Project recovery · learning operations · program leadership

Large-Scale Learning Project Recovery

Work was being produced, but nothing had client approval. I had joined as an Instructional Designer (ID). About two and a half months into the program, my role grew to Senior Project Manager (Sr. PM) as I organized reviews, clarified responsibilities, adjusted staffing, and put a revised delivery plan in place.

My role: ID, Lead Instructional Designer (Lead ID), Customer Service Project Manager (PM), then Sr. PM for the full program. This work was completed as a subcontractor through a consulting firm.

Tools used: Smartsheet · Rise 360 · Storyline 360

The problem

Production was happening. Approval was not.

Two departments had separate subject matter experts and review cycles. They needed a shared view of progress, responsibilities, and approvals so the team could resolve delays.

Client-approved deliverables at roughly 2.5 months.

Workstreams with separate content owners and review cycles.

Contributors at peak before the scope and staffing reset.

These diagrams recreate how the project was managed. They show the process and decisions while protecting client systems and confidential information.

Visibility first

I made each team’s progress visible to stakeholders.

I used a separate Smartsheet tracker for each team to show deliverables, review stages, owners, blockers, and next actions. Stakeholders could view both trackers before meetings.

What changed: With status and blockers visible in Smartsheet, stakeholder meetings dropped from more than an hour to under 15 minutes and shifted toward decisions.

Team Tracker ExamplesRecreated sample rows from the two team trackers

ID	Workstream	Deliverable	Format	Current owner	Review stage	Status	Next action
CS-EL-014	Customer Service	Workflow lesson	Rise 360	SME	SME review	Due	Review comments
CS-SIM-006	Customer Service	System practice	Storyline	Development	Revision	Revise	Apply approved changes
CL-JA-021	Claims	Decision aid	Job aid	Client reviewer	Client review	In review	Client decision
CL-EL-032	Claims	Process lesson	eLearning	PM	Approved	Approved	Move to delivery
CS-JA-018	Customer Service	Reference aid	Job aid	Design	Build	Building	Internal QA
CL-SL-011	Claims	Scenario lesson	Storyline	SME	SME review	Due	SME decision

Two trackersstakeholders could view both

Named ownerevery next action

Visible stagebuild through approval

Review clockdue and overdue work

Program control

Visibility before process change

Each team’s tracker showed where reviews had stalled and who needed to act. Stakeholders could review both trackers to see progress across the program.

Review responsibilities and deadlines

The next action could not disappear into a meeting.

I defined the review stages, assigned responsibility, and added automatic reminders for upcoming and overdue reviews in each team’s tracker.

Review path

1Draft ready

2SME review

3Client review

4Revision / decision

5Approved

↶ Revisions return to the relevant reviewer before approval.

Notification logic

Review opened
Owner and stage recorded.

Active

Review due
Reminder surfaces the next action.

Due

Review overdue
Delay becomes visible.

Escalate

Behind the recovery

My role grew because the problem was larger than instructional design.

As the project’s needs grew, I took on design leadership, served as project manager for the Customer Service work, and then became senior project manager for the full program.

Start

Instructional Designer

Entered the project as an instructional designer.

~2 weeks

Lead ID

Took on design coordination and delivery oversight.

~1 month

Customer Service PM

Served as project manager for the Customer Service work.

~2.5 months

Sr. PM

Led both workstreams and the revised delivery plan.

Customer Service

Separate SMEs, reviews, eLearning, job aids, and a system-practice need.

Shared
recovery
system

Claims

Claims had its own content owners and review schedule within the shared project plan.

Before

Work existed. Approval did not.

No client-approved deliverables.
Limited shared visibility.
Reviews accumulated.

Intervention

Track the work and clarify the next steps.

Separate team trackers, visible to stakeholders.
Explicit review stages.
Due/overdue notifications.
Resource reset.

Delivered

Approvals moved again.

Reviews began completing.
Hundreds of assets moved through delivery.
Program completed on the revised timeline.

Staffing and assignments

The staffing model had to change when the scope changed.

After the program reached 44 contributors at peak, I resized the team to the revised scope and rebalanced assignments through closeout.

Resource Alignment ViewPublic-safe reconstruction

Peak team

After scope reset

~30

Closeout

Adjusted to remaining work

↓

Decision checks used during the reset

Role coverageNeeded for remaining work?

PerformanceReliable delivery?

Skill fitRight work for the person?

WorkloadCapacity available?

Project historyContext worth retaining?

Program leadership

Match the team to the remaining work

I matched roles, skills, and assignments to the revised scope, then adjusted workloads as the project approached completion.

Learning design constraint

The team needed a safe way to practice using the system.

Customer Service needed system practice, but no training version of the system was available. I oversaw the ID leading the Storyline simulation and managed that work within the program.

The simulation included data entry, multiple screens, and paths that changed with learners’ choices.

Outcome

The program moved from stalled reviews to delivery on the revised plan.

What changed

Approvals began moving after the recovery interventions.
Stakeholder meetings dropped from more than an hour to under 15 minutes once status and blockers were visible in Smartsheet.
The program was completed on the agreed revised timeline.
Hundreds of learning assets moved through the two workstreams.