Think Tank Creations

Page - 1 -

Storyboarding – Think Tank Creations

All too often people call a media production company and say they want a
video or computer based training program before they know what they want.
This is an open door for trouble, because neither the client nor the production
company knows what is expected or what should be done. Statements such as
"we want a 15 minute video" or "we need an internet training program on cash
register operations" are at best statements which indicate a need or problem,
but do not indicate or communicate the content of the program or the final
behavioral or performance outcomes required. All too often we find that many
clients want to start production immediately and want an instant solution to
their problem.

It is at this point you must sit back and ask yourself several question before you
ever pick up the telephone and call a production company.

1. Is the performance problem you are trying to solve the result of a lack of
knowledge, skills or attitudes on the part of employees? Ask yourself the
famous question "could they do it if their lives depended upon it?". If the
answer comes back yes, then you don't have a problem that can be solved by
training. You have a problem which is being caused by something else in the
work environment. If on the other hand, your answer is no, then you probably
have a problem in which training can be part of the solution.

2. Do you really need a formal training program? Or, would some carefully
designed job aids in the form of check lists, written directions, pocket guides,
or peer coaching solve the problem?

3. If at this point you have decided that you do indeed need a formal training
program or system, then you need to ask the next series of questions.

A. Who specifically needs the training?

B. What type of training do they need, i.e. skills, knowledge, attitudes?
C. What should be included in the training (what must, should or could
employees know)? To answer these questions, you will have to perform a
task and job analysis.
D. Is there a best way of presenting the training. (what is the best
format and media that should be used.)?
E. How do you plan to measure (test) their competence?
Once you feel that you have a solid understanding of who is to be trained, what
they are going to learn, how you are going to teach them, and how you are
going to prove that they have learned it, you must now sit down and plan your
 Think Tank Creations
Page - 2 -

training program. If you are going to develop a media based program such as a
video or computer based multimedia training program, your next step is to
develop a storyboard.

What is a storyboard?
A storyboard is usually a sequence of paper pages that detail the contents of a
training program by screens or frames.

How are storyboards used?

Storyboards are used as:

• a lesson planning tool

• a basis for projecting production costs
• a guide for media producers (internally or externally)
• documentation
• the basis for gaining competitive bids (constructing RFPs)
• the basis for preparing internal proposals
• an inexpensive test platform for validating that your instruction works.

In short, storyboards are a very powerful planning tool that pay big dividends
when it comes to producing and implementing your training program.

Let's take a closer look at storyboards as a planning tool.

As a lesson planning tool

Pages in a storyboard should be constructed to include every aspect and
element of your training program. Every sentence displayed. Every word which
is spoken. Every picture or graph shown. Every video sequence to be played.
Every test question asked. As you build pages, you must also keep in mind the
sequence and flow of your program. Break the program into "natural" sections
such introduction, overview, topics 1,2,3, and final test. Building a good
storyboard is like designing a house. It allows you to see where everything will
be and how it will all fit together.

As a basis for projecting production costs

Let me say this once. A storyboard is a plan for spending money. And as such, it
is your job to develop or carefully oversee the development of storyboards
used by your organization. As you develop your storyboard, be careful not to
get carried away by the fancy effects that are now possible with many
advanced types of media such as video, CBT and intra/internet training
systems. As you plan each element of your training, ask yourself this question -
How is this media element (video segment, graphic, animation, picture, voice
track) going to promote and insure that what needs to be taught is going to be
learned? Be careful not to get caught up in the "theater" of training, and forget
that training is a core business strategy for developing organizational
competence that must return value for monies spent.
 Think Tank Creations
Page - 3 -

Using your storyboard, it is possible to take each media element and determine
roughly what it will cost to produce. This is what we as producers do. This is
how we come to a final cost projection. You should be able to do the same.
Remember, it's your money. Learn what various media cost to produce.

Where do you find this information? Just ask media producers. What do you
charge to ____________? They will tell you or provide you with a cost list of
their services. It won't take long before your discover a reasonable range of
costs. Costs that you can use to prepare your budget or the cost section of your
internal proposal.

As a guide for media producers (internally or externally)

Storyboards help media producers to produce the media you want or envision.
Make your requirements for media as specific as possible. If you need an over
the shoulder shot of the company president, put it in your storyboard. If you
need bouncy music at the opening of your program, state that is what you
want. The clearer and more exact you are about what you want or envision will
save you time and money when it comes to producing your program.
Storyboards are used heavily during production. If you want to blow your
budget, just have a video production company stand around holding lights
while you try to figure out where the next scene should be shot. And always get
everyone who is a stakeholder in the project to sign off on it before calling a
production company. Let's face it. It is a lot cheaper to change a few sheets of
paper than it is to make changes after production is underway. And, let me
assure you, media production people will charge you for every change you
make after you have submitted your "approved" storyboard.

As documentation
Many training programs involve a number of media elements, especially
computer based training. You may have several hundred screens, each with a
specific branch or branches, media elements such as photographs, illustrations
and voicing. After a point, no one can remember all of the minute details that
are encompassed within one program. Without clear and accurate
documentation, there is no way to change or update the program in the future.
For each screen, work out an easy coding system for documenting the various
media elements used.

The storyboard can be used ...

As the basis for gaining competitive bids (constructing RFPs)

At some point, you will have to go outside of your organization to obtain media
production services. Imagine if you were a contractor and someone came to
you and said, "Build me a house and tell me how much will it cost?" You would
be at a total loss, wouldn't you? The same applies to media producers who are
asked to "bid" on a one sentence description of a project. "We want a scrap
metal reduction program" or " we need sales training for chemical engineers,
 Think Tank Creations
Page - 4 -

what's it going to cost?" To insure that you get the best possible bids, bids that
are realistic and fair, submit your detailed storyboard as the basis for making
the bid. It provides vendors with a much appreciated "level playing field." For
more information on writing RFPs, see the article "How to Write a Request For
Proposal (RFP)" in this section.

As the basis for preparing Internal Proposals

Storyboards allow you to develop detailed training plans and project costs. Cost
that must be approved by upper management For more information on writing
Internal Proposals, see the article "How to Write an Internal Proposal" in this
section.

As an inexpensive test platform for validating that your instruction works

Start by validating the information in your storyboard by having content
experts read through your program and make suggestions for improvement.
Don't be offended if your storyboard comes back bleeding with red ink.
Remember, your goal is to produce effective training that is technically
correct, not to write the great American novel or screenplay. Once you have
had your program blessed by the experts, run a series of "program run
throughs" that will help you determine how well your training program will
work with live learners. Ask several people who are not familiar with the
material contained in your course to "take" the course by reading through the
storyboard and answering all of the test questions. Then debrief your "trainee"
by asking them what they liked and disliked about the program. What was
confusing? Did pictures and graphics make sense? Watch the person as they
read through the course. Do they ask questions? Do they hesitate? Look
confused? Show signs of boredom? Then grade their tests. Do your trainees pass
the test? Is there one or two questions that people miss more than others? If so,
the problem isn't with them, but with your training program.

Go back and redesign those sections of your program which are related to the
problem test questions, then rerun your training program with fresh trainees.
In short, "pretest" your training program until people are able to score well on
the final test and you hear people say, "Gee, that was easy." When you hear
that comment, pat yourself on the back. You are now ready to call a media
producer.
 Think Tank Creations
Page - 5 -

Sample Storyboard Page

To help you get started, you may want to consider the following storyboard
page layout. There is nothing sacred about it. This particular storyboard page is
what we use when planning computer based training programs. You are free to
copy and use it or change it.

Area 1: Represents the monitor screen. This area shows how the screen will look to
the trainee. All information (both text and graphics) which will appear on the screen
are indicated.

Area 2: This space is for special instructions. Special instructions can include
background color, color of text, comments about animation, audio or video segments,
screen resolution desired or other information which describes how you want the
screen to look or perform.

Area 3: This space is used to indicate which screen is to appear next. It also indicates
those screens with test questions that respond to right and wrong responses.

Area 4: This area is used to write the voice script used by a narrator.

Area 5: This area is used to identify the name of the production and the number used
to designate the screen.
 Think Tank Creations
Page - 6 -

Developing and Storyboarding with Multimedia

In Lewis Carroll’s story of Alice in
Wonderland, Alice comes upon the
Cheshire Cat after falling down the
rabbit’s hole. Being lost, she asks the cat
which way she should go. “That depends
up where you want to go,” responds the
cat. Alice says, “It really doesn’t
matter.” To which the cat replies, “Then
it really doesn’t matter which way you
go.”

DEVELOPING PERFORMANCE STATEMENTS

As with Alice, you must first determine where you want to go before you can develop a
plan for getting there. This means that you must first create Performance Statements
for your lesson. Performance statements are statements that define what people will
know or be able to do as a result of going through a MTS lesson. Using performance
statement, you will be able to develop both Performance Objectives and Test
Questions. Below are listed several examples of performance statements.

Examples of Performance Statements:

List two major types of safety hazards.

Identify the rocker-bearing joint.
Locate the emergency shut off switch on the T-100 packing machine control
panel.
Calculate the curing time for FG1 gel when the temperature is 240 degrees.
Name the three steps for effective listening.

Performance statements require the learner to do a specific something when

presented with a learning task or event.

Examples:

List two major types of safety hazards.

Identify the rocker-bearing joint.
Locate the emergency shut off switch on the T-100 packing machine control
panel.
Calculate the curing time for FG1 gel when the temperature is 240 degrees.
Name the three steps for effective listening.

Be careful of statements that use phrases such as know about understand and other
vague statements. These types of phrases are much too general in nature and should
not be used to develop precise performance statements.
 Think Tank Creations
Page - 7 -

DEVELOPING PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES

Performance objectives are statements that define what a person will know or be able
to do once they have completed the multimedia tour. To create a performance
objective, add the phrase "Users will be able to…” before the performance statement.

Examples of Performance Statements:

Learners will be able to list two major types of safety hazards.

Learners will be able to identify the rocker-bearing joint.
Learners will be able to locate the emergency shut off switch on the T-100
packing machine control panel.
Learners will be able to calculate the curing time for FG1 gel when the
temperature is 240 degrees.
Learners will be able to name the three steps for effective listening.

You may also use these statements in a slightly altered form at the beginning of the
lesson to define to the learning what he or she will be expected to know or be able to
do as a result of taking the MTS lesson

Example:

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

List two major types of safety hazards.

Identify the rocker-bearing joint.
Locate the emergency shut off switch on the T-100 packing machine control
panel.
Calculate the curing time for FG1 gel when the temperature is 240 degrees.
Name the three steps for effective listening.

When you list the performance objectives at the beginning of a lesson, you help the
learner to mentally prepare for learning. Let’s face it, no one likes to be surprised
when they are trying to learn something that is important to their job or career.
Forewarned is forearmed.

For more information concerning the construction and use of performance objectives
go to the Internet and use the key words Bloom’s Taxonomy to search the web.

Examples:

http://www.wested.org/tie/dlrn/blooms.html
http://www.coun.uvic.ca/learn/program/hndouts/bloom.html
http://faculty.washington.edu/krumme/guides/bloom.html