Review & Revise
New to QA? Review the course in layers instead of trying to catch everything at once.
A practical QA workflow for instructional designers who want to catch common course issues before sending a project to reviewers.
When you start your first instructional design role, QA can feel like one of those tasks you are expected to “just know.” You may be handed a course, asked to check it before review, and suddenly you are looking at content, buttons, audio, visuals, interactions, and accessibility all at once.
A QA workflow gives you a simple way to review the course without trying to catch everything in one pass. Instead of clicking through and hoping you notice the right issues, you move through the course in layers.
Start with a simple QA workflow
Before you send a course to reviewers, give yourself a repeatable way to check the experience.
A QA workflow does not need to be complicated. It just needs to help you slow down, look at the course from the learner’s point of view, and separate different types of issues so they are easier to catch and fix.
What this workflow helps you check
- Function: Do buttons, links, triggers, states, branching, and completion work?
- Content: Is the wording accurate, clear, and consistent?
- Learner flow: Does the learner know what to do next?
- Visual design: Does the course look intentional and consistent?
- Accessibility: Can learners access the content in more than one way?
The goal is not to make the course perfect before review. The goal is to make the course stable enough that reviewers can focus on the learning instead of basic repairs.
The easiest way to do that is to QA in layers.
QA in layers: stop trying to catch everything at once
A layered QA pass gives your brain one job at a time, which makes it easier to spot issues.
One of the biggest mistakes newer instructional designers make is trying to QA everything in one pass. They click through the course while checking content, visuals, buttons, grammar, accessibility, audio, and learner flow all at the same time.
That sounds efficient, but it usually creates more misses. Your attention keeps switching. You notice a typo, then forget to check the interaction. You fix spacing, then miss that the Continue button is disabled. You review the narration, then forget to test the incorrect feedback layer.
Quick rule: one pass = one focus
Do multiple lighter passes instead of one overloaded pass. Each pass should have a specific purpose: function, content, flow, visual design, or accessibility.
The layered QA workflow
Before you use the table, it helps to see how one issue can affect the whole review process.
Example: If a knowledge check button does not advance, that is not just a small technical issue. It may block completion, affect scoring, and prevent reviewers from seeing the full course. Fix that before asking reviewers to give feedback on the learning experience.
Use the table below as a practical guide. Move through the course one review pass at a time. For each pass, focus on what to check, what issues you may notice, and what to do next.
| Review pass | What to check | If you notice... | What to do next |
|---|---|---|---|
| Review 1: Function | Buttons, links, triggers, states, branching, scoring, completion, retries, and navigation. | A button does not work, a link goes to the wrong place, feedback does not appear, scoring seems off, or the learner gets stuck. | Fix before review. Then retest the affected screen and any connected screens. |
| Review 2: Content | Accuracy, grammar, terminology, labels, definitions, examples, and consistency across screens. | The wording is inaccurate, inconsistent, unclear, outdated, or different from approved terminology. | Fix if you know the answer. Flag for SME review if accuracy is uncertain. |
| Review 3: Learner Flow | Instructions, pacing, transitions, interaction cues, and whether the learner knows what to do next. | The learner may not know where to click, why an activity matters, or what happens after they make a choice. | Add or revise the instruction. Keep the cue short, clear, and action-focused. |
| Review 4: Visual Design | Alignment, spacing, hierarchy, button styles, colors, typography, image quality, and layout consistency. | The screen looks crowded, misaligned, inconsistent, hard to scan, or different from the rest of the course. | Fix the pattern if it appears across multiple screens. Do not only fix one instance. |
| Review 5: Accessibility | Keyboard navigation, focus order, alt text, captions, transcripts, contrast, readable text, and accessible instructions. | The course depends on color, audio, visuals, or mouse movement alone. | Add another way to access the information or complete the interaction. |
| Possible Enhancement | Ideas that may improve the course but are not required for the course to function or be reviewed. | The idea would be nice, but it is not needed for the course to work or for reviewers to evaluate the learning. | Log it separately. Do not let enhancements take over the QA pass. |
This approach gives each pass a clear purpose. It also helps you decide what must be fixed before review and what can be flagged, discussed, or saved for later.
Wrap-up
A strong QA pass does not mean the course is perfect. It means the course is stable enough for meaningful review. When the basic issues are already handled, reviewers can focus on what matters most: whether the learning is clear, accurate, useful, and aligned to the goal.
Start with a simple workflow, then review the course in layers. That one shift can make QA feel more manageable, especially when you are new to instructional design and still building confidence in what to check.