Design Theory

My core design philosophy is a hybrid approach that marries the structural rigor of ADDIE with the iterative speed and flexibility of Agile methodologies.

I look at ADDIE as my strategic blueprint. I never skip the Analysis phase; I believe in doing a deep dive into root-cause performance gaps, understanding the target audience, and aligning learning objectives with measurable business or agency outcomes.

However, I don’t treat ADDIE as a rigid, waterfall process where development happens in a vacuum. That’s where Agile comes in. Once the scope is defined, I break the project into iterative sprints. Instead of spending months building an entire curriculum before a stakeholder sees it, I focus on rapid prototyping. I build a Minimum Viable Product—whether that’s a wireframe, a single interactive scenario, or a module prototype—and get it in front of SMEs and stakeholders early and often.

This hybrid approach—often aligned with the Successive Approximation Model (SAM)—allows me to catch design flaws early, manage human risk, ensure Section 508 compliance from the ground up, and pivot quickly based on feedback. Ultimately, it allows me to deliver highly engaging, behavior-based training that is both instructionally sound and completed on an accelerated timeline.”