{"id":123454,"date":"2026-10-28T13:03:57","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T09:03:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ispringsolutions.com\/blog\/?p=123454"},"modified":"2026-10-28T13:46:49","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T09:46:49","slug":"qibu-ri-with-ispring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ispringsolutions.com\/blog\/qibu-ri-with-ispring","title":{"rendered":"Before you build the course, find the real problem: how Qibu Ri designs learning that works"},"content":{"rendered":"

A course can be engaging, interactive, and beautifully designed, and still fail to solve the problem it was created for.<\/span><\/p>\n

For freelance instructional designer and eLearning developer <\/span>Qibu Ri<\/strong><\/a>, effective learning design starts with two questions: What do learners actually need to do differently, and what’s getting in the way?<\/span><\/p>\n

Qibu works on workplace training, language learning, and customer education projects, often taking them from needs analysis and content structuring through instructional design, development, and evaluation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her approach earned her the <\/span>iSpring Team Choice Award<\/strong> in the <\/span>2026 iSpring Course Creation Contest: Shine On, Creator!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Her process starts with the problem.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Effective instructional design starts with understanding what learners actually need to do differently.”<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Qibu<\/p>\n
\n

Qibu Ri<\/span>,<\/span>
Instructional designer, Freelancer<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

It can be tempting to start a learning project by thinking about the course itself: What should the modules look like? Which activities should be included? How can we make the experience more engaging?<\/span><\/p>\n

Qibu starts earlier.<\/span><\/p>\n

“It is easy to focus on creating an engaging course, but effective instructional design starts with understanding what learners actually need to do differently after the training.”<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Qibu’s first task is to identify what is actually causing the problem. Sometimes the answer is obvious. Other times, the real obstacle is harder to spot.<\/span><\/p>\n

A wrong diagnosis can send the rest of the project in the wrong direction, from the learning objectives to the curriculum itself. <\/span><\/p>\n

“If misjudgments are made in the early stages, the subsequent setting of learning objectives and the direction of curriculum development will be distorted or even render such efforts ineffective.”<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Qibu doesn’t see root-cause analysis as a challenge. To her, <\/span>finding the core of the problem is simply one of the most important parts of instructional design<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Buy-in starts from the needs of the people who will actually use the learning.”<\/span><\/h2>\n

She builds buy-in by tying the learning to problems people already face at work or in everyday life.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The interest and motivation often come from when people feel that they can handle more difficult problems in their real life.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

That’s why Qibu uses scenarios, examples, and activities that reflect situations learners actually face.<\/span><\/p>\n

When learners recognize their own challenges in a course, the learning stops feeling abstract.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

When people can see the relevance of the training to their day-to-day work\/life challenges, they are much more likely to engage with it.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For Qibu, learner buy-in isn’t something to add after the course is built. It starts with designing something learners can see themselves using.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Maintaining a ‘sustained positive momentum’ is somewhat idealistic.”<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Qibu is realistic about the limits of learner engagement.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even when people want to learn or are required to complete training, other demands can quickly get in the way.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

When people are overwhelmed with tasks, they may lose interest in anything new—even if they want to complete it or are required to do so.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Qibu does not expect engagement to stay high on its own. Instead, she looks for ways to design around how attention and memory actually work.<\/span><\/p>\n

She points to ideas discussed by speakers at iSpring Days APAC 2026, including spaced learning and approaches based on the reticular activating system (RAS) to support attention and retention.<\/span><\/p>\n

She also uses feedback to see where the learning is working and where it needs adjustment.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Reviewing learner responses, stakeholder feedback, and assessment results helps identify what is working and what needs to be improved.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For Qibu, momentum is less about keeping enthusiasm permanently high and more about paying attention to what learners are telling you and continuously improving the experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most of the design happens before the course is built<\/span><\/h2>\n

From the outside, instructional design can look like a job that starts when the authoring tool opens.<\/span><\/p>\n

Qibu sees a much larger process behind the final course.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

A significant amount of time can go into understanding the audience, analyzing existing content, identifying learning gaps, structuring information, writing objectives, developing scenarios, creating storyboards, and reviewing content with subject-matter experts.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Only then does development in the authoring tool begin.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The actual development in tools such as Articulate Storyline or Rise is only one part of the process.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Much of the design comes down to decisions: what belongs in the course, what should be left out, how information should be sequenced, and where learners need opportunities to practice.<\/span><\/p>\n

In other words, the authoring tool may be where a course takes shape visually, but instructional design happens long before the first screen is built.<\/span><\/p>\n

“When I encounter obstacles, I first try to understand where the obstacle comes from.”<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When a learning project hits a roadblock, Qibu doesn’t immediately look for a workaround.<\/span><\/p>\n

She first asks what is causing it.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Once the root cause is clear, it becomes easier to tackle it.”<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The obstacle might be limited resources, conflicting stakeholder expectations, or a misunderstanding of the problem itself. That last possibility is especially important.<\/span><\/p>\n

If the underlying issue is not actually a training problem, adding more training will not solve it.<\/span><\/p>\n

“AI is most valuable when it complements instructional design expertise.”<\/span><\/h2>\n

Qibu uses AI to support her work, not replace her judgment as a designer.<\/span><\/p>\n

She uses it for tasks such as brainstorming, generating alternative scenarios, and reviewing or refining wording.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

I see AI primarily as a support tool rather than a replacement for an instructional designer.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

But she also sees an opportunity that goes beyond saving time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

AI is a powerful tool that can help compensate for some of our technical limitations and enable us to accomplish tasks that may previously have seemed beyond our capabilities.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Qibu still checks AI-generated content for accuracy, relevance, quality, and alignment with the learning objectives.<\/span><\/p>\n

The tool can expand what a designer can create. The designer still decides whether it should be created at all.<\/span><\/p>\n

For learning professionals thinking through similar questions about AI,<\/span> iSpring Learning Exchange<\/span><\/a> offers a place to hear how others are approaching the technology and discuss its role in learning.<\/span><\/p>\n

Building a toolkit without trying every tool<\/span><\/h2>\n

The learning technology landscape changes quickly, with new tools constantly appearing and existing ones evolving.<\/span><\/p>\n

For an instructional designer, keeping up with all of them can become a job in itself.<\/span><\/p>\n

Qibu takes a more selective approach.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

I tend to filter tools based on the scope of my work and create my own specific toolkit and workflow.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Rather than trying to keep up with every new tool, she chooses them based on what her projects actually require.<\/span><\/p>\n

That keeps her from spending time rebuilding basic elements or learning tools she may rarely use.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

This allows me to spend less time recreating basic elements and more time thinking about the instructional problem.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Her toolkit serves the work, not the other way around.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Change is, in fact, the norm of the world.”<\/span><\/h2>\n

Qibu came into instructional design somewhat unexpectedly. Since then, she has learned to treat change as part of the work rather than something to prepare for and eventually get past.<\/span><\/p>\n

She captures that idea with an unusual metaphor:<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Just like a small person walking to the right on the back of a giant elephant that is actually moving left, you cannot prevent it from moving in the direction it has chosen.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Qibu’s point is that some changes are simply bigger than any one person can control.<\/span><\/p>\n

What they can control, she believes, is how they respond: bringing their own judgment to the work while staying open to change.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

When there isn’t much we can do, it’s important to stay true to ourselves, bring our own understanding to things, and embrace change positively.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Find the problem before you build the solution<\/span><\/h2>\n

Qibu’s approach comes back to one fundamental question: What actually needs to change?<\/span><\/p>\n

Before choosing a tool, adding an interaction, or building a module, she asks what learners are struggling with, what is causing the problem, and whether training can actually solve it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her <\/span>iSpring Team Choice Award<\/strong> in the <\/span>2026 iSpring Course Creation Contest: Shine On, Creator!<\/strong> recognizes a learning-design philosophy built around that kind of intentionality.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes the most important work in instructional design happens before the course is built.<\/span><\/p>\n

It starts with figuring out what problem the course needs to solve in the first place.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A course can be engaging, interactive, and beautifully designed, and still fail to solve the problem it was created for.… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":123409,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"Qibu Ri: Learner-Focused Course Design with iSpring","_seopress_titles_desc":"Meet iSpring Team Choice Award winner Qibu Ri and see how she uses needs analysis, learner feedback, and AI to create relevant and effective training courses.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[230,118],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-123454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-case-studies-education","category-case-study"],"acf":[],"views":9,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ispringsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ispringsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ispringsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ispringsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/112"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ispringsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123454"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.ispringsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123454\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":123533,"href":"https:\/\/www.ispringsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123454\/revisions\/123533"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ispringsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ispringsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ispringsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ispringsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}