Navigate Last-Minute Changes from SMEs and Maintain Instructional Design Integrity

The infamous ‘tiny design changes’  that SMEs can request can compromise your Instructional Design projects. This is more so after the final sign-off isn’t just frustrating; it costs time, resources, and creative momentum. If you’re in the Instructional Design world, you know this scenario too well.

Here’s the hard truth: Even “tiny design changes” from SMEs can throw off alignment with the original objectives, impact user experience, and lead to scope creep on your Instructional Design projects.

Not to mention, they can erode the SME-Instructional Designer relationship over time. The constant cycle of edits from SMEs is often rooted in poor upfront communication, unclear expectations, or failure to nail down the scope.

So what’s the fix?

1. Set clear boundaries around Instructional Design: Be explicit about what “final” means and outline a structured revision process.
2. Educate stakeholders and SMEs: Help them understand the cost of each adjustment. Sometimes, a tiny tweak can have ripple effects on the entire Instructional Design project.
3. Hold to the vision: Push back if changes compromise the design’s purpose or dilute its impact. Treat each design as a strategic tool, not just something to “make pretty.” Every change should be tied back to the core objective no matter how small.

This post doesn’t encourage initiating a conflict with the stakeholders and SMEs by objecting to ‘tiny’ changes.

We recommend implementing and accepting such requests if it:

1. Truly adds value to the learning experience
2. Won’t delay project delivery significantly
3. Matter to learners

It’s about the long-term game of trust with the SME and stakeholders. So, take a step back, breathe, evaluate if the ‘tiny’ change can improve the learning experience and Instructional Design, then implement it.

However, if it’s trivial and redundant, protect your work and your time, but most importantly, protect the why behind your learning design and Instructional Design decisions.