Online Design System

The University of Adelaide's Online Programs are developed by a multi-disciplinary group of learning designers, video producers, resource developers and project managers who create online learning content. The teams involved offer an end-to-end design and development service which starts at program design and ends with live courses being delivered to students.

This online resource has been developed to provide staff at the university insight into the tools, processes and methodology used throughout the course development process.

Snowball agility

Online Programs Team works in an agile way. Our approach to course development is more Snowball than Waterfall. This means we develop the course through iterations rather than stages. We start with an overview of the course and as we move through the iterations add more layers - learning outcomes, assessment, lessons and then the activities and course content.

This provides us with a number of benefits:

• An ability to adjust to change
• Reduce the risks and pressure as time goes on
• Focus effort and reduce wasted time and energy

The design process

The design process has been developed and refined over a number of years and projects. This 2022 version encapsulates the lastest tweaks and changes made.