Think about any great movie or novel. The main character always faces challenges or obstacles. Harry Potter faces Valdemot, as well as the Dursleys, school and other challenges. Batman’s life would have been dull without The Joker. How our heroes overcome these challenges is what makes their stories compelling.
When we use stories for learning, the challenges your characters’ face should mimic the kinds of issues learners will face in their real workplace. You don’t need an evil villain in your story, but you do need obstacles to overcome.
Examples of design character challenges
Imagine you are creating a course to teach designers how to create scenarios in modlettes. You may hit a number of obstacles as a designer.
- A client or manager who wants a traditional linear course rather than your one planned around scenarios.
- A subject matter expert who insists on a content-heavy course, isn’t available, or struggles to understand your methodologies.
- Limited budget.
- Short timelines.
- Writer’s block or trouble coming up with realistic scenarios.
What challenges?
The best place to start is by brainstorming challenges like the list above. You probably won’t include all the potential challenges in a single scenario as that would be too complex. Therefore, you need to pick and choose the challenges that make the most sense.
- Frequent obstacles: What obstacles or challenges happen most often? What problems are your learners most likely to face?
- Common mistakes: What are the common mistakes people make? What are the typical misunderstandings?
- Critical challenges: Are there challenges that happen less frequently but create serious consequences if they occur? For example, a hazmat spill may be uncommon, but there may be serious consequences as a result of it. If a mistake or problem could put lives or safety at risk, include it in the scenario.
Select your challenges to meet the requirements above. I usually ask SMEs what mistakes or misunderstanding are common. Then I ask follow-up questions about what happens as a result of these mistakes. The challenges become decision points in your modlette; the consequences become the feedback showing learners the effects of their choices.