Book excerpt: Rapid Training Development Professionals who develop training courses know that during the challenging developmental phase of the five-part Instructional Systems Design—Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation—the actual learning materials are created. The development phase is at the very heart of building a successful training program. They also know that creating learning materials can be an extremely time-consuming process. Rapid Training Development offers a much-needed resource that outlines rapid approaches and handy techniques for creating effective learning materials that get results. Written by George M. Piskurich, a leader in organizational learning, this vital book is a hands-on guide for developing training courses that can be delivered in a variety of ways—in the classroom, on-the-job-training, asynchronous and synchronous e-learning, structured mentoring or the newest mobile technologies. The book is filled with practical tips, guidelines, and shortcuts that are targeted to each of the various training delivery systems. Rapid Training Development explains what is (and what isn't) course development and provides a wealth of general rapid course development techniques and suggestions for all types of course development. Filled with illustrative examples, the book shows how various rapid development techniques can be applied in real-life training development situations. The author explores the use of various techniques for rapid course development such as self-directed learning and performance tools. The book also includes the most current delivery system approaches such as e-learning and popular mobile technologies—podcasting and PDA-based learning. Rapid Training Development is a hands-on guide for doing it faster, doing it easier, and doing it right.