eLearning Quality Assurance

Checklist
by Christy Tucker

INTRODUCTION

Testing and reviewing for quality assurance may not be the most glamourous part
of the eLearning development process, but they are critical for success. Don’t rush
through it! Correcting errors and fixing problems prior to sending your eLearning
out to stakeholders ultimately saves time and improves the quality because from
a learner’s standpoint, errors detract from what’s important and may even prevent
them from completing training.

To test eLearning, carefully review the entire course from start to finish. You may
need to look at it multiple times, focusing on different aspects of the eLearning in
each round. Ask peers or users to test it, as well.

This checklist is designed for use during an alpha, beta, or final review. It does not
include questions for reviewing analysis, design documents, or storyboards, but
it can be used with any tool. Feel free to adapt it to make it relevant to your own
work.
FUNCTIONALITY AND USABILITY

Does your eLearning work, and how easy is it for the user to do what they need
to do? The best way to answer that is to have a small number of users test it,
ideally while someone watches and notes their actions. However, first go through
the course yourself. Select every button and interaction. Try to do things wrong
and see what happens.

Does everything work correctly? Do the interactions respond as you

expected?

Does the navigation work, including buttons, seekbars, and menus?

Do all links to outside resources work?

Is it clear what the user needs to do on each slide, page, or interaction?

Have all typos or errors in the text been corrected?

For knowledge check, quiz, or assessment questions, answer both

incorrectly and correctly. Does the correct feedback message appear? Is the
question scored correctly?

Does everything work on different devices, if needed (laptops, tablets,

phones)?

If the eLearning will be viewed on small devices, is the text large enough to
read?

If the content is nonlinear, check multiple navigation paths. Does

everything lead to the correct outcomes?

If you are testing in an LMS, does the eLearning report completion and
other data correctly?

If you have localized versions of the eLearning, test each version for
accuracy.
VISUAL DESIGN
The visual design should support and enhance the learning. Even if you’re
not a graphic designer, you can create visual designs that are consistent and
communicate clearly. In many organizations, eLearning must adhere to branding
guidelines or style guides.

Is there a consistent visual style?

Are the colors used consistently, and do they align to the branding
guidelines, if applicable?

Do all elements follow a style guide, if applicable?

Are one or two typefaces used consistently?

Unless there is a reason for an exception, are the buttons or interactive

elements all the same style?

If there are exceptions to the established style, are they used to draw
attention to something important?

Do repeated shapes or elements help tie the style together?

Do the images have a consistent style or treatment (e.g., photos,

realistic illustrations, cartoon-style illustrations, hand-drawn elements)?
Are the images appropriate to the context and audience?

Do the images support the learning and align with the content?

Do the images reflect diversity and inclusion? Consider gender, race,

disability, body type, religion, or other factors.

Are the images good quality/resolution?Are the images cropped or sized

appropriately, focusing on the important elements? If they have been
resized, has that been done without skewing or distorting them?

If images have labels, is the text close to what it is labeling?

Are objects aligned correctly?

Is there a clear visual hierarchy (what’s most important, what’s less

important, what’s related)?

Do the layouts have sufficient white space?

Does everything look polished and complete?

ANIMATION, VIDEO, AND TIMING
eLearning can include a range of animations—from simple fades to complex,
interactive 3-D models. Be careful: too much animation, or the wrong
animation, can distract from eLearning. Video can feature real people or
animated illustrations to demonstrate or model processes and activities that are
challenging to learn through static images. Animation and video elements must
be carefully timed.

Do videos play as expected?

Is it clear how to start and stop videos?

If transitions are used between slides, are they consistent and generally
subtle?

Do animated objects and on-screen text sync with the audio and voice-
over?

Does the pacing feel right?

Do animations draw attention to important elements? Do any distract

from the learning? If so, eliminate distracting animations and use
animation to draw attention instead.
ACCESSIBILITY
Even if you aren’t required by your employer to meet accessibility standards like
WCAG or Section 508, improving accessibility benefits those with (and without)
disabilities. At the very minimum, check your colors and add closed captions.
Most eLearning tools today make it fairly easy to include closed captions.

Is the color contrast high enough to make text readable? You can use the
WebAIM Contrast Checker or a similar tool to determine this.

Is everything indicated by both color and another element so it’s visible

to people with colorblindness? For example, a green checkmark and red
X are more accessible than green and red circles, where color is the only
indicator.

If text is shown over a patterned background or photo, is it easy to read?

Does all voiceover and audio have closed captions, and are they accurate?

If a transcript is included, is it accurate?

Can the course be completed with a keyboard or other input device? If

certain activities can only be completed with a mouse (e.g., drag and drop,
sliders), is an alternative version of the activity available?

Does the focus order make logical sense with the content?

Do all images have alt text that accurately describes their purpose, unless
the images are purely decorative?

Is the header text marked with tags or styles to identify the structure?

Can all audio and video be paused to allow users to move at their own
pace?
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Review Tracking Template. While some eLearning tools include features for
collecting review feedback, sometimes you may need to track it in another way
(such as testing within an LMS). In those situations, a spreadsheet can be help-
ful for collecting feedback. This free review tracking template is one option.

Voiceover Script Review Checklist. Writing for voiceover is different from writ-
ing for reading in print or on a screen. Avoid voiceover script pitfalls by using
this checklist for voiceover scripts.

Visual Style Guide for eLearning by Connie Malamed. Consistency is one of

the key factors in a polished and clear visual style, and a style guide helps you
achieve that consistency. Connie Malamed explains what to include in a visual
style guide for eLearning. Also, check her website for numerous other posts and
resources on visual design.

Uxcel. Learn usability and user interface design with Uxcel. This site includes
free lessons and games to learn about usability, plus paid courses for more in-
depth learning.

ACCESSIBILITY RESOURCES

Accessibility Basics by Jane Bozarth. This is a curated collection of 18 Learning

Solutions articles on accessibility.

Designing accessible services. While these guidelines on creating accessible re-

sources are not specific to eLearning, much of this is relevant. The suggestions
are available both as text and as downloadable posters.

DMCP Closed Captioning Standards. These standards from the Described and
Captioned Media Program (DCMP) provide guidance on creating high-quality
closed captions, with examples of correct and incorrect captions.

WebAIM Contrast Checker. Enter the foreground (text) and background colors
to check if the color contrast is sufficient for easy reading.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Christy Tucker is a learning experience design consultant
at Syniad Learning, with 20 years of experience helping
people learn. She specializes in using scenario-based
learning to engage audiences and promote skill transfer
to real-world environments. She has created training for
clients including the National Alliance for Partnerships in
Equity (NAPE), Cisco, FIRST, and NAFSA: Association of
International Educators. Christy has been blogging about
instructional design and elearning for over 15 years and
is a regular speaker at industry conferences and events.