2.2 Level AA, and how it will be checked.]

• Captions and transcripts for all audio and video
• Full keyboard operation of interactions; no drag-and-drop without an alternative
• Text contrast of at least 4.5:1; colour never the only cue
• Plain language at a reading level suitable for the audience
• Diverse, respectful names and scenarios in examples
• Testing with a screen reader before release

3. Development

3.1 Development plan

3.2 Timeline

The chart shows a sample 16-week schedule from analysis to rollout.

3.3 Quality assurance

[Review rounds (SME accuracy, editorial, functional testing on target devices and browsers, accessibility audit, learning management system tracking test) and the criteria for release.]

4. Implementation

4.1 Pilot

4.2 Rollout plan

[Waves, enrolment method, deadlines, manager briefings, facilitator preparation, and how learners get technical and content support.]

4.3 Communication and support

[Announcement messages, manager talking points, help-desk arrangements and FAQ location.]

5. Evaluation

5.1 Formative evaluation

[Expert reviews, prototype tests and the pilot, and how findings feed back into the design.]

5.2 Summative evaluation (Kirkpatrick levels)

Learning gain can be expressed as the normalised gain:

Example: pre 54%, post 86% gives $g = 32 / 46 \approx 0.70$.

5.3 Reporting

[Who receives evaluation reports, when, and what decisions they inform. Example: "A one-page summary of Levels 1 and 2 goes to the sponsor two weeks after each wave. The 90-day Level 3 audit and the 6-month Level 4 incident comparison are presented at the quarterly compliance review, which decides whether to revise, extend or retire the course."]

6. Maintenance and review

7. Appendices

Glossary

Standard and licence note

Based on the ADDIE instructional design model, a widely used generic process with no single owner. Objectives use the cognitive process levels of the revised Bloom's taxonomy (Anderson and Krathwohl, 2001), and evaluation follows the four levels described by Donald Kirkpatrick; both are cited as references. Accessibility targets refer to W3C WCAG 2.2. This template is original text written for this collection; example data are illustrative. Template licence: MIT.