February 2016

US Department of Justice

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

 Fact Sheet www.cops.usdoj.gov

The ADDIE Model of 

Instructional Design Fact Sheet

The ADDIE model is a process traditionally used 

by instructional designers and training developers. 

The five phases—Analysis, Design, Development, 

Implementation, and Evaluation—represent a dynamic, 

flexible guideline for building effective training and 

performance support tools. 

In the ADDIE model, each step has an outcome that 

feeds into the subsequent step.

Analysis Phase

The first stage of the ADDIE model is the analysis 

phase. In this phase, the instructional goals and 

objectives are established, and the learning environment 

and learner’s existing knowledge and skills are identified. 

Incorporated in this phase are the needs assessment, 

the course outline, and the analysis of delivery methods 

most appropriate to learning. The following questions 

are addressed during the analysis phase:

 Who is the audience, and what are

their characteristics?

 What is the behavioral outcome?

 What types of learning constraints exist?

 What are the delivery options?

 What is the timeline for project completion?

Design Phase

This stage of the ADDIE model focuses on creating 

the blueprint for the instructional experience—that 

is, creating the structure and content of the learning 

materials, the learning assessment process, and the 

resources and activities that will be used to attain and 

complement the learning outcomes. The following are 

some of the steps used during the design phase to create 

the curriculum:

 Documentation of the project’s instructional,

visual, and technical design strategy

 Application of instructional strategies according

to the intended outcomes

 Prototype creation

 Exercise creation

 Graphic design

Development Phase

The development phase focuses on how the plans that 

were created in the design phase become a reality. This 

phase addresses how the instructional materials will 

be used to support learning and engage students in 

innovative and productive ways. During this phase, the 

curriculum is reviewed and revised according to any 

feedback given.

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The ADDIE Model of Instructional Design Fact Sheet

Implementation Phase

During the implementation phase, the procedure for 

training the facilitators is developed and delivered, and the 

procedure for training the participants is refined. This is 

also the phase where the project manager ensures that the 

supplemental resources (books, hands-on equipment, tools, 

CD-ROMs, and software) are in place and that the learning 

application or website is functional, available, and ready for 

use. In this stage, the course is also tested and deployed to 

determine whether the components function as designed 

within the identified environment. This phase validates the 

implementation and identifies any anomalies prior to full 

course deployment.

Evaluation Phase

The evaluation phase determines how students feel about 

the course experience, whether goals were achieved, whether 

the transfer of learning took place, and any long-term 

outcomes. This phase also identifies the gaps in student 

performance that need to be addressed. Two levels of 

evaluation may be conducted:

Level 1—Reactions. Learners provide reactions and 

comments to the course, usually in the form of a response to 

a questionnaire.

Level 2—Learning. Assessments of content retention, 

application, and institutionalization.