Heuristic task analysis on e-learning course development: a formative research study

Utilizing heuristic task analysis (HTA), a method developed for eliciting, analyzing, and representing expertise in complex cognitive tasks, a formative research study was conducted on the task of e-learning course development to further improve the HTA process. Three instructional designers from three different post-secondary institutions in the U.S. were selected for interviews. The interviews focused on three e-learning course development cases (one from each institution), and the participants were asked to articulate their underlying thoughts and principles for designing e-learning courses. Overall, the HTA process worked well in the sense that the study could elicit procedural steps and sub-steps involved in e-learning course development and heuristic knowledge with which the instructional designers performed each step. On the surface, the e-learning course development processes that the instructional designers used looked more alike than different, entailing major steps such as meeting with faculty, developing content, monitoring courses in progress, and debriefing the instructor and students. The underlying principles and knowledge that guided each instructional designer through the processes, however, were unique in that each instructional designer constructed her own heuristics to accommodate the myriad contextual factors that arose in her work setting. The study also discussed the challenge of identifying the simplest yet most representative e-learning course development case with multiple experts and suggestions for further improving the HTA process were also presented.