Short answer
Learning program design creates learning with explicit needs, outcomes, practice, and evaluation. It rates whether people can do something new at work, not how polished the slides look.
About Learning program design
Creates learning programs with explicit needs, outcomes, practice, and evaluation. Strong design starts from a job problem, includes practice, and checks whether the intended behavior changed.
Use this competency for
- People roles that design enablement, onboarding curricula, or skill programs for employees.
- Functions accountable for turning a defined skill gap into practice people can use on the job.
Do not use this competency for
- Do not use it to rate charisma as a facilitator, or to score the number of courses launched.
Important distinctions
Performance enablement
Performance enablement operates the review and expectation process. Learning program design builds the practice that helps people close a named skill gap.
People analytics
People analytics answers defined workforce questions with data. Learning program design may use those answers as input, but the craft is building the program itself.
Expectations by level
IC1
Builds defined modules with guidance
Produces well-defined learning activities with guidance, states the job task they support, and includes a practice step rather than lecture only.
Observable behaviors
- Writes an outcome as an observable job behavior.
- Includes a practice or application task in the session.
- Collects completion and a simple check of understanding.
Examples
- Reworked a policy walkthrough into a decision exercise using a real case shape.
- Added a practice ticket to onboarding after new hires could recite the steps but not complete them.
IC2
Designs a program for a Function independently
Independently designs a program for a Function gap, sequences practice, and evaluates whether the target behavior showed up in work artifacts.
Observable behaviors
- Interviews the Function owner about the job problem before choosing a format.
- Sequences practice from simple to live work.
- Uses work samples or manager observation, not only a smile sheet.
Examples
- Dropped a requested lecture after the gap was writing design docs, and assigned a coached draft instead.
- Checked a sample of support replies after a quality program instead of counting attendance.
IC3
Sets learning design across Functions
Defines design standards used by multiple programs and changes shared practice when courses complete but job behavior does not change.
Observable behaviors
- Publishes a design brief that requires need, practice, and evaluation.
- Retires content that managers never assign.
- Coordinates Function owners on one skill outcome instead of parallel courses.
Examples
- Introduced a design brief after several programs had slides and no practice.
- Merged two overlapping manager programs that taught the same conversation twice.