Planning a Course: Work Backwards From What They Can Do

The most common structural mistake in a first course is organising it around what the creator knows — usually in the order they learned it.

A course that works is organised around what the learner needs to be able to do, in the order they need it.

Start at the end

• Write down what someone can do after finishing — specific, observable capabilities.
• Be honest about scope. Three things done properly beats twelve things mentioned.
• Describe the person at the start — what they already know, what they have already tried.
• The gap between those two descriptions is your course. Everything outside it is optional.

The test: can you describe the outcome in one sentence a potential buyer would recognise as their own goal? If not, the course is unfocused, and the marketing will be hard for the same reason.

Build the map

• List everything needed to get from start to outcome. Do not sequence yet — just list.
• Mark each item as essential, helpful or interesting.
• Cut everything marked interesting. This is the hardest step and the one that most improves a course.
• Group what remains into sections of related material.
• Order the sections by dependency — what must be understood before what.

Sequencing that keeps people moving

• Deliver something usable early. A learner who produces a small result in the first session is far more likely to return.
• Put theory next to its application, not all at the front. Front-loaded theory is a reliable way to lose people.
• Increase difficulty gradually — a sudden spike is where learners quietly stop.
• Give each section a visible end so finishing one feels like an achievement.
• Put a milestone in the middle — the middle is the biggest drop-off point.
• Keep strong material near the end rather than saving only admin for last.

Lesson size

• One lesson, one idea. If you cannot summarise a lesson in a sentence, it is two lessons.
• Short enough to finish in one sitting — a lesson someone can complete gets completed.
• Split long topics rather than making one long video.
• State the time each lesson takes so people can fit it into a real gap in their day.

Deciding what to cut

Everything you know feels relevant. It is not:

• Cut anything that does not serve the stated outcome, however interesting.
• Cut background the learner does not need yet — you can offer it as optional material.
• Cut edge cases unless your audience will hit them.
• Move reference material out of lessons and into downloadable resources.
• A shorter course that gets finished is worth more than a comprehensive one that does not.

Test the plan before recording

This step saves more work than any other:

• Show the outline to two or three people in your target audience. Ask what they expected to see that is missing.
• Teach one section live to a small group before recording anything. You will find out immediately where people get confused.
• Check the sequence — ask someone to look for places where a lesson assumes something not yet covered.
• Fixing an outline takes an hour. Re-recording a section takes a week.

What to include beyond video

• Exercises — the part where learning actually happens.
• Worked examples showing the process, not just the result.
• Templates or checklists they will use afterwards. These are often what people value most.
• A summary per section for review.
• A place to ask questions, even if it is simply an email address.

Planning for updates

• Separate stable content from content that will date — put anything version-specific or tool-specific in its own lessons so you can update those alone.
• Avoid on-screen dates and references to current events in evergreen lessons.
• Keep your source files organised so re-recording one lesson does not mean rebuilding the set.
• Plan a review each year even if nothing obvious has changed.

One thing worth remembering

Every hour spent on the outline saves several in production, and outline problems are the ones learners feel most.

So before you record anything, answer one question honestly: if someone follows this plan exactly, will they be able to do the thing you promised?

FAQ