CEPD · Module 3 — Content-layout mastery

Development-ready storyboards

Fidelity ladder, written vs visual, screen fields, SME review pack, and two-cycle scope control — then layout rationale for QC.

About 24 min

Practice in the lesson player

Sorting, matching, quizzes, and the module gate stay behind a free account so scored answers are not public. The teaching notes below are the same cited curriculum.

What this lesson covers

  1. 01

    A storyboard is a production contract

    Authors do not “decorate a script” in Studio. A development-ready storyboard tells builders what to build, SMEs what to approve, and QC what to reject — screen by screen. If a row cannot be built without asking you three clarifying questions, it is still an outline, not a storyboard.

  2. 02

    Fidelity ladder — climb, then build

    1 · Outline: Actions, evidence, and sequence only. No chrome, no copy polish.

    2 · Written storyboard: Every screen: on-screen text, narrator (if any), interaction, feedback, and next logic.

    3 · Visual storyboard: Wire or layout sketch when spatial layout, RTL, or avatar blocking matters.

    4 · Studio build: Build only after SME sign-off on the written (or visual) pack — not mid-flight edits in the tool.

  3. 03

    Written vs visual storyboard

    Written is enough when: Text + quiz / process / sort with clear fields. · SME needs to approve wording and preferred paths. · Builders already know the Studio pattern library.

    Add visual when: Labeled graphic, hotspot, or complex RTL chrome. · Avatar / dialogue blocking must be seen to be judged. · Stakeholders keep rejecting “how it will look.”

  4. 04

    Screen fields — ready for Studio

    Field | Must answer

    Screen ID + layout | Which Studio pattern, and why for this action?

    On-screen copy (EN/AR) | Final learner-facing strings — not “TBD bullets.”

    Interaction + correct / preferred path | What the learner does; what counts as success.

    Feedback (right / wrong / mentor) | Names the gap; no sarcasm; next step clear.

    Media + a11y notes | Alt text intent, captions, focus order, RTL flips.

    Assets / owner | Who supplies image, VO, or legal cite — and by when.

  5. 05

    SME review pack — flip each card

    Do not send SMEs a raw Studio file. Send a review pack they can annotate in one sitting.

    Goal + observable actions — One page: business metric and the 3–5 actions this module rehearses.

    Storyboard rows (written) — Screen fields filled; preferred path highlighted; open questions listed separately.

    Assessment map excerpt — Which screens produce evidence for the gate — so SMEs do not “add a quiz” at random.

    Review rules (two cycles) — Cycle 1: accuracy & preferred paths. Cycle 2: wording only. New topics = change request, not a third cycle.

  6. 06

    Two-cycle scope control

    Unlimited SME revisions kill SAM. Contract two review cycles before build: (1) facts and preferred paths, (2) wording polish. Anything that adds screens, new objectives, or new branches after cycle 2 is a scoped change request — not “one more pass.” Production directors protect the ladder; they do not open Studio early to “save time.”

  7. 07

    Variety is not a KPI

    Using every Studio format in one module is not quality. QC asks: for each screen, what job does this layout do for the observable action? If the answer is “visual interest,” cut it. Unused formats stay unused.