Review and Test: the stage that really matters
Most e-learning projects don’t fall over at the design stage.
They fall over after launch.
When learners hit broken links.
When something works on a laptop but not a phone.
When assessments don’t reflect real work.
When confidence drops instead of capability rising.
And by that point, the damage is already done.
Review and testing isn’t a “final check”.
It’s the stage that decides whether learning actually delivers, or quietly undermines trust.
Why this stage brings the business back into the driver’s seat
By the time review and testing begins, a lot of work has already happened.
Design decisions have been made.
Content has been built.
Time and budget have been invested.
This is the moment where the business steps fully back into the process, not to drive development, but to sense-check reality.
Because this is where questions surface like:
Would this make sense to someone doing the job on a busy day?
Does this actually support the behaviour we want?
What happens if someone struggles or gets it wrong?
When review and testing is rushed or fragmented, those questions go unanswered.
What review and testing is really protecting you from
E-learning is deceptively complex.
It blends:
content accuracy
technical functionality
usability
accessibility
assessment logic
If one of those fails, learners notice immediately.
And once confidence is lost, it’s hard to regain.
Thorough review and testing helps you avoid:
❌ Training that looks right but behaves wrongly
Buttons that don’t work.
Feedback that misfires.
Scenarios that lead nowhere.
❌ Learning that excludes people unintentionally
Poor contrast.
No keyboard navigation.
Videos without captions.
Accessibility isn’t optional, and it’s easiest to fix before launch.
❌ Courses that frustrate instead of support
Unclear navigation.
Overloaded screens.
Assessments that test memory, not judgement.
Good design can be undone by poor usability.
The reviews that actually matter (from a business point of view)
You don’t need to memorise testing jargon.
You need to know who should check what and why.
Content review
Is the information accurate, current, and relevant to how the work is actually done?
Experience review
Can someone unfamiliar with the project move through it confidently without explanation?
Functional testing
Does everything work across devices, browsers, and real-world conditions?
Accessibility checks
Can everyone access and complete this learning?
User acceptance testing (UAT)
Do real people understand it, trust it, and feel more confident after completing it?
Skipping any of these increases risk, not just technical risk, but performance risk.
Where things most often go wrong
In organisations, review and testing fails when:
it’s treated as a formality
responsibility is unclear
feedback arrives too late
everyone assumes “someone else is checking that”
The result?
Last-minute fixes.
Compromises.
Or worse, going live with known issues.
Review and test is not about perfection
It’s about confidence.
Confidence that:
the learning matches the job
the experience supports the learner
the business can stand behind what’s been launched
When review and testing is done well, learning doesn’t just work, it earns trust.
Before you build, pause and align
If you’re investing in learning — or preparing to launch something important, review and testing shouldn’t be the first time you ask:
“Is this actually going to work?”
That question belongs much earlier.
This is exactly what my Define & Align work is designed to support.
It helps you:
clarify what success really looks like
define the behaviours that matter
align stakeholders before build begins
avoid costly rework and rushed testing later
Sometimes the biggest quality issue isn’t what’s built, it’s what was never agreed in the first place.
If you want learning that stands up to real-world use, Define & Align is the right starting point.