ADDIE

ADDIE is an instructional design framework that outlines five phases used to develop educational programs and training materials. The acronym stands for Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation. The model originated from early instructional systems design work in the United States, with roots in military training programs and research conducted by the Center for Educational Technology at Florida State University in the 1970s and 1980s. Since then, ADDIE has become a widely used, flexible template across corporate training, higher education, and e-learning.

Analysis involves clarifying performance problems, learner characteristics, goals, constraints, and success metrics. Design specifies objectives, assessment strategies, instructional strategies, and plans for sequencing content, including storyboards or prototypes. Development is the production of learning materials, activities, media, and assessments. Implementation is the delivery of the course or program to learners, including logistics, instructor readiness, accessibility, and support. Evaluation encompasses data collection and analysis to judge effectiveness and to inform revisions; it includes formative evaluation during development and summative evaluation after implementation, often aligned with models such as Kirkpatrick or criteria established by stakeholders.

In practice, many teams treat ADDIE as iterative rather than strictly linear; phases can overlap and be revisited as new information emerges. It has been criticized for being too documentation-heavy or rigid, though modern adopters adapt it for rapid or agile contexts.

Variants and related approaches include the Successive Approximation Model (SAM), rapid prototyping, and backward design, which aim to reduce cycle time or increase responsiveness while maintaining instructional quality.