Online Resources for IDs and Project Scheduling

Liz Malagisi
Jul 27, 2023
2 min read

Project scheduling can be especially tricky for a new Instructional Designer. Fine-tuning time estimates requires experience. Fortunately, plenty of experienced others have come before and are ready to help. A search for scheduling advice will turn up many resources. Below are a few examples:

1. Michael Greer’s PM Resources

https://greerspmresources.blogspot.com/

and

https://greerspmresources.blogspot.com/2008/07/estimating-instructional-development.html

Michael Greer is a Project Management author and trainer. He has published helpful and free resources to clarify project management for instructional designers (Greer, n.d.). In his page on ID estimation, Greer points out that non-writing/development tasks such as analysis, brainstorming, SME review, and sign-off account for 80% of the project time (Greer, n.d.). In addition, Greer informs us that rule-of-thumb ratios used for estimation can vary greatly between industry and organization. A well-kept history of authentic task timelines is the best way to build a unique ratio applicable to your area (Greer, n.d.). Greer’s BlogSpot contains helpful information for IDs wishing to learn project management. Greer also provides links to additional articles and online resources.

2. eLearning Industry Website

https://elearningindustry.com/creating-an-instructional-design-project-schedule-tasks-milestones-and-dependencies

In this article, Joseph Evanick (2023) defines what is meant by milestones, critical paths, and dependencies. He also describes how to incorporate time buffers and plan for risk contingencies. All instructional designers should bookmark the eLearning Industry website, whether experienced or new. This site is dedicated to all topics of instructional design. Articles dedicated to project management abound and can be searched here: https://elearningindustry.com/subjects/elearning-project-management

3. Gantt Charts

https://www.teamgantt.com/what-is-a-gantt-chart

One of the first questions that come to my mind with scheduling is, where to start? I know I want to represent the schedule in some format visually, but now I need to determine the layout and the level of detail. The page on Team Gantt describes how to use a Gantt chart for visualizing project scheduling and can get you started if you’ve never created a Gantt. Near the middle of the page, the author also gives best practices for creating a schedule, including organizing tasks into groups or phases, adding notes, and indicating dependencies (Teamgantt, n.d.). Although this page is published by a site looking to sell its software and most of their how-to information utilizes their wares, they also provide information on creating a Gantt in Excell and Google Sheets. Finally, they provide many examples of creating Gantt charts for different industries and project types.

References

Evanick, J. (2023, July 7). Creating an instructional design project schedule: Tasks, milestones, and dependencies. https://elearningindustry.com/creating-an-instructional-design-project-schedule-tasks-milestones-and-dependencies

Greer, M. (n.d.). Estimating instructional development time. https://greerspmresources.blogspot.com/2008/07/estimating-instructional-development.html

Teamgantt. (n.d.). What is a Gantt chart? How to use Gantt charts in project management (with examples). https://www.teamgantt.com/what-is-a-gantt-chart

3 Comments

Peter Lewis

Jul 30, 2023

Hey Liz,

What a fantastic blog post on online resources for IDs and project scheduling! As a fellow Instructional Designer, I can totally relate to the challenges of fine-tuning time estimates, especially for those of us who are new to the field. Your curated list of resources is a goldmine for anyone seeking guidance in this area.

I visited Michael Greer's PM Resources, and I must say, the wealth of information he provides is incredible. It's great to know that experienced professionals like him are willing to share their knowledge and help others in the industry. I found his insights on non-writing/development tasks and the importance of maintaining a task timeline history quite enlightening.

The eLearning Industry website you mentioned…

Guest

Hi Liz,

I’m a sucker for a good statistic, especially reviewing one’s own work to try to calibrate how and why something went a certain way. So your source from Michael Greer suggesting keeping track of timelines and tasks to discover the ratio your project works best with is very appealing! A perusal of his sight and the ratios he discussed for development time versus training time, and possible rations is also illuminating to me. I like this source that you chose because it is compact, but delivers the kind of laser-focus tip from a seasoned ID professional that could really help an early-career ID conceptualize how they plan a project. As a budding instructional designer, I think it’s…

Hi Liz! Michael Greer absolutely seems like one to follow since his book is our main reference for our project work this term. Awesome job finding his blog. I've found myself frequenting that e-learning industry website a lot lately. The gantt chart resource sounds like the perfect resource to support us with the next stage of our project this term, I will definitely check it out. It's nice to know that they talk about different industries too. Thank you for sharing these resources.

Jodex.