Constraints

The initial constraints of an educational design project are the factors that reduce the scope of a project or limit a designer to what they can realistically do when designing an educational product. Common constraints include cost, design team skill level, audience and learner-related factors, structure-related factors, technology-related factors, and implementation feasibility.

Definition

Constraints in a design are specific limitations that are placed on a designer's scope and work. When properly identified early in the project, constraints can reduce the amount of work that needs to be re-done in the event that the product is not feasible to implement or there are competing factors in the design that make participation unrealistic for the learner.

A constraint can be anything that prevents a designer from taking action, including available resources, the needs of the learners, or the types of activities that are addressed in the learning objectives.

Additional Information

Constraints are specific items that will influence how a project gets designed.

The constraints of a project can be both a burden and a welcome addition toward determining the scope of a design project. Constraints can be a burden because they limit what designers may want to do or are interested in building. If a project has a constraint that the designer does not want to work within, it may limit a designers' motivation or desire to take on the project.

Constraints can be further broken down by whether they are determined by the context or by the design team's interests. Some constraints on projects are voluntary, in that the design team specifically sets a constraint to narrow the scope of work and focus the product. For instance, a design team may decide that they want to design an educational game, which sets a constraint on the type of educational activities that will be designed, as well as the learning objectives and structural issues that can be considered through a game.

Contextual constraints are those which are present in the context where the product will be implemented and automatically determine parts of the project's scope. A fact that states that people who use the learning product will never be in the same physical location is a contextual constraint that automatically determines that the product needs to adopt a setting constraint of being online only.

Conversely, constraints can be welcomed by design teams as they effectively narrow the scope of a project and give the design team a clearer picture of what needs to be done. Constraints can make decisions easier for design teams and give them clarity on what tasks to prioritize as they build and implement an educational product.

Designers should identify many of the constraints in a project as early as possible to inform the planning process. Identifying the needs of the target audience and working with the audience stakeholders for which the product will be constructed will reveal many constraints that can guide project design.

However, it is also impossible to anticipate every constraint that will arise during initial planning phases. Many constraints will not appear until later in the design and implementation of the product despite efforts to identify all of the evident constraints. It is ok to return back to the drawing board and reconsider the scope of the project that was determined during the planning phases if any new constraints are encountered later on in the design process. This "hopping around" of phases is normal and occurs within the ADDIE model of design all the time.

Common types of constraints on an educational design project:

Audience constraints, in that the product should meet the needs of the audience. These constraints are discovered when considering the audience of a design. These constraints include a learner's prior knowledge, background, and needs; ethics; diversity; equity; accessibility; and international contexts
Structural constraints, in that the educational experience should be primarily structured in a way that maximizes the available time, technology, opportunity to teach learners. The structural constraints include context/industry, duration, timing, setting/location, and learning approach/theory of learning commitments
Feasibility constraints, in that the design needs to be easily implemented. Feasibility constraints of implementing an educational product can include available time and resources for teacher training, available classroom time for using the product, student skill level and the need for teachers to differentiate instruction, and usability of the product and its ease of implementation for new implementers.
Design constraints, in that the design team needs to build and implement the technology within the constraints of its own design team. This includes considering the available resources for talent/skills, technology and supplies, design team skills, maintaining diverse perspectives, product maintenance over time, and having enough resources and staff time to perform evaluations of the product.
Resource constraints, which are the known amount of money that is available for a project, any known costs that must be expended, as well as any other resources that are necessary (e.g., hardware, staff skills, materials).

Tips and Tricks

During your planning phases of a design project, consider the types of constraints that can narrow down the scope of the project and help focus your work. A narrower scope always helps to get a project done and delivered as it dramatically reduces the complexity of choices that design teams need to make.
Identifying many of the contextual constraints as soon as possible and even placing some voluntary constraints on your team can give your design some focus if you find yourself being paralyzed by choices and thinking about all of the considerations you need to make. Sometimes, just making some choices and moving forward is the best option!

Constraints

From The Learning Engineer's Knowledgebase

Contents

Definition

Additional Information

Tips and Tricks

Related Concepts

Examples

External Resources