Review and Test - the stage that really matters
Ensuring your e-learning course delivers on its promise of quality and engagement requires a robust review and testing process. While course design and development might have taken centre stage up until now, the testing and review phase is equally critical to ensure that everything from content accuracy to technical functionality works seamlessly.
This blog article explores how to successfully conduct reviews and testing, why it is important, the different types of testing, and common errors that can jeopardise the process.
Before we move into the details of the why, it should be highlighted that it’s also a stage of activity that brings the business project team back into the ‘front seat’.
The business may not be driving the process, but certainly helps navigate and is essential to progress to the destination.
Review and testing activities should always be collaborative, with some reviews and testing tasks exclusively undertaken within the business project team; and other review and testing activities solely undertaken by the e-learning developer. If some or all of these tasks are omitted or rushed, results can be devastating.
Why Reviewing and Testing Are Crucial
E-learning courses can be complex, with multimedia content, interactions, assessments, and branching scenarios. Testing and reviewing each component helps identify any gaps or flaws that could impair the learning experience.
Here’s why thorough testing and review are critical:
1. Ensure Content Accuracy
E-learning courses often contain important information about company policies, compliance, or skill development. Errors in content—whether factual inaccuracies, spelling mistakes, or outdated information—can lead to misunderstandings, reduce trust, and even result in non-compliance penalties.
2. Verify Functionality Across Platforms
Learners access courses on a variety of devices: desktops, tablets, and smartphones. It’s crucial that your course works as intended across all platforms and browsers to prevent a poor user experience. A broken interaction or non-responsive feature could derail learning engagement.
3. Improve Usability and Engagement
Good design goes beyond aesthetics. Learners should be able to navigate the course intuitively, understand instructions, and complete interactions without confusion. Testing helps identify navigation issues, unclear instructions, or inaccessible layouts that frustrate learners.
4. Assess Interactivity
Interactive elements such as quizzes, drag-and-drop activities, and branching scenarios must work seamlessly. Incorrectly set triggers or missing feedback loops can diminish the effectiveness of the learning experience.
5. Ensure Accessibility Compliance
To be inclusive, e-learning courses must comply with accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG 2.1). Testing ensures that the course can be used by learners with disabilities, including those who rely on screen readers or keyboard navigation.
6. Minimise Technical Glitches
Nothing frustrates learners more than technical errors like videos that don’t load, broken links, or quizzes that won’t submit. Rigorous testing reduces these issues, ensuring a smooth experience from start to finish.
Types of Review and Testing for E-Learning
There are multiple layers to the review and testing process, each addressing different aspects of the course. Here’s a breakdown of the different types of review and testing:
1. Content Review
A content review focuses on the accuracy, clarity, and alignment of the course material with learning objectives. The goal is to ensure that the information is correct, up-to-date, and presented in a logical and engaging manner.
What to check: Spelling, grammar, consistency in tone, factual accuracy, alignment with learning objectives.
Who reviews: Subject matter experts (SMEs) typically lead this review, often supported by instructional designers and writers.
2. Instructional Design Review
The instructional design review assesses whether the course is structured effectively to meet learning objectives. This stage verifies that the course uses best practices in instructional design—such as appropriate pacing, engagement techniques, and assessment strategies.
What to check: Learning flow, the relevance of interactions, alignment of assessments with learning goals, learner engagement.
Who reviews: Instructional designers, project managers, and sometimes external reviewers with instructional design expertise.
3. Functional/Technical Testing
This is the stage where you test whether the course works as expected. Functional testing ensures that all buttons, links, interactions, multimedia (audio, video), quizzes, and navigation features function properly across various devices and browsers.
What to check:
Navigation buttons (back, next, submit).
Multimedia (videos play, audio works, images display correctly).
Quizzes and assessments (questions display properly, correct feedback is triggered, results are tracked).
Branching scenarios (correct paths are triggered based on learner choices).
Who reviews: E-learning developers, testers, and occasionally instructional designers.
4. Accessibility Testing
Accessibility testing is necessary to ensure your course can be used by learners with disabilities. This includes testing for compatibility with screen readers, keyboard navigation, colour contrast, and font size, among other features.
What to check: Alt-text for images, captions for videos, tab order, keyboard navigation, screen reader compatibility.
Who reviews: e-learning developers trained in accessibility standards, quality assurance (QA) testers, and accessibility specialists.
5. Cross-Browser and Device Testing
This involves checking how the course functions across different web browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) and on different devices (desktops, tablets, and smartphones). Responsive design is crucial for a positive learner experience, especially when learners access training via mobile devices.
What to check: Responsiveness of layout, functionality across browsers, smooth media playback, compatibility of interactions on touchscreens.
Who reviews: QA testers, developers, and occasionally instructional designers.
6. User Acceptance Testing (UAT)
User Acceptance Testing is where you let a small group of real users—managers, learners, or stakeholders—experience the course before the final launch. Their feedback can reveal usability issues or content misunderstandings that internal teams might overlook.
What to check: Overall ease of use, engagement, clarity of instructions, usefulness of content.
Who reviews: Pilot group of end users or learners, key stakeholders, project sponsors.
7. Compliance Testing
For courses related to legal, compliance, or regulatory training, it’s important to review the content to ensure it aligns with legal requirements and meets audit standards.
What to check: Adherence to regulations, industry guidelines, and compliance standards.
Who reviews: Compliance officers, legal team, and subject matter experts.
The quantity of testing and review activities can initially appear overwhelming. However, with planning, standardised test scripts and checklists; and structured processes, the tasks can be completed in short periods, shared across the project team and undertaken over a couple of weeks.
This process should result in lots of feedback, positive and negative. When undertaken effectively, it will naturally result in an opportunity for reflection, to reconfirm that the business challenge will be met and the learner’s behaviour will change. Taking the time to get it right now will give your e-learning the best possible start for a successful deployment and for bringing a positive contribution to your organisation.
Common Errors That Negatively Impact E-Learning Testing
Despite the importance of thorough testing, many e-learning courses suffer from issues due to overlooked errors or incomplete reviews. Here are some of the most common pitfalls that can occur during the testing phase:
1. Inadequate Cross-Device Testing
One of the biggest mistakes is failing to thoroughly test the course across all platforms and devices. Many courses may function well on desktops but break down on tablets or smartphones, especially when it comes to interactive elements like drag-and-drop activities or quizzes.
Solution: Make cross-device and cross-browser testing a priority, ensuring that the course works seamlessly on various devices and browsers before launch.
2. Skipping Accessibility Testing
Another common oversight is neglecting accessibility testing. If your course isn’t accessible to users with disabilities, you could face legal challenges and miss out on engaging a significant portion of your audience.
Solution: Incorporate accessibility testing into your QA process. Use tools like WAVE or Axe to help identify accessibility issues, and make sure all media and interactions comply with WCAG guidelines.
3. Ignoring Learner Feedback During UAT
Many teams skip or rush through user acceptance testing, missing critical feedback from real learners. This can result in the final course containing usability or content issues that could have been fixed early.
Solution: Use a pilot group of learners to gather valuable feedback. Focus on user experience, engagement, and clarity of instructions. Adjust the course based on this feedback before the full rollout.
4. Rushing the Review Process
Under tight deadlines, teams often rush through the content review phase, leading to inaccuracies in the final product. Missing grammar errors, outdated information, or poorly phrased instructions can confuse learners and undermine credibility.
Solution: Allocate sufficient time for content reviews by SMEs, instructional designers, and writers. Prioritise content accuracy and consistency.
5. Neglecting Functional Testing for Interactions
Interactive elements are a key feature of many e-learning courses, but these features often malfunction if not properly tested. Skipping functional testing can lead to broken links, non-responsive buttons, or incorrect feedback in quizzes.
Solution: Ensure that interactive elements, especially quizzes and scenarios, are fully functional before launch. Test every button, link, and trigger to avoid learner frustration.
Best Practices for Successful E-Learning Review and Testing
To avoid common errors and ensure that your e-learning course meets the highest standards of quality, here are some best practices:
1. Establish a Review and Testing Checklist
Use a comprehensive checklist that outlines every aspect of your course that needs to be reviewed and tested, from content accuracy to technical functionality.
2. Use Dedicated QA Testers
Whenever possible, use dedicated QA testers who specialise in identifying technical and usability issues. Their attention to detail can catch problems that other team members might overlook.
3. Conduct Iterative Testing
Review and test your course iteratively throughout the development process, not just at the end. This allows for ongoing improvements and reduces the likelihood of major issues surfacing right before the launch.
4. Involve Multiple Stakeholders
Include stakeholders from different areas—SMEs, developers, instructional designers, learners, and compliance officers—to ensure that the course meets the needs of all users and passes any legal or compliance requirements.
Conclusion
Reviewing and testing an e-learning course is not just a formality—it’s an essential step in delivering a high-quality, engaging learning experience that meets the needs of your business and learners. And brings change.