Instructional Designers Vs Subject Matter Experts

 To the outside observer, it may not be clear where the line is drawn between what an instructional designer does versus what a subject matter expert does.

• The instructional designer is someone who enables effective learning. 
• The Subject Matter Expert brings their authority on a topic based on knowledge, experience and understanding of the topic conceptual relationships.

Both are essential in a successful in creating a solution but roles can get blurred.  Process clarity is vital to achieving the outcomes. The dilemma and solution has been delightfully captured by Norman Lamont:

The SME Test by Norman Lamont

It highlights the tension between the expert’s passion for their topic of expertise; and the instructional designer trying to distil it down to the bare essentials.  However, there is no clear cut rule of who must do what.  What is clear is that you can’t skip learning design process steps and expect to have a quality result.  What are the steps?

IDSME

Task	ID	SME	Engagement Level
Provides learner's needs	_________	_________	Low
Teaching methods	_________	_________	:
Real world examples	_________	_________	:
Misconceptions	_________	_________	:
Contribute content	_________	_________	:
Current Industry knowledge	_________	_________	:
Chunk and order content	_________	_________	Moderate
Write learning objectives	_________	_________	:
Case studies	_________	_________	:
Review accuracy	_________	_________	:
Write scripts	_________	_________	:
Write Learning design statement	_________	_________	:
Write Functional Spefication	_________	_________	:
Author courseware	_________	_________	High

Essentially, it’s a sliding scale of SME engagement – you choose who does what and when it is shared or not shared.  The top end represents light levels of SME engagement; the bottom end high levels.  In making the decision where to draw the line,  consider relative strengths of each person ~ who’s going to be the most effective at each task based on:

• Learning development experience
• Content expertise
• Technological experience
• SME engagement with the project
• Time and budget constraints

The relationship between SME and Instructional designer has a very powerful impact on the learning outcomes – if managed right, with no arm wrestling required.