video interviews


Scrums and sprints V


ikesh Tailor is an e-learning producer at the multi-award winning National College for Applied Learning Technologies, based at the College of Policing in Hendon. Clive Shepherd visited Vikesh to find out more about how NCALT is applying the techniques of user-


centred design and agile development.


Clive: So Vikesh, tell us a little bit about what it is that you do. Vikesh: I’m a producer here at NCALT. As a producer, I work closely with the graphic designers, developers and instructional designers to develop e-learning, predominantly for the police forces across the UK.


C: How did you get to be an e-learning producer? V: I studied Multimedia Computing when I was at university. I was always interested in applying my skills in human-computer interface design and the use of all forms of media, and an opportunity came up to be a developer at NCALT. I started off here as a Flash ActionScript developer. I moved on to become an instructional designer, working with subject matter experts and stakeholders to write the content for our courses, and for the last four years I’ve been an e-learning producer having responsibility for several projects running at the same time.


C: It’s quite unusual going from being a developer to being a designer. How did that come about? V: I was always interested in having greater control over the project than you would have as a developer, in terms of what goes into the content and how you respond to what users want. I had more scope for using the skills that I had.


C: Are there any particular advantages in having been a developer? V: I think it’s been advantageous, particularly as a producer when you’re working with timelines and working with people with different skill sets. I think there’s sometimes a bit of friction between technical and non-technical people. Coming from a development background gives me an insight into the constraints they’re working under and how long things tend to take. I can then weigh up the options as a producer and choose the best path to take.


C: In e-learning, we tend not to have much of a direct relationship with our users, the learners. How important do you think that relationship is? V: I’m a big advocate of user-centred design and try my best to understand what the needs of our users are. We conduct studies with our users to better understand the environment in which they will be taking the e-learning. For example, they may be working on shifts and taking their e-learning at two in the morning.


I was always interested in having greater control over the project than you would have as a developer, in terms of what goes into the content and how you respond to what users want


18 Watch the video


In conjunction with e.learning age, Clive Shepherd is producing a series of videos featuring some of the most inspiring learning designers in the business. This month he talks to Vikesh Tailor


This article is a brief extract from Clive Shepherd’s interview with Vikesh Tailor. A video of the interview in which Vikesh demonstrates some of his work can be found at http://tinyurl.com/VikTailor


We hold ‘scrums’, which are short team meetings no more than 15 minutes long. We also have ‘sprints’, which are targets such as ‘complete chapter 1 by the end of week 1’


It’s important to put yourself in their shoes and to design something that meets their needs.


C: You’re an exponent of the agile design and development process. How does that work? V: Agile is a project management process and we’ve found it quite useful particularly when working on projects with tight deadlines and strict budgets. So, for example, we hold ‘scrums’, which are short team meetings no more than 15 minutes long. We also have ‘sprints’, which are targets such as ‘complete chapter 1 by the end of week 1’. It also engages the stakeholders early on, making sure we’re on track and on message. At the end of every sprint we send out a link to the prototype that we have in place, giving them opportunities to feed back.


C: Does this mean that the traditional ADDIE process of analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation is no longer applicable to e-learning? V: I think you can use ADDIE as an overall approach to the project, then use a more agile, iterative process when it comes to the production stage, when you’re getting the developers, the designers and the writing in place. For example, in one of our projects, we didn’t have all the information we needed and the deadline was coming up. The agile approach allowed us to be much more flexible in responding to the situation.


C: Well, it certainly seems to be working seeing that NCALT picked up another two E-Learning Awards in 2013. Congratulations to all the team.


e.learning age february 2014


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