ADDIE, the ID Model That Never Was

After 40+ years from its inception, the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation (ADDIE) model remains as a key foundational concept for instructional designers and the design of training programs in the U.S. military and corporate learning environments. Interestingly, the notion of this concept has suffered from dilution and misconceptions driven by many factors such as marketing fuzz, a lack of consensus in the Instructional Design (ID) field and yes, the Internet. One misconception about ADDIE is that it’s a universal instructional design model instead of a conceptual framework. Other misconceptions about ADDIE are that it’s not systemic, that it’s a waterfall process and it was created by the military. Most of these are inaccurate observations of ADDIE from its original form and updated versions thereafter according to research literature. In this article, you’ll get to know the true form of the ADDIE framework and what it should mean to learning professionals.

ADDIE Framework or Model?

Why is ADDIE a framework and not a model? This is a sensible question and key to the conversation regarding ADDIE’s effectiveness in organizational learning. Chances are if you gathered a group of learning professionals and asked them the difference between a framework and a model, you may get different answers from each individual. The same seems to happen in the Internet because today, anyone can post anything without corroboration. Here’s a good conversation with Dr. Robert M. Branch, author of Instructional Design: The ADDIE Approach (2009) if you are not the reading type. However, this article goes a little deeper into the issue.

I am satisfied at this point to conclude that the ADDIE Model is merely a colloquial term used to describe a systematic approach to instructional development, virtually synonymous with instructional systems development - Michael Molenda

ADDIE is ADDIC in Disguise?

The hardest truth to face as a learning professional is that ADDIE is a made up label. Professor Michael Molenda from Indiana University, set out to uncover where ADDIE came from or who had created it and well, after asking several of his colleagues he concluded “I am satisfied at this point to conclude that the ADDIE Model is merely a colloquial term used to describe a systematic approach to instructional development, virtually synonymous with instructional systems development”(2003). That’s right, no one created ADDIE, but Robert K. Branson, Barry M. Wagner and Gail T. Rayner certainly wrote the Interservice Procedures for Instructional Systems Development (IPISD) model and its Task V Final Report (1977) while teaching at Florida State University (FSU). This model was specifically developed to meet the needs of the U.S. Army Training Command. In the report, Branson et al. break down the creation of five volumes for the application of Instructional Systems Development (ISD). Each volume was aligned with the five phases of the IPISD model, namely: Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Control or ADDIC. Each phase had a specific set of steps or blocks to be executed ranging from job and task analyses to internal and external formative as well as summative evaluations. The IPISD model also delineates expected outcomes form each of the ADDIC phases. Doesn’t it seem very weird that when you Google “ADDIE” you can spot immediate attribution to FSU, but without any mention to the IPISD? Here’s a list of the ADDIC phases and their blocks:

Analyze

1.???Analyze job

2.???Select tasks/functions

3.???Construct job performance measures

4.???Analyze existing courses

5.???Select instructional settings

Design

1.???Develop objectives

2.???Develop tests

3.???Describe entry behavior

4.???Determine sequence & structure

Develop

1.???Specify learning events/activities

2.???Specify instruction management plan & delivery system

3.???Review/select existing materials

4.???Develop instruction

5.???Validate instruction

Implement

1.???Implement Instructional Management Plan

2.???Conduct instruction

Control

1.???Conduct internal evaluation

2.???Conduct external evaluation

3.???Revise system

As you can see, the IPISD seems to mirror most explanations of the ADDIE stages except for the obvious last stage which is named “Control”. Why Control? According to Branson et al (1977), referred to the last phase as “Control deals with procedures and techniques for maintaining instructional quality control standards and for providing data from internal and external sources upon which revision decisions can be based”. This is important because quality control of the learning intervention leads to subsequent improvements. If we only focus on smiley sheets or a half-implemented Kirkpatrick model i.e. stopping at Level 2 with a quiz; then, you can’t be surprised of your inability to show how effective your work is.

When did ADDIC become ADDIE?

Since Molenda, and Branch couldn’t confirm when ADDIC became ADDIE or when ADDIE became the unifying acronym for all learning professionals and employers, I can only reference the use of the term in literature and certain Google searches. For example; the Little Dog, Big Dog Performance Juxtaposition blog by Donald Clark, makes mention of the IPISD, but ignores the original ADDIC acronym. I also noticed that some publication dates between Donald’s references and mine, do not match. For that, please keep in mind, I’m using publication dates and giving you links.?Donald however, does provide an ADDIE timeline that coincides with the graph below from Google’s Ngram which gives you the incident of use of a keyword or phrase in known literature. In this case, we can see 1995 as the point where the use of ADDIC declines and ADDIE’s starts climbing. According to Donald, it was Michael J. Schlegel the first one to use the acronym in A Handbook of Instructional and Training Program Design (1995).

Wrap up and next steps

I hope this helps clarify a few things if you are new to instructional design and keep hearing how you should practice ADDIE, although no one can accurately explain it. Here are some key things for you to understand as well:

• Instructional Systems Development or ISD is a systemic model of instruction, meaning the ID must look at all conditions affecting learners and their performance.
• ADDIE has not been a waterfall process since the 1990s please read the Army's TRADOC page 45 and Air Force's 2002 revision of its 1993 handbook page 10 which demonstrates how iterative it is.
• ADDIE focuses on a systems engineering approach or Systems Approach Training which specifies how to evaluate and demonstrate the impact of your learning interventions. I’m guessing this is something we all want to do as learning professionals right?

Hopefully, you have learned something new and please share this with your network after some reflection.

Addendum

My research on the origins of ADDIE continued and I was lucky enough to land an Off-the-Cuff interview with the lead researcher of the IPISD, Dr. Robert K Branson. Much of the credit to this achievement goes to my buddy Guy Wallace who made the introduction.

Alexander Salas is a Certified Professional of Talent Development and CompTIA Certified Technical Trainer with 12 years of experience in learning facilitation and instructional design. Alex has achieved graduate academic success in leadership and corporate training studies. He specializes in highly interactive multimedia eLearning design, video production, and learning architectures. Alex has served several Fortune 100 enterprises including Philips Healthcare, Centene Corporation and Dell Technologies. When he's not enabling others professionally, Alex serves the learning community at large sharing his knowledge and skills as a speaker, podcaster, and YouTuber."

References

Branch, R. M. (2009).?Instructional design: The ADDIE approach?(Vol. 722). Springer Science & Business Media.

Branson, R. (1977).?Interservice Procedures for Instructional Systems Development: Task V Final Report..?Eric.ed.gov. Retrieved 28 January 2020, from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED164745

Clark, D. (2020) History of the ADDIE Model.?Nwlink.com. Retrieved 28 January 2020, from https://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/history_isd/addie.html

Molenda, M. (2003). In search of the elusive ADDIE model.?Performance improvement,?42(5), 34-37.

Schlegel, M. (1995).?A Handbook of Instructional and Training Program Design..?Eric.ed.gov. Retrieved 28 January 2020, from https://eric.ed.gov/?q=ED383281&id=ED383281