In our third part to our SME series we asked for Chris Reese to join us in the kitchen as he provided the DishingDuo a fantastic perspective on how there really is two defined roles with respects to SMEs and CIPs. This blog article builds upon Part 1 and Part 2 our recent entries about the roles of a Content Information Provider and a Subject Matter Expert. We would like to thank Chris for his refreshing and timely thoughts, we think they are thoughtfully tasty!
For over a decade I have worked in the world of training and education in one way or another. Several constants persisted regardless of the project: looming deadlines, tight budgets, and working with subject matter experts (SMEs).
The SMEs I have worked with have proved to be a mixed experience. I agree with Karl Kapp’s description of the expert’s role and the way in which a chokepoint can be created in the Instructional Systems Design (ISD) process. Hence, a knowledgeable Content Information Provider, or CIP, can keep the critical information passing along to the ISD team without requiring the SME to be involved at each phase of development.
In this blog entry I will touch on two themes in which a CIP can assist in the instructional design process: 1) the SME content is not documented effectively, and 2) translating SME content from one format to another that is not straightforward.
A family experience recently provided me with the perfect analogy of how a SME and CIP can function together.
My wife’s grandmother passed away at the age of 93. Health problems over the last few years kept her from her kitchen where she was a master cook for the family. A simple woman who raised two children in a rural Pennsylvania town, Verna toiled in the kitchen to create some dishes that no one else has quite been able to master. Recipes were not written out for most dishes, and those recipes that did exist read like a list of reminders and not a structured set of directions. The SME had the knowledge stored in the brain and not on paper.
One dish that is a staple item for every family holiday meal is cooked apples. My wife and her cousin had separately requested a recipe for these apples. After both attempts to make this dish they realized that their recipes didn’t match! Simple ingredients like sugar (white or brown), the apples (Macintosh, Granny Smith, or others), and even the use of gelatin were differently recorded from Verna’s verbal directions. The two younger ladies then spent some time testing variations of the recipes before coming up with a single set of written directions that bore a close resemblance to their grandmother’s cooked apples. The role of the CIP (or in some cases, multiple CIPs) is to analyze and synthesize the SME content before sending it along to the instructional designer.
My wife had compiled a number of favorite recipes over recent years through conversations with her grandmother. We have sampled each dish at least once at our home and an interesting pattern emerged. Regardless how thorough the recipe was documented and subsequently followed by my wife, some dishes didn’t turn out as well has her grandmother’s version. At first we surmised that the recipe was missing something or the measurements were incorrect. After a few attempts on one recipe, we realized that the recipe (SME input) was technically correct.
The problem resides in the fact that pans are now made of different materials and the ovens are calibrated differently. Up until the time that she was hospitalized, Verna had used her decades-old pans that first needed to be coated with butter (or more often, lard or grease). Her oven was not modern in any sense of the word and that resulted in the cooking times being different. Modern, more efficient, ovens require some trial and error when tackling the old-school recipes. SMEs provide content based on their background but have great difficulty translating it into new mediums or using technologies. In my experience, I have the greatest challenges with SMEs when I am converting an instructor-led training (ILT) course to a web-based training (WBT) format.
A CIP that can capture the essence of the SME and translate it for a new format is a valuable asset. A good ISD team has access to SMEs and at least one CIP. You may also find that instructional designers may begin to take on the role of the CIP when they are entrenched in a long-term project.
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Christopher Reese is the Director of Performance and Learning Solutions for Dynamis. He graduated from the MSIT program at Bloomsburg University in 1998.
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