Episode 004 · Working with SMEs
Difficult SMEs? Your process might be the problem.
A better SME conversation starts with the work. Find the decisions, mistakes, and edge cases that reveal what somebody needs to do.
The idea
Ask about the work, not the course.
We often call an SME difficult after asking them to make learning-design decisions they should not have to make. “What should we teach?” sounds reasonable, but it can feel like handing someone an empty bucket and asking them to fill it with everything they know.
Experts are there to help us understand the work. They know the patterns, shortcuts, mistakes, and odd situations that are hard to see from the outside. The designer's job is to turn that insight into an experience that helps someone perform.
Take it into the room
Five questions that uncover useful insight.
- What does somebody actually have to do?
Start with the actions and decisions that happen on the job.
- What makes it difficult?
Find the moments where people get stuck or need to choose what to do.
- Where do people screw it up?
Ask for real mistakes and what happened next.
- What does an experienced person notice?
Surface the cues and patterns that feel obvious only after years of practice.
- What happens when something goes wrong?
Explore the exceptions and edge cases that reveal the stakes.
Ask for examples and stories. That's how the conversation moves from an information dump toward performance and design.
Try this
Start your next SME conversation here.
First
Ask them to show you what someone does, where people get stuck, and what they notice that beginners miss.
Then
Ask for the last time somebody got it wrong, and the weird situation that is hardest to teach.
Got the slide deck instead? Here's what to do with it.
Read: Your SME gave you 74 slidesKeep going
More episodes on the messy middle of learning design.
Stakeholder requests, learner context, and the questions worth asking before you build.