I’d add a Capitalization section. Make it consistent throughout. For instance, are you capitalizing button names (on the buttons and in instructional references — all lowercase, all caps, title case)? What about certain terms (and if so, which ones)?

And then in the Colors section, I’d make note to be more aware of issues related to learners with loss of color perception and color deficiencies. Keep that in mind when choosing colors, and also when providing instruction (don’t tell the learner to select the red button, for instance — tell them to select the “Stop” button).

Is there background music? Do pop-ups make a sound? Do buttons make a sound when clicked? Is narration noted with a visual cue? Where on the screen will Closed Captioning be?

My team writes documentation, ILT materials, and elearning for technical applications, and we are rabid about standards. Not only do standards have to be maintained within a course or document, but also across all products and formats within the company.

When writing process-oriented content, language is an important standard.

- Component names: Do you call it a “dropdown menu” or a “list box”?

- How do you tell learners to access components? Do you tell them to choose a menu item or select it? Do you tell them to enter text into a field, or type it?

- Menu items: Do you say, “Click on the File menu and select Save”. Or do you say, “Click File > Save”?

When working across multiple formats, there are also differences to take into account. For example, image quality. Web-based images for elearning don’t need to be as high-quality (nor should they be) as those for print-based products. Yet for single-sourcing purposes, it is wise to create a print version and a web version of every image used.

These are a fraction of the decisions a development team has to make for development standards. Then there are formatting standards, application-specific standards, graphic standards, reference standards, metadata standards, and many many more.

Designers should also be aware, that while it is essential to maintain styles and standards, it is also of utmost importance to understand the sin of “absolutism”. Styles and standards provide the foundation for consistency within courseware, but there is always the exception to the rule. Never stifle creativity for the sake of “sticking to the rules”.