One of the most important development speed issues is the type of interactions to be used. You can very rapidly transfer a syllabus and lecture notes contained in a word processor file to the Web. However setting up a conferencing system and developing automatically scored online exercises and secure learner access to their course grades can take considerable time for the first courses developed. Typically several months are required to develop a one semester college course. Shorter workshops can be developed by a skilled team with excellent tools in a few weeks.
New Web authoring tools are likely to shorten the time or to improve quality and consistency.
While we are not specifically recommending these tools, they and others like them should be considered when you will be developing several courses or workshops. The goal here is to cut cost for equivalent or better learning. That is a very low figure in comparison to development of a new computer-based training program for business and professional use. Usability by learners must be factored into development costs, since learners who have very few skills and poor Web access will require much more support, and design sophistication for that support, than sophisticated users. Development of new courses varies with the application.