Outcome-Based Learning Product Initiative

In my role as an instructional designer in a company that creates professional development training for federal government employees, I began to question how we could deliver more value for both learners and stakeholders within the constraints of a traditional training environment. Our COTS products largely had to be live, instructor-led, and fit neatly into half- or full-day formats—requirements driven by our government buyers. Meanwhile, greater learner engagement drives stronger word-of-mouth impact. Proof that sending teams to our training had tangible outcomes would be valuable for both my company and for the managers and supervisors that were sending their employees to training. 

As someone with a strategic mindset and a passion for innovation, I began exploring outcome-based learning (OBL) as a way to align learning experiences more clearly with measurable outcomes. OBL would provide learners with actionable takeaways, supervisors with visible returns, and our company with a differentiated offering that fit within delivery expectations. 

From Idea to Action: Starting the R&D Initiative

In my weekly one-on-one meetings with my manager, I shared early thoughts—outlining the potential value of OBL from both an instructional and business perspective. With her support, I launched an internal R&D initiative focused on experimenting with OBL as a product approach. 

I created and delivered a pitch to key stakeholders including our Executive Director of Learning Development and VP of Product Strategy, using frameworks and language informed by my MBA education. My proposal was met with enthusiastic support, and the R&D initiative was greenlit. My manager would step in as the project manager, and I would take the lead on research and internal discovery. 

Internal Discovery: Defining OBL for Our Organization

To ensure alignment across our organization, I led a discovery effort focused on understanding internal perceptions of OBL. I designed and distributed surveys and facilitated eight structured focus groups with instructional designers, project managers, and product stakeholders. 

During focus groups, we asked product managers and domain (content area) leaders to react to various statements and questions, such as:

• "Focusing courses on outcomes would better meet the needs of learners in my domain."

• "Focusing courses on outcomes would better meet the needs of buyers for my domain.​"

• "In general, courses in my domain(s) include the right ratio of lecture to activity.​"

• "What type(s) of content in your domain(s) would be a good fit for OBL?​ What type(s) of content would not be a good fit?"

These activities helped us identify gaps in understanding, clarify language around outcomes, and begin to define what OBL would look like in practice for our company. I collaborated with our Learning Experience Designer and the project manager to synthesize insights into a shared internal definition of OBL—one grounded in our company’s needs, delivery model, and buyer expectations. 

Experimentation and Product Testing

With our foundation in place, we moved into testing. We identified two internal client courses to pilot the OBL approach, crafting learning experiences with explicit outcomes and building assessment strategies that allowed us to measure learning impact. In the months that followed, two additional projects adopted the OBL approach as interest from product teams increased.

Although shifting federal priorities in early 2025 caused R&D efforts across the company to be re-evaluated, OBL as a product approach still holds promise; showcasing the tangible business value of learning experiences is becoming increasingly important in today’s federal political landscape.

What I Gained

This initiative brought me into close proximity with product strategy and business decision-making in a way I hadn’t experienced before. It allowed me to build and lead a product concept from initial user insights and internal research to strategic alignment, pitch delivery, and product experimentation. I exercised a variety of product-adjacent skills, including: 

• Translating user and stakeholder needs into product direction

• Facilitating cross-functional collaboration

• Making evidence-based product recommendations