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Map It: The hands-on guide to strategic training design
No more information dumps!Map It helps you turn training requests into projects that make a real difference. You'll learn how
Help the client identify what's really causing the performance problem.Determine the role (if any!) of training.Create realistic activities that help people practice what they need to do, not just show what they know.Choose the best format for each activity -- online, projected to a group, on paper, as a small-group activity, over email...Provide each activity at the best time -- in the workflow, available on demand, spaced over time...Let people pull the information they need to complete the activity -- no more information dumps!Enjoy creating challenging activities that people want to complete.Show how your project has improved the performance of the organization.Using humor and lots of examples, Map It walks you through action mapping, a visual approach to needs analysis and training design. Organizations around the world use action mapping to improve performance with targeted, efficient training.
Help the client identify what's really causing the performance problem.Determine the role (if any!) of training.Create realistic activities that help people practice what they need to do, not just show what they know.Choose the best format for each activity -- online, projected to a group, on paper, as a small-group activity, over email...Provide each activity at the best time -- in the workflow, available on demand, spaced over time...Let people pull the information they need to complete the activity -- no more information dumps!Enjoy creating challenging activities that people want to complete.Show how your project has improved the performance of the organization.Using humor and lots of examples, Map It walks you through action mapping, a visual approach to needs analysis and training design. Organizations around the world use action mapping to improve performance with targeted, efficient training.
420 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 18, 2017
225 people are currently reading
977 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
September 8, 2019
Excellent resource. My only disagreement is in the name "school model" that is used throughout the book. The way "school model" is described here is already an outdated view on general education; any self-respecting modern school follows far nobler causes than "putting information into kids' heads", and there are plenty of best practices to show. I can only feel sorry for any general education systems that rely heavily on standardized testing and as a result tend to follow the model described in this book...
March 5, 2023
Very informative and plan to apply this ASAP! Only thing I disliked was the disconnect between the book and her website. I tried looking up an example she referenced but couldn’t find it.
Side note: I find it kind of frustrating how many instructional design books draw a line between teaching children and adults. Agree things are done differently in schools (unfortunately), but learning for all ages is best through experiences!
Side note: I find it kind of frustrating how many instructional design books draw a line between teaching children and adults. Agree things are done differently in schools (unfortunately), but learning for all ages is best through experiences!
March 30, 2019
This is one of the best instructional design books ever written: it's immediately usable and--most astonishingly for a design guide--a pure delight to read. Moore was a technical writer before she got into instructional design and it shows in the best way: her punchy, witty narrative pulled me along easily. I daresay it was a page-turner.
One of my favorite parts is the practice section in each chapter in which you consider brief scenarios, asking, "would you steal that?" or "would that format work for that goal?"and so on. Most books might have just 2-3 of these, but she showers you with a dozen or more, followed by her own opinion and rationale.
I know this is an expensive book; I balked at the $50 price tag when I first saw it. But when I consider how much it's improved my approach to my work (and also my ability to justify my approach), I believe it's absolutely worth it.
One of my favorite parts is the practice section in each chapter in which you consider brief scenarios, asking, "would you steal that?" or "would that format work for that goal?"and so on. Most books might have just 2-3 of these, but she showers you with a dozen or more, followed by her own opinion and rationale.
I know this is an expensive book; I balked at the $50 price tag when I first saw it. But when I consider how much it's improved my approach to my work (and also my ability to justify my approach), I believe it's absolutely worth it.
November 15, 2025
Bits useful for my own work!
Read
January 5, 2023Rethink training in business to get better, proven results
Imagine you're a high-level manager at a medium-sized company. You're responsible for your team's safety, but an incoming report showed that worker injuries are up 15%. Clearly your organisation needs another safety course. How should you make it happen?
You've got two options. You can go the tried-and-trusted route and ask Tom. Tom's an experienced corporate trainer. If you go with him, he'll be sure to create a snazzy slide deck, with interactive templates and lots of detailed safety information. Just like he always does.
Or... you could ask Amy. Amy's new, and she takes a different approach to Tom entirely. She might not get started right away, and she'll take a step back and ask more about the problem to be solved before going further. She's focused on WHY current safety measures aren't working.
As you'll find out in this book, Tom merely dumps information, while Amy creates solutions. She's an action mapper.
We'll dive into why Amy is more effective at protecting your team – or any other business problem where training might be part of the solution.
So whether your role already involves corporate training, or you’re looking for better ways to solve problems in business without another ineffective webinar or costly training day, this title is for you.
---
So, what’s the problem?
Right from the start, the action mapping begins with gathering information, not assuming any one solution in particular. So let’s get back to your conversation with Amy about the safety training to see how she’d approach this in practice.
Amy might ask you something like, “is there safety training as a part of onboarding?” or, “Is the information on the prepared slides you have already available to workers in the warehouse?” Finding out that the slides are taken from an on-site safety manual and there are workplace signs already in the warehouse, her next questions will center on finding out why these resources aren’t working.
So when Amy asks you about this, you say, “Well, when we ask the staff, they say they don’t check the manual after training because it’s all the way up at the front office. They say the signs just fade into the background, too. Just last week someone fell off a ladder without a safety harness, but he passed three signs about wearing one before he climbed the ladder!”
Knowing this, Amy might ask for pictures of the signs from the warehouse, or ask why the manual isn’t in an easily accessible spot. She might also ask to talk to staff from various roles around the warehouse, too, in order to get a better picture of what’s happening there.
Focusing her questions on the findings of the report, she might learn from warehouse workers that safety equipment is stored far away from the places where it is needed. Or, that it’s not stored properly and is difficult to locate during a busy shift. Workers who are already pressed for time report that they take “small shortcuts” to get the job done, feeling pressured to keep up with their quotas.
So far, just defining the problem has revealed a lot. Our imaginary warehouse workers don’t report not knowing about safety protocols, and they know where to go to find out more. But these talks have exposed some problems in organisation and access that are impacting how they apply this knowledge at work.
This information gathering process may continue for quite some time, too but it has a purpose: to define the problem as clearly and completely as possible. Along the way, it will also uncover why any safety measures already in place to solve the problem aren’t working.
It might involve outside research too - almost no business is unique in the world, so there are likely other companies that have faced similar problems. Some preliminary research on other firms might locate even more effective changes to put in place. It may also involve talking to managers about reorganising the job site, or changing schedules to allow for more time on the tasks that have proven records of safety problems.
Once the problem is defined as clearly as possible with all the stakeholders involved, it's now time to set a goal.
---
Set a measurable goal
Now that the performance problem has been researched and defined, the next step on the action-mapping road is setting a clear, measurable goal. Since our imaginary warehouse problem began with safety reports, let’s pick up there.
Since you’re asking Amy for a training course to deal with a 15% jump in injuries, it is important to ask what, precisely, solving the problem would look like. What kind of performance improvements is management hoping for?
Reverse engineering the problem can help to define the goal, too. Imagine for a moment that you discover a puddle of water under your kitchen sink, and you decide that the faucet must be leaking. You head out to the hardware store to grab a new faucet to fix the problem. While at that moment, you’re asking the salesman for a faucet, what you’re really asking for is a dry kitchen. If your initial assumption—the faucet is leaking—is actually wrong, a new faucet won’t fix the problem. Now you’ve wasted both time and money on something that didn’t get you any closer to your goal.
In the warehouse scenario, you had already diagnosed the performance problem as a lack of information before asking Tom, the traditional corporate trainer, for a course. The finest course design in the world can’t solve the problem if this assumption isn’t true.
So the goal should clearly state what change you’d like to see in on-the-job performance. Be as specific as possible, because it helps define the next step. Part of defining your real goal is determining how you’ll measure success. In our warehouse safety example, the initial goal might be to bring the warehouse safety records down 15% before the next yearly review. But research might have revealed that injury levels were already too high. So the ultimate goal might sound more like, “to bring warehouse safety in line with current best practices by reducing all on-the-job injuries by 10 percent, and ladder-related injuries by 18 percent before the next review cycle.”
Formulating this measurable goal together with stakeholders, and setting a timeline for accomplishing it, assures that everyone is setting out together toward a clear destination. While our warehouse scenario is designed to be simple and straightforward, other businesses or departments might have more nuanced goals and measurements.
Imagine a small printer company that makes three models: basic, enhanced, and top of the line. You might discover that sales are mostly the cheapest one—even to customers who could save time and money using the enhanced features of the pricier models. In this scenario, the goal wouldn’t be to sell more printers, but to help the sales team identify customers who would benefit from the other models.
So remember, getting the goal as specific and measurable as possible from the outset is key, and it can take a bit of back-and-forth with stakeholders. But once it’s set, the real action can begin!
---
What do they need to do, and why aren’t they doing it?
Once a goal and measure for success are clear, the next step is to identify the core actions necessary to achieve it. A good way to start is by asking what actual team members will have to do in order to reach the goal.
In the warehouse safety scenario, for instance, what actions would workers in each role have to do in order to reduce injuries? Choose just those actions that are likely to have the biggest impact on solving the problem. This isn’t about tackling everything that’s wrong, just achieving measurable results.
It’s equally important to ask at this point, why aren't they doing it already?
In the imaginary printer company, actions might be totally different depending on why the sales team isn’t selling more expensive models already. Say members of the sales team confess that they don’t feel confident in asking a customer questions if they’ve come in asking for the cheapest model. Their decision not to ask about other features is caused by their desire to give good customer service. So helping them find out for themselves that some customers will appreciate the extra attention to their needs, and make a different choice as a result, might take some confidence building and practise.
In other words, getting clarity on what actions would solve the problem, and why they’re not happening yet, both factor into the process of solving it.
For each action, now is the time to ask if training is a part of the solution. If it isn’t, the solution doesn’t need further work in your plan. If training is a part of the solution, it's time to do a deep dive into the core skills, knowledge or motivation that this action might require. Then, to try to brainstorm three or four ways that learners could actively practise them in a training activity. These could dramatise what might happen if poor decisions get made, too.
For instance, in our warehouse safety scenario, staff might tune out another training seminar on proper forklift use. But a “choose your own adventure” to help operators reflect on the consequences of their safety decisions just might do the trick. Giving them a chance to test out typical workplace choices, and discover for themselves what the consequences might be, can help them decide if it was a good decision or a bad one. Especially when they lose an imaginary limb.
In brainstorming practice activities, it’s important to remember that not everyone needs to know everything, too. Focus on helping the right people take the right actions or apply the right choices to achieve the specific measured goal. If something is just “nice to know” but not vital, cut it out.
Once you’ve got a few possible activities brainstormed with stakeholders, do that for the priority actions or decisions that most directly impact your goal. Armed with this list, get ready to start designing and prototyping.
---
Design prototypes that challenge decision making to motivate learners
By now, there’s a measurable goal laid out, and stakeholders have weighed in on the most important things people need to do in order to reach it. You’ve pointed out key actions that don’t involve training, and which solutions need some. You’ve even brainstormed some activities that might be helpful for each action you want to encourage, so you’re ready for training to begin, right? Not quite yet.
This next step is turning those brainstormed ideas into prototypes. Each prototype will turn a decision or action that learners need to practise, and transform it into a detailed sketch of challenges or activities. Based on real on-the-job experiences or best practices gathered from the research and brainstorming steps, the format should relate to the context of the job or workplace.
For instance, if sales people need to develop confidence in asking direct questions on the sales floor, an online challenge might not help them feel more confident with real people. A better format might be team conversation or role play off the sales floor, where they’d have a chance to practise different strategies in a safe environment and get tailored feedback.
So choose an action or activity that you’ve brainstormed, and list out a number of real on-the-job decisions where the new performance solution is necessary. For each, write an example of an instance where a specific decision will have to be made, and list out four or five possible options for the learner. Even better, create a narrative or story with characters facing decisions just like the ones workers will face on the job. You can chart a path through the questions and answers that reflects best, good, and not-so-good decisions. While it might end up looking like a simple multiple choice test, this structure helps create an environment in which job context, common mistakes, best practices, and the consequences of each choice can be presented for every decision.
The multiple choice structure can be turned into any format, too, from casual conversation prompts to an immersive role playing game. But remember this is about prototyping challenges for each action, not the entire project. Each action or decision can be mapped to an activity in a different format, depending on how complex or nuanced it is.
And challenge your assumptions about what that format training should be in. There’s a lot of cultural baggage around how people learn and the best ways to teach them, but this isn’t education. This is challenging people in areas that closely reflect their on-the-job experiences, which actually motivates most learners.
---
Now that you have a prototype, testing will refine it.
So you’ve brainstormed several scenarios and created questions and answers that relate directly to the experiences of your learners. You’ve organised them into a loose storyline, and a format that helps reflect the job context too. In framing the questions, you’ve even taken into account the culture of the job site you will be training and created a stripped down prototype of your learning activity. Once the prototype is approved by your stakeholders, it’s time to test. Not test your learners, mind you, but your own prototype.
At this stage, organizing a beta testing of your design will further refine your learning activities and format. Choose prototype testers with a variety of experience levels, and include a few experts in the mix. You don’t need too many testers, either, just 4 or 5 will do the trick. And don’t give the feedback from experts too much weight, either. They’re often the ones who have the most preconceived ideas about how to train employees.
Now that you’ve organised some beta testers, you can decide whether to test alone or in groups based on the format of your activity. The purpose of this round is to get feedback on the activity, the format and the overall level of the test, so you’ll want to invite as much critique as you can.
First as for feedback about the story or plotline you’ve devised to test decisions—were the best outcomes really the best? Are the worst outcomes really the worst? You might get more insight into on-the-job scenarios that didn’t come up in your research, but it is most important to be sure the scenarios you came up with feel realistic for your learners.
You’ll also have to overcome a few challenges in the prototyping stage. First, reviewers might focus on the look or feel of your prototype, which is really just a sketch. Subject experts might baulk at setting challenges for workers without a prior lesson, or at the lack of definitive right and wrong. Here, too, acknowledge their concerns and redirect the conversation to the content and refer them to additional research on hands-on learning.
The most important feedback is whether learners found the activity too easy or too hard. Here you will need to follow up with direct questions. What would be more challenging? How could the test be easier but not obvious? Do testers need help during the decision-making process, and if so, what would help?
Gathering as much direct feedback as you can will direct the next steps. Revising your prototype into a completed challenge may take a few rounds of feedback to make it compelling, effective and engaging. But once the core content is formulated, design and delivery can go ahead.
This process doesn’t stop with delivery of the final product, either. Every training scenario can be improved and developed even after launch by keeping a close eye on the metrics you set out to achieve. Revise and refine until you reach the desired result.
---
Action mapping is a hands-on method for solving problems in business. It starts by carefully defining the problem, and setting a realistic, precise and measurable goal. Then asking what people will have to do in order to achieve it—and why they aren’t doing it already. If the solution involves training, it transforms this information into a series of realistic challenges that let learners apply their knowledge and decision-making skills to discover the consequences, good or bad, of their choices.
And here’s some more actionable advice: Action map any goal.
Action mapping can be applied to any problem, big or small, and it doesn’t have to be just for business. Choose a project or goal that you’ve been thinking about tackling. Begin by identifying a project and setting a realistic and measurable goal. Then explore what actions you’ll need to take to get there. Of course, asking why you aren’t doing them already can open up a host of blocks or barriers you might not have known before. Use them to set up realistic challenges for yourself and keep measuring your progress as you go. You’ll be amazed at what confronting the difficulties and challenging yourself can help you achieve!
Imagine you're a high-level manager at a medium-sized company. You're responsible for your team's safety, but an incoming report showed that worker injuries are up 15%. Clearly your organisation needs another safety course. How should you make it happen?
You've got two options. You can go the tried-and-trusted route and ask Tom. Tom's an experienced corporate trainer. If you go with him, he'll be sure to create a snazzy slide deck, with interactive templates and lots of detailed safety information. Just like he always does.
Or... you could ask Amy. Amy's new, and she takes a different approach to Tom entirely. She might not get started right away, and she'll take a step back and ask more about the problem to be solved before going further. She's focused on WHY current safety measures aren't working.
As you'll find out in this book, Tom merely dumps information, while Amy creates solutions. She's an action mapper.
We'll dive into why Amy is more effective at protecting your team – or any other business problem where training might be part of the solution.
So whether your role already involves corporate training, or you’re looking for better ways to solve problems in business without another ineffective webinar or costly training day, this title is for you.
---
So, what’s the problem?
Right from the start, the action mapping begins with gathering information, not assuming any one solution in particular. So let’s get back to your conversation with Amy about the safety training to see how she’d approach this in practice.
Amy might ask you something like, “is there safety training as a part of onboarding?” or, “Is the information on the prepared slides you have already available to workers in the warehouse?” Finding out that the slides are taken from an on-site safety manual and there are workplace signs already in the warehouse, her next questions will center on finding out why these resources aren’t working.
So when Amy asks you about this, you say, “Well, when we ask the staff, they say they don’t check the manual after training because it’s all the way up at the front office. They say the signs just fade into the background, too. Just last week someone fell off a ladder without a safety harness, but he passed three signs about wearing one before he climbed the ladder!”
Knowing this, Amy might ask for pictures of the signs from the warehouse, or ask why the manual isn’t in an easily accessible spot. She might also ask to talk to staff from various roles around the warehouse, too, in order to get a better picture of what’s happening there.
Focusing her questions on the findings of the report, she might learn from warehouse workers that safety equipment is stored far away from the places where it is needed. Or, that it’s not stored properly and is difficult to locate during a busy shift. Workers who are already pressed for time report that they take “small shortcuts” to get the job done, feeling pressured to keep up with their quotas.
So far, just defining the problem has revealed a lot. Our imaginary warehouse workers don’t report not knowing about safety protocols, and they know where to go to find out more. But these talks have exposed some problems in organisation and access that are impacting how they apply this knowledge at work.
This information gathering process may continue for quite some time, too but it has a purpose: to define the problem as clearly and completely as possible. Along the way, it will also uncover why any safety measures already in place to solve the problem aren’t working.
It might involve outside research too - almost no business is unique in the world, so there are likely other companies that have faced similar problems. Some preliminary research on other firms might locate even more effective changes to put in place. It may also involve talking to managers about reorganising the job site, or changing schedules to allow for more time on the tasks that have proven records of safety problems.
Once the problem is defined as clearly as possible with all the stakeholders involved, it's now time to set a goal.
---
Set a measurable goal
Now that the performance problem has been researched and defined, the next step on the action-mapping road is setting a clear, measurable goal. Since our imaginary warehouse problem began with safety reports, let’s pick up there.
Since you’re asking Amy for a training course to deal with a 15% jump in injuries, it is important to ask what, precisely, solving the problem would look like. What kind of performance improvements is management hoping for?
Reverse engineering the problem can help to define the goal, too. Imagine for a moment that you discover a puddle of water under your kitchen sink, and you decide that the faucet must be leaking. You head out to the hardware store to grab a new faucet to fix the problem. While at that moment, you’re asking the salesman for a faucet, what you’re really asking for is a dry kitchen. If your initial assumption—the faucet is leaking—is actually wrong, a new faucet won’t fix the problem. Now you’ve wasted both time and money on something that didn’t get you any closer to your goal.
In the warehouse scenario, you had already diagnosed the performance problem as a lack of information before asking Tom, the traditional corporate trainer, for a course. The finest course design in the world can’t solve the problem if this assumption isn’t true.
So the goal should clearly state what change you’d like to see in on-the-job performance. Be as specific as possible, because it helps define the next step. Part of defining your real goal is determining how you’ll measure success. In our warehouse safety example, the initial goal might be to bring the warehouse safety records down 15% before the next yearly review. But research might have revealed that injury levels were already too high. So the ultimate goal might sound more like, “to bring warehouse safety in line with current best practices by reducing all on-the-job injuries by 10 percent, and ladder-related injuries by 18 percent before the next review cycle.”
Formulating this measurable goal together with stakeholders, and setting a timeline for accomplishing it, assures that everyone is setting out together toward a clear destination. While our warehouse scenario is designed to be simple and straightforward, other businesses or departments might have more nuanced goals and measurements.
Imagine a small printer company that makes three models: basic, enhanced, and top of the line. You might discover that sales are mostly the cheapest one—even to customers who could save time and money using the enhanced features of the pricier models. In this scenario, the goal wouldn’t be to sell more printers, but to help the sales team identify customers who would benefit from the other models.
So remember, getting the goal as specific and measurable as possible from the outset is key, and it can take a bit of back-and-forth with stakeholders. But once it’s set, the real action can begin!
---
What do they need to do, and why aren’t they doing it?
Once a goal and measure for success are clear, the next step is to identify the core actions necessary to achieve it. A good way to start is by asking what actual team members will have to do in order to reach the goal.
In the warehouse safety scenario, for instance, what actions would workers in each role have to do in order to reduce injuries? Choose just those actions that are likely to have the biggest impact on solving the problem. This isn’t about tackling everything that’s wrong, just achieving measurable results.
It’s equally important to ask at this point, why aren't they doing it already?
In the imaginary printer company, actions might be totally different depending on why the sales team isn’t selling more expensive models already. Say members of the sales team confess that they don’t feel confident in asking a customer questions if they’ve come in asking for the cheapest model. Their decision not to ask about other features is caused by their desire to give good customer service. So helping them find out for themselves that some customers will appreciate the extra attention to their needs, and make a different choice as a result, might take some confidence building and practise.
In other words, getting clarity on what actions would solve the problem, and why they’re not happening yet, both factor into the process of solving it.
For each action, now is the time to ask if training is a part of the solution. If it isn’t, the solution doesn’t need further work in your plan. If training is a part of the solution, it's time to do a deep dive into the core skills, knowledge or motivation that this action might require. Then, to try to brainstorm three or four ways that learners could actively practise them in a training activity. These could dramatise what might happen if poor decisions get made, too.
For instance, in our warehouse safety scenario, staff might tune out another training seminar on proper forklift use. But a “choose your own adventure” to help operators reflect on the consequences of their safety decisions just might do the trick. Giving them a chance to test out typical workplace choices, and discover for themselves what the consequences might be, can help them decide if it was a good decision or a bad one. Especially when they lose an imaginary limb.
In brainstorming practice activities, it’s important to remember that not everyone needs to know everything, too. Focus on helping the right people take the right actions or apply the right choices to achieve the specific measured goal. If something is just “nice to know” but not vital, cut it out.
Once you’ve got a few possible activities brainstormed with stakeholders, do that for the priority actions or decisions that most directly impact your goal. Armed with this list, get ready to start designing and prototyping.
---
Design prototypes that challenge decision making to motivate learners
By now, there’s a measurable goal laid out, and stakeholders have weighed in on the most important things people need to do in order to reach it. You’ve pointed out key actions that don’t involve training, and which solutions need some. You’ve even brainstormed some activities that might be helpful for each action you want to encourage, so you’re ready for training to begin, right? Not quite yet.
This next step is turning those brainstormed ideas into prototypes. Each prototype will turn a decision or action that learners need to practise, and transform it into a detailed sketch of challenges or activities. Based on real on-the-job experiences or best practices gathered from the research and brainstorming steps, the format should relate to the context of the job or workplace.
For instance, if sales people need to develop confidence in asking direct questions on the sales floor, an online challenge might not help them feel more confident with real people. A better format might be team conversation or role play off the sales floor, where they’d have a chance to practise different strategies in a safe environment and get tailored feedback.
So choose an action or activity that you’ve brainstormed, and list out a number of real on-the-job decisions where the new performance solution is necessary. For each, write an example of an instance where a specific decision will have to be made, and list out four or five possible options for the learner. Even better, create a narrative or story with characters facing decisions just like the ones workers will face on the job. You can chart a path through the questions and answers that reflects best, good, and not-so-good decisions. While it might end up looking like a simple multiple choice test, this structure helps create an environment in which job context, common mistakes, best practices, and the consequences of each choice can be presented for every decision.
The multiple choice structure can be turned into any format, too, from casual conversation prompts to an immersive role playing game. But remember this is about prototyping challenges for each action, not the entire project. Each action or decision can be mapped to an activity in a different format, depending on how complex or nuanced it is.
And challenge your assumptions about what that format training should be in. There’s a lot of cultural baggage around how people learn and the best ways to teach them, but this isn’t education. This is challenging people in areas that closely reflect their on-the-job experiences, which actually motivates most learners.
---
Now that you have a prototype, testing will refine it.
So you’ve brainstormed several scenarios and created questions and answers that relate directly to the experiences of your learners. You’ve organised them into a loose storyline, and a format that helps reflect the job context too. In framing the questions, you’ve even taken into account the culture of the job site you will be training and created a stripped down prototype of your learning activity. Once the prototype is approved by your stakeholders, it’s time to test. Not test your learners, mind you, but your own prototype.
At this stage, organizing a beta testing of your design will further refine your learning activities and format. Choose prototype testers with a variety of experience levels, and include a few experts in the mix. You don’t need too many testers, either, just 4 or 5 will do the trick. And don’t give the feedback from experts too much weight, either. They’re often the ones who have the most preconceived ideas about how to train employees.
Now that you’ve organised some beta testers, you can decide whether to test alone or in groups based on the format of your activity. The purpose of this round is to get feedback on the activity, the format and the overall level of the test, so you’ll want to invite as much critique as you can.
First as for feedback about the story or plotline you’ve devised to test decisions—were the best outcomes really the best? Are the worst outcomes really the worst? You might get more insight into on-the-job scenarios that didn’t come up in your research, but it is most important to be sure the scenarios you came up with feel realistic for your learners.
You’ll also have to overcome a few challenges in the prototyping stage. First, reviewers might focus on the look or feel of your prototype, which is really just a sketch. Subject experts might baulk at setting challenges for workers without a prior lesson, or at the lack of definitive right and wrong. Here, too, acknowledge their concerns and redirect the conversation to the content and refer them to additional research on hands-on learning.
The most important feedback is whether learners found the activity too easy or too hard. Here you will need to follow up with direct questions. What would be more challenging? How could the test be easier but not obvious? Do testers need help during the decision-making process, and if so, what would help?
Gathering as much direct feedback as you can will direct the next steps. Revising your prototype into a completed challenge may take a few rounds of feedback to make it compelling, effective and engaging. But once the core content is formulated, design and delivery can go ahead.
This process doesn’t stop with delivery of the final product, either. Every training scenario can be improved and developed even after launch by keeping a close eye on the metrics you set out to achieve. Revise and refine until you reach the desired result.
---
Action mapping is a hands-on method for solving problems in business. It starts by carefully defining the problem, and setting a realistic, precise and measurable goal. Then asking what people will have to do in order to achieve it—and why they aren’t doing it already. If the solution involves training, it transforms this information into a series of realistic challenges that let learners apply their knowledge and decision-making skills to discover the consequences, good or bad, of their choices.
And here’s some more actionable advice: Action map any goal.
Action mapping can be applied to any problem, big or small, and it doesn’t have to be just for business. Choose a project or goal that you’ve been thinking about tackling. Begin by identifying a project and setting a realistic and measurable goal. Then explore what actions you’ll need to take to get there. Of course, asking why you aren’t doing them already can open up a host of blocks or barriers you might not have known before. Use them to set up realistic challenges for yourself and keep measuring your progress as you go. You’ll be amazed at what confronting the difficulties and challenging yourself can help you achieve!
September 19, 2023
This book really changed the way I look at designing training material. For the first several chapters, I felt completely called out (in a good way!) by Cathy. It's like she saw my entire journey stumbling through the beginning of an Instructional Designer career and predicted all of my bad habits.
I was particularly interested in how she explained the difference between teaching for school classrooms and training for workplace behaviors. Despite being familiar with standard training evaluation levels, I had considered the reason my trainings were lacking impact was because I was trying to "teach school knowledge" rather than "train adults with jobs." Now that I write it, that sounds like an elementary oversight on my part. Nevertheless, here I am.
I highly recommend this book to any person in a training development career. It truly changed my whole thought process regarding my lane as an ID and developer.
I was particularly interested in how she explained the difference between teaching for school classrooms and training for workplace behaviors. Despite being familiar with standard training evaluation levels, I had considered the reason my trainings were lacking impact was because I was trying to "teach school knowledge" rather than "train adults with jobs." Now that I write it, that sounds like an elementary oversight on my part. Nevertheless, here I am.
I highly recommend this book to any person in a training development career. It truly changed my whole thought process regarding my lane as an ID and developer.
November 12, 2023
Map It! spoke to my training soul on many levels. Cathy Moore clearly “gets it” for the all-too-frustrating moment when someone asks you to create a training course, assuming that that is the best solution to a problem you don’t even know about yet. Moore provides a lot of invaluable advice for redirecting requests to address the problem and not just be an order taker.
Her criticism of traditional learning methods stemming from our childhood school days are fair. I think I’m practice I’m going to have to wrap my head around how to actually apply that to my corporate environment. Even harder, how to adjust it to the stringent regulatory world of financial institutions. However, it’s good to shake up ideas just because “that’s the way we’ve always done it.”
This is the best book on instructional design I’ve read so far. I’m contemplating making my staff read it just so we can jump into implementing its principles sooner.
Her criticism of traditional learning methods stemming from our childhood school days are fair. I think I’m practice I’m going to have to wrap my head around how to actually apply that to my corporate environment. Even harder, how to adjust it to the stringent regulatory world of financial institutions. However, it’s good to shake up ideas just because “that’s the way we’ve always done it.”
This is the best book on instructional design I’ve read so far. I’m contemplating making my staff read it just so we can jump into implementing its principles sooner.
November 20, 2023
Like many others in the industry, this book has been great to get the foundational questions and techniques to shift from order takers. I've run into the interesting problem in my role that we can't fully follow this model. It has lead to many great conversations with my team, gave me language to advocate for our needs to leadership and honestly will make me a better learning expert for the future. I see myself referencing this in the future and happy to have an actual book to flip through.
Now if we can get this in the hands of companies that make the horrible required compliance and harassment trainings to be actionable and behavior based instead of knowledge dumps with locked interactions.
Now if we can get this in the hands of companies that make the horrible required compliance and harassment trainings to be actionable and behavior based instead of knowledge dumps with locked interactions.
August 17, 2024
4.5 stars.
This is an extremely useful book for all kinds of instructional designers, and will be particularly helpful for beginners. It is well-written, the language is clear and easy to understand, and there are no fluff or inspiring stories.
However, as pointed out by a couple of reviewers here, it is quite sad that throughout the book the author keeps referring to the “school model” as “Testland”, a model based on “storing and retrieving information”, etc. This is a very outdated view of school education and it is unfortunate that the author holds it. This is not what modern schools are about, or at least, not what they should be about.
This is an extremely useful book for all kinds of instructional designers, and will be particularly helpful for beginners. It is well-written, the language is clear and easy to understand, and there are no fluff or inspiring stories.
However, as pointed out by a couple of reviewers here, it is quite sad that throughout the book the author keeps referring to the “school model” as “Testland”, a model based on “storing and retrieving information”, etc. This is a very outdated view of school education and it is unfortunate that the author holds it. This is not what modern schools are about, or at least, not what they should be about.
April 20, 2021
A must-read for anyone who wants to transform their learning design mindset and practice. Bonus: clear and crisp writing, with a good dose of humor thrown in. I actually laughed out loud several times, in between feverishly scribbling down notes-to-self about things I needed to change in the projects I'm working on.
December 31, 2023
Great step-by-step scenario walk throughs are very helpful. Like others have mentioned, she holds to a very outdated and generalized view of K-12 education. Considering the fact that a LOT of L&D professionals are excellent teachers who transition to this field with a solid understanding of best practices, this book is quite tone-deaf.
May 5, 2025
really the bible of instructional design. unfortunately universities here in France don't really teach it, currently focused on action-based pedagogies and theory rather than the actionable steps and business practices that would help give teachers, or in this case IDs, the leg up in a changing entrepreneurial climate
June 15, 2022
I enjoy Cathy Moore's work, and this is a clear, easy-to-read explanation of a way to think deeply about how to use "training" -- or non-training solutions -- to solve performance problems. It's definitely staying on my professional reference shelf.
November 22, 2022
Easy and fun to read, and PACKED with insight for training designers. More than any other book, this one is what I keep returning to for insights and guidance for designing learning activities and practical training. I can't recommend it enough.
March 24, 2022
Comprehensive introduction to learning design. Love that it teaches you business and marketing skills rather than abstract academic concepts. Only minus was that it got very repetitive by the end.
June 23, 2022
This is the Bible for instructional designers. If you haven’t read it yet, I promise your learning solutions are suffering.
December 30, 2024
One of the best practical books (& approaches) addressing corporate learning.
July 29, 2023
This was a brilliant read and something I found myself thoroughly enjoying.
As someone who has to battle with the “training is always the solution” mentality from my business partners, I found this book incredibly helpful to understanding how to approach such conversations. For example, could this actually be solved through better job aids rather than a training? I found myself having to pause to write down ideas for my work quite often.
What I also love about this is that she takes the reader through multiple examples of activities that require the learner to use judgment. She even has a number of actual activities on her website for learning professionals to explore.
I read this book through entirely but what I love about it most is that she truly makes it a step by step manual so you can reference chapters as you go through your own projects. It’s a thoughtful, detailed resource that I will be nearby.
As someone who has to battle with the “training is always the solution” mentality from my business partners, I found this book incredibly helpful to understanding how to approach such conversations. For example, could this actually be solved through better job aids rather than a training? I found myself having to pause to write down ideas for my work quite often.
What I also love about this is that she takes the reader through multiple examples of activities that require the learner to use judgment. She even has a number of actual activities on her website for learning professionals to explore.
I read this book through entirely but what I love about it most is that she truly makes it a step by step manual so you can reference chapters as you go through your own projects. It’s a thoughtful, detailed resource that I will be nearby.
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