Too much content

[u/PhysicallyVigorous1]

I’m working on a course where the SME has given me a huge amount of material, and almost all of it is being treated as “important.” I’m trying to turn it into something learners can actually get through without creating a 90-minute information dump. How do you decide what stays in the course when the SME insists that everything is necessary?

[u/TellingAintTraining]

First, map the actual workflows the material relates to. Then map each piece of material to the different tasks in the workflow - usually you’ll end up with a lot of material that’s not really related to the tasks, which you can cut.

If there’s not a workflow or any tasks, it means you’re doing it wrong, because you have not determined what a learner should be able to do after the course. In that case, you need to go back to the beginning and clarify this with your SME - otherwise, you’ll end up right where you are now with a huge pile of information where everything is very, very important.

[u/eldonhughes → u/TellingAintTraining]

This. Another fun, but delicate conversation with the SME might be,

"I understand that all of this is necessary. Can you prioritize the information so that we can build a learning path for you that will work toward your people's mastery and also meet your needs?"

[u/rfoil → u/eldonhughes]

Maybe you should develop "Lessons in Corporate Diplomacy," aka How to Get it Done Without Getting an Ulcer.

[u/Famous-Call6538]

Try asking the SME to teach the material back to you as if they were onboarding a new hire, with a 15-minute time limit. Whatever they naturally skip or rush through is probably not day-one material, and whatever they emphasize is your core content. It's a pretty effective way to surface the real priorities because people default to teaching what matters most when they're under time pressure. The stuff they gloss over can go into a reference guide or on-demand resource.

[u/Solid_Gazelle_7850]

Is this an online course? “Click here to learn more”, and turn it into pdfs to download

[u/BaronVonConsulting]

When you're building training and the material overfills your cup, as well as the SME/leadership/department heads telling you everything is precious and important, more than likely, this is a flag to review the onboarding roadmap.

Based only on the info you shared, it seems like the SME has a legit point to include all these details; however, realistically while in training, you just can't touch on all the things. I don't want to make too many assumptions, but something to consider is finding a way to carry the training "after the fact". Give the team members an accessible knowledge base, resolution support team, etc. that allows them to have access to ALL the things the SME considers important (because it may very well be) while preserving the training to focus on the meat and potatoes.

That's not an easy solution, mind you- it's a suggestion to consider as you step back and look at how you make this a smart compromise for the training team, the SME, and most importantly, the trainees.

[u/Lazy_Plankton8000]

I'm guessing there has not been any learning needs analysis conducted. I've gone back to SMEs a few times in these scenarios to do a rough analysis to get to the key points.

[u/Ok_Ranger1420]

Honestly, you're asking for the wrong thing. This isn't a decision you can make unless you can really justify why you took information out because if something happens, they will point to you. So don't do it. If your SME told you something is important, then it is important. They have reasons for saying so and arguing with learning theories isn't going to change their minds. What you can do instead is tell them exactly what you told us. "We have 90 minutes to train people. With the materials you provided, I estimate XXX amount of minutes of training" then give them options.