Anatomy of a scenario
diagramContext → tension → decision point → plausible options → consequence.
- Use real names, real pressure, real ambiguity
- Every distractor must be tempting to someone
- Show consequences, don't grade
Journey dashboard
Day 33 / 60Week 4 · Instructional Design ProcessLesson
Scenario writing
Learning goal
Write a realistic decision scenario with consequence-based feedback.
Estimated time
30 minutes · self-paced
Warm-up
What makes a scenario feel fake?
Main lesson
Mining the SME
Ask 'tell me about the last time this went wrong'. Their war stories are your scenarios.
Mini vs branching
exampleMini-scenarios (one decision) deliver most of the value at a fraction of the cost. Branch only where the path genuinely matters.
Examples from practice
- — A refund scenario where the 'nice' option breaks policy.
Interactive quiz
Reflection
Which real workplace mistake would make a great scenario?
Daily challenge
Write one mini-scenario with three options and consequence feedback for each.
Portfolio task
Add the scenario to Project 4.
AI design tools
Ten assistants for this lesson
AI Mentor
Instructional design questions only
Hi! I'm your ID Mentor. Ask me anything about scenario writing — or instructional design in general.