1.2 The Five Phases of ADDIE
1.2 The Five Phases of ADDIE
Analysis
Video: Analysis Phase
Watch from 2:27 — The three pillars of analysis: learner, content, and resources
The Analysis phase is always the starting point. Instructional designers examine three critical areas:
- Learner Analysis: Who are the learners? What are their characteristics, goals, prior knowledge, and learning preferences? The goal is to develop a mental “avatar” of the target learner that guides all subsequent design decisions.
- Content Analysis: What content needs to be covered, and at what depth? This determines scope and level of complexity.
- Resource Analysis: What tools, technologies, and materials are available? Resource constraints shape what is possible in course design. As technologies evolve (e.g., simulations, AI), new possibilities emerge.
Design
Video: Design Phase
Watch from 6:36 — Sequencing content, writing objectives, and chunking
The Design phase takes analysis findings and creates a blueprint for the course. Key activities include:
- Content Sequencing: Determining the logical order of topics. Courses may build from simple to complex (“small to big picture”) or start with the big picture and get more granular.
- Chunking: Breaking content into manageable, bite-sized pieces appropriate for the target audience’s attention span and learning capacity.
- Writing Learning Objectives: Defining measurable outcomes for each unit that drive assessment design.
- Assessment Planning: Determining how learner mastery will be measured, given available resources.
Development
Video: Development Phase
Watch from 13:13 — Building the course, selecting media, and creating feedback
During Development, the design plan is turned into actual course materials. This involves selecting and creating media, developing practice activities, and building feedback mechanisms. The development process often reveals that elements of the design need adjustment—ADDIE is iterative, not strictly linear.
Implementation
Video: Implementation Phase
Watch from 18:13 — Deploying the course, motivating learners, and using introductions as hooks
Implementation is the deployment of the completed course. Key considerations include: motivating learners, providing “hooks” in introductions that anchor new content to prior knowledge (scaffolding), using media wisely, and offering lesson summaries that review what was covered.
Evaluation
Video: Evaluation Phase
Watch from 23:17 — Measuring course success and continuous improvement
Evaluation is essential for continuous improvement. Metrics may include exam pass rates, course completion rates, and identifying units where learners disengage. Evaluation findings feed back into the Analysis phase, creating a cycle of ongoing improvement.
Key Takeaway
ADDIE is not a one-time linear process. It is iterative—findings from later phases (especially Evaluation) loop back to inform earlier phases. This ongoing cycle ensures courses remain effective, current, and learner-centered.
Self-Check: Unit 1
1. A course designer discovers that most learners in a target audience lack reliable high-speed internet. In which ADDIE phase would this factor be identified?
Reveal Answer
Analysis — specifically the resource analysis, which examines available technologies and constraints that affect course delivery.
2. During which ADDIE phase would a designer decide to break a complex topic into four sub-units rather than two?
Reveal Answer
Design — this is a chunking decision that falls within content sequencing and objective writing.
3. Why is ADDIE described as a “framework” rather than a “model”?
Reveal Answer
ADDIE is an overarching process that ensures all aspects of instructional design are addressed. Individual instructional design models (such as Dick & Carey or Backward Design) operate within this framework.
