ADDIE is an instructional systems design framework that many instructional designers and training developers use to develop courses. The name is an acronym for the five phases it defines for building training and performance support tools:
Florida State University initially developed the ADDIE framework to explain, “...the processes involved in the formulation of an instructional systems development program for military interservice training that will adequately train individuals to do a particular job and which can also be applied to any interservice curriculum development activity.” The model originally contained several steps under its five original phases. The idea was to complete each phase before moving to the next. Subsequent practitioners revised the steps, and eventually the model became more dynamic and interactive than the original hierarchical version. By the mid-1980s, the version familiar today appeared. The origin of the label itself is obscure, but the underlying ISD concepts come from a model developed for the U.S. armed forces in the mid 1970s. As Branson recounts, the Center for Educational Technology at Florida State University worked with a branch of the U.S. Army to develop a model, which evolved into the Interservice Procedures for Instructional Systems Development, intended for the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. Branson provides a graphic overview of the IPISD, which shows five top-level headings: analyze, design, develop, implement, and control. Virtually all subsequent historical reviews of ID reference this model but, notably, users do not refer to it by the ADDIC acronym. The authors and users refer only to IPISD. Hence, it is clearly not the source of the ADDIE acronym.
Phases of ADDIE (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation)
Analysis phase
The analysis phase clarifies the instructional problems and objectives, and identifies the learning environment and learner's existing knowledge and skills. Questions the analysis phase addresses include:
Who are the learners and what are their characteristics?
The process of asking these questions is often part of a needs analysis. During the needs analysis instructional designers will determine constraints and resources in order to fine tune their plan of action.
Design phase
The design phase deals with learning objectives, assessment instruments, exercises, content, subject matter analysis, lesson planning, and media selection. The design phase should be systematic and specific. Systematic means a logical, orderly method that identifies, develops, and evaluates a set of planned strategies for attaining project goals. Specific means the team must execute each element of the instructional design plan with attention to detail. The design phase may involve writing a design document/design proposal or concept and structure note to aid final development.
Development phase
In the development phase, instructional designers and developers create and assemble content assets described in the design phase. If e-learning is involved, programmers develop or integrate technologies. Designers create storyboards. Testers debug materials and procedures. The team reviews and revises the project according to feedback. After completing the development of the course material, the designers should conduct an imperative pilot test; this can be carried out by involving key stakeholders and rehearsing the course material.
Implementation phase
The implementation phase develops procedures for training facilitators and learners. Training facilitators cover the course curriculum, learning outcomes, method of delivery, and testing procedures. Preparation for learners includes training them on new tools and student registration. Implementation includes evaluation of the design.
Some institutions have modified the ADDIE model to meet specific needs. For example, the United States Navy created a version they call PADDIE+M. The P phase is the planning phase, which develops project goals, project objectives, budget, and schedules. The M phase is the maintenance phase, which implements life cycle maintenance with continuous improvement methods. This model is gaining acceptance in the United States government as a more complete model of ADDIE. Some organizations have adopted the PADDIE model without the M phase. Pavlis Korres, in her instructional model, has proposed an expanded version of ADDIE, named ADDIE+M, where Μ=Maintenance of the Learning Community Network after the end of a course. The Maintenance of the Learning Community Network is a modern educational process that supports the continuous educational development of its members with social media and web tools.