Learning strategy
Working out what people actually need to do differently, and planning the shortest path to get them there.
- Needs analysis
- Capability gaps
- Learning paths
- Program planning
Senior Learning & Development · Hyderabad, India
Madhusudhan Reddy Kandimalla
I design learning that helps people do the work.
From business problem to learning solution — I partner with SMEs, design the experience, measure what changes, and keep improving how learning gets built and delivered.
- Instructional Design
- Learning Experience
- Process & Technical Training
- Learning Operations
- GenAI-Enabled Learning
- Experience
- A decade+in learning & development
- Learner reach
- 10,000+learners at Verizon
- Sectors
- 4sectors: telecom → healthcare
Madhu KandimallaVerizon · ex-Wells FargoHyderabad
About Madhu
“Most people don’t need more content. They need the right thing, at the moment they’re stuck.”
I’ve spent over a decade turning complicated things — regulatory rules, technical systems, new business processes — into learning that people can actually use on the job. I started in content quality, checking other people’s modules line by line, and that habit never left me: I still care about whether every screen earns its place.
Most of my work begins with an SME who knows far more than I do. My job is to ask the questions that get the knowledge out of their head and into a shape a new hire can follow: what goes wrong most often, what does “good” look like, what can be a job aid instead of a course. I’d rather ship a one-page checklist that people use than a forty-minute module they click through.
I balance the learner and the business by agreeing up front what should change — a completion rate, an assessment score, fewer support tickets — and then measuring it. I build dashboards in Power BI, read LMS data, and use what I find to decide what to fix next.
I use GenAI every week, mostly to get past the blank page faster: summarising SME material, drafting first-pass questions, repurposing one asset into three. Nothing goes to learners without a human and an SME checking it. That rule is why it has saved us time instead of creating rework.
TelecomVerizon
BankingWells Fargo
HealthcareTEKsystems clients
TechnologyTEKsystems · Accenture
Impact
Numbers I can stand behind.
Each figure comes from my résumé and is tied to the role where it happened. No rounding up.
0+
Learners supported
Enterprise learning portfolio I design and maintain for.
Verizon
0%
Compliance completion
Required training completed across the portfolio.
Verizon
0%
Less admin work
From automated reporting and tighter LMS operations.
Verizon
0%
Faster development
GenAI-assisted drafting, with human and SME review kept in place.
Verizon
0%
Engagement lift
After redesigning learning around real job tasks.
Verizon
0%
Higher assessment scores
Compliance and onboarding learning for 5,000+ professionals.
Wells Fargo
0+
Legacy courses migrated
Moved, cleaned up and re-published on Cornerstone OnDemand.
Wells Fargo
0%
Fewer helpdesk tickets
After job aids and technical training for healthcare clients.
TEKsystems
What makes me different
I don’t just build courses. I connect the chain.
Plenty of people can design a module. Fewer can follow a business need all the way through to the LMS, the data and the next improvement. Pick any link to see what I do there.
What I do
Seven things I’m hired to do well.
Instructional design
Structured, evidence-led design using ADDIE — from objectives and storyboards to assessments that test the job, not trivia.
- ADDIE
- Curriculum
- eLearning
- Blended
- Scenarios
- Assessment
Learning experience
Learner-first, accessible design that respects people’s time and gets them ready for the role.
- Usability
- Accessibility
- Performance support
- Role readiness
Process & technical training
Turning complex systems and procedures into steps people can follow under pressure.
- SOPs
- Job aids
- Technical learning
- Knowledge transfer
Learning operations
The unglamorous work that keeps a portfolio healthy: intake, priorities, quality gates and clean releases.
- Intake
- Prioritisation
- QA & UAT
- LMS publishing
- Governance
Learning analytics
Power BI dashboards and LMS data that tell stakeholders what’s working and tell me what to fix.
- Power BI
- KPI reporting
- Kirkpatrick
- Continuous improvement
GenAI-enabled learning
AI-assisted drafting, summarising, question writing and content repurposing — always with human review before anything ships.
- Prompt engineering
- Drafting
- Summarisation
- Repurposing
- Human-in-the-loop
Learning design studio
Try how I design — don’t just read about it.
Seven short, interactive samples of the formats I build. They are conceptual pieces written for this site, not copies of client work — so you can click around freely.
Branching scenario
Practice a judgement call in a safe place. Every choice gets honest feedback — including the “almost right” one.
Knowledge check that tests the job
A good question mirrors a real decision. Wrong options are built from the mistakes people actually make.
A colleague asks you to share a customer’s account details over chat “just this once” because the system is slow. What do you do first?
Storyboard frame
Before anything gets built, every screen is agreed on paper: what learners see, hear, do — and why.
Module 2 · Recognise the risk
Spot the three risks in this request.
Hotspot A · senderHotspot B · urgencyHotspot C · link
ObjectiveIdentify three warning signs in a suspicious request.
On screenRealistic email with three clickable hotspots.
Narration“Most risky requests look ordinary. Find what gives this one away.”
InteractionClick to reveal; all three needed to continue.
Dev noteAlt text on every hotspot. Keyboard-operable. Retry without penalty.
Blended learning journey
Learning isn’t an event. A typical onboarding path mixes formats and keeps going after the classroom.
01
Pre-work
Week 0 · self-paced
Short eLearning so classroom time goes on practice, not slides.
02
ILT / VILT
Week 1 · live
Facilitated scenarios, with a facilitator guide and timings.
03
Guided practice
Week 2 · sandbox
Real tasks in a safe system, checked against a rubric.
04
On the job
Weeks 3–4
Job aids and microlearning at the moment of need.
05
30-day check
Day 30
Manager observation and data review. What still trips people up?
Job aid / process guide
When a task is rare or high-stakes, a checklist beats memory. Tick the steps — this one works.
Publishing a course update2 min
Stop if: the course is mandatory and the due date changes — that needs owner approval first.
Why one pagePeople use job aids mid-task. If it scrolls, it doesn’t get read.
Why the “stop if”The most expensive mistakes are the rare ones. Put the exception where the eye lands.
Why verbs firstEvery step starts with an action, so people can scan rather than read.
3-min refresher · card 2/4
The one question to ask before escalating
“What has the customer already tried?” Asking this first saves a hand-off and a repeat call.
Microlearning
Small, mobile, and tied to one behaviour. Tap through the phone.
- 01One idea per card. If it needs two, it’s two cards.
- 02Under five minutes. Built for the gap between calls.
- 03Ends with an action. Learners should know what to do next shift.
- 04Spaced over time. Short bursts beat one long session.
Learner evaluation plan
I plan measurement before building, using Kirkpatrick’s four levels — so we know what “worked” means.
1Reaction
Was it relevant and usable? Short survey plus open comments.
2Learning
Can they do it? Scenario-based assessment, pre and post.
3Behaviour
Are they doing it at work? Manager checklist, QA samples, help-desk data.
4Results
Did the business metric move? Agreed with the stakeholder at kickoff.
Selected work
Six case studies, told honestly.
Each one separates my role, what I did, the tools, the method and the outcome. Company details are kept at a public-safe level — no internal names, data or screenshots.
My learning process
From the first SME call to the next improvement.
Nine stages, one loop. Step through it — each stage shows what I do, what comes out, and the quality gate before moving on.
Technology & AI
AI should accelerate learning — not replace learning judgement.
I’m an L&D professional who uses GenAI well, not an AI engineer. Here is the workflow behind the ~25% faster development at Verizon, and where the line sits.
- AI assists01
AI assist
Summarise SME material, draft outlines, first-pass questions and variants.
Gate: nothing leaves this step as final.
- Human02
My review
Rewrite for the audience, cut what’s wrong or generic, check against objectives.
Gate: objectives met?
- Human03
SME validation
The expert confirms accuracy, especially on regulatory or technical content.
Gate: SME sign-off.
- Human04
Quality check
QA checklist: accessibility, consistency, links, scoring, tone.
Gate: QA pass + UAT.
- Human05
Release
Publish to the LMS, confirm tracking, then watch the data.
Gate: tracking verified.
AIWhere AI helps
- Summarising long SME documents into a working outline
- Drafting first-pass assessment questions and distractors
- Repurposing one asset into a job aid, microlearning and a facilitator note
- Reusable prompts that keep tone and structure consistent across a team
HumanWhere judgement stays with people
- Deciding whether training is even the right answer
- Accuracy of regulatory and technical content — that’s the SME’s call
- Scenario design, tone, and what learners will find credible
- No confidential or customer data goes into public AI tools
Labels show who owns each step — AI or human — so the split doesn’t depend on colour.
Learning operations & analytics
Good learning also needs a good engine.
At Verizon, the work behind the courses — reporting, intake, quality and releases — is where a lot of the 40% admin saving came from.
- 01Intake & prioritisationOne front door for requests, triaged against business impact.
- 02Quality standards & review cadenceShared checklists and regular reviews across the design squad.
- 03UAT & LMS publishingTested in staging, tracked in Workday LMS, versioned.
- 04Reporting automationPower BI dashboards replacing manual spreadsheet pulls.
Portfolio healthIllustrative data
Completion94%▲ vs last qtr
Overdue3.1%▼ improving
Avg. time to publish9 days▼ faster
Completion by regionsample
Experience
A decade of learning work, one thread.
Quality first, then design, then the whole system around it.
-
Jul 2024 — PresentHyderabad
Verizon Data Services India
TelecomSenior Instructional Designer · L&D Squad Lead
- Design and maintain learning for a 10,000+ learner enterprise portfolio, working with capability leads and SMEs to turn business and technical requirements into learning.
- Run intake and prioritisation; set quality standards and the review cadence for the design squad; manage UAT and publishing in Workday LMS.
- Built Power BI dashboards and automated reporting, cutting admin work by 40%; portfolio holds 98% compliance completion.
- Introduced GenAI-assisted drafting with human and SME review — ~25% faster development — and a 35% lift in engagement.
-
Sep 2022 — Jun 2024Hyderabad
Wells Fargo International Solutions
BankingInstructional Designer
- Designed compliance and onboarding learning for 5,000+ banking professionals, working with SMEs on regulatory content.
- Migrated 60+ legacy courses to Cornerstone OnDemand, standardising QA and workflow along the way.
- Redesigned assessments and used Kirkpatrick evaluation — assessment scores rose 28%.
-
Sep 2021 — Sep 2022Hyderabad
TEKsystems
Healthcare · TechInstructional Design — healthcare & technology clients
- Built technical training, job aids and documentation standards with client SMEs — helpdesk tickets fell 22%.
-
Mar 2021 — Jul 2021Hyderabad
Accenture India
ConsultingLearning engagement (via Tekishub)
- Contributed to learning content for consulting engagements on a short-term assignment.
-
Sep 2018 — Feb 2021Hyderabad
Trivium Educational Services
EducationContent Quality Analyst
- Reviewed and improved 80+ learning modules; streamlined review steps that cut development time by 20%.
Tools
The kit I actually use.
Only tools I’ve used in my roles. Filter by what you’re hiring for.
- Articulate Rise 360Authoring
- Articulate Storyline 360Authoring
- HTML · CSS · JavaScriptCustom interactions
- Workday LMSLMS · Verizon
- Cornerstone OnDemandLMS · Wells Fargo
- SCORM · xAPIStandards
- Power BIDashboards · reporting
- GenAI assistantsDrafting · summarising
- Prompt engineeringReusable L&D prompts
- ADDIEDesign method
- KirkpatrickEvaluation
- QA & UATQuality gates
Education
B.Tech, Engineering
Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU), Hyderabad
An engineering foundation is a big part of why technical and process content doesn’t scare me.
Certifications
- Articulate Storyline & RiseAuthoring
- Workday LMS AdministrationLearning operations
- AI in L&D — Prompt EngineeringGenAI-enabled learning
- ADDIE / Instructional Systems DesignDesign methodology
Contact
Have a learning problem? Let’s talk.
Open to senior roles across instructional design, learning experience, learning operations and enablement. I usually reply within a day.
- Phone+91 84979 52035
- LinkedInMadhusudhan Kandimalla
- Websitewww.madhukandimalla.in
- Based inHyderabad, India · open to global teams