How to create branching scenarios in Confluence Cloud

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Say goodbye to one-size-fits-all training experiences. With branching scenarios, you can provide personalised content and give users a safe environment to learn the outcomes of their decisions.

Let’s explore more about branching scenarios, and how to create them in your Confluence instance.

What are branching scenarios?

Branching scenarios are interactive learning experiences that give users a series of decision points. Each choice influences the outcome of the scenario.

Users can role-play the effects of their decisions in a safe training space. Branching scenarios create simulation-based learning unique to almost any environment where decision-making or situation-management skills are required.

Branching scenarios are commonly used in e-learning, training simulations, and interactive fiction. 

The benefits of using branching scenarios

Whatever your training goals, you should definitely expect increased learner retention and engagement with your programme vs more static approaches to learning. Here are three key reasons to use branching scenarios:

• Practice real-life scenarios safely: Branching scenarios are often used in corporate settings, where they are increasingly employed for skills development, onboarding, and decision-making training. Branching can be used to model a sales scenario or how to engage with an angry customer.

• Increase user attention: Because users’ actions have an impact, they have to think harder about making the right choice. This means users are more likely to focus on the material, which in turn boosts learner retention.

• Improve critical thinking: Because the learning path is tailored to individuals, practical relevant knowledge can be gained without on-the-job experience (which is ideal for high-risk environments). Therefore, branching scenarios sharpen the critical thinking required for real-world situations.

How to create a branching scenario in Confluence

To start, you'll need the help of a third-party app to create branching scenarios in Confluence. In this guide, we’ll be using Guided Pathways for Confluence.

Step 1: Plan your branching scenario

Before you create your branching scenario, we suggest planning it first. Use a pen and paper or draft it on your computer to ensure you understand which steps link together, as well as all of the outcomes. Here’s a very basic plan we created using a Confluence whiteboard:

       

💡 Pro tip: For each scenario, we recommend adding more than one incorrect step. If the learner picks an incorrect step, they should receive feedback on the consequences, and then be offered a brand new question related to the previous scenario to check their understanding.

Step 2: Install Guided Pathways

With your planning done, it’s now time to move into Confluence. Guided Pathways for Confluence makes it possible to pull these individual pages into a branching, multi-step guide. You’ll be using this app in Step 4.

Step 3: Create your pages in Confluence

Go to your chosen Confluence space and select + Create > Page. Fill out your page with the relevant information, then click Publish. Do this for every step in your branching scenario.

Here’s an example page for our scenario:

       

💡 Pro tip: If you want to lay out your guide's steps first, you can add stand-in text to your pages for now and fill them out properly later.

Step 4: Pull your pages together with Guided Pathways for Confluence

Now you’ve created your pages, it’s time to pull them together.

1. Go to Apps > Guided Pathways to reach the guide homepage.

2. Click Create a guide.
   
   
   

3. On the Create a guide page, add your title, category, and description.

                   

4. Give your first step a title, then choose a Confluence page that will display for this step.

           

5. Click the + icon on your first step in the left-hand sidebar to add a new child page. This “child” will be one of the branching outcomes.    

 

6. Give this step a name and add its related page. Add text that will show on your first step’s button linking to this step.

7. Continue adding child steps to your parent page. You can even add child steps to the child pages to create more complex branching.

                                                                     

8. Once you’re done, click the Publish button in the top-right corner. That’s it!

Step 5: Share your branching scenario with your users!

Your branching scenario won’t be useful if nobody can find it. You can share a guide in two ways:

From the Guided Pathways app

1. On the Published Guides page, click the Share icon next to your guide.

2. Enter the names of the user(s) you'd like to share your guide with and click Share. You can even add a message!

                           

Via URL

Copy the URL of your guide from your browser, then share it on any channels you like or embed it in your employee handbook.

How would you use branching scenarios in Confluence? Share your ideas below! 👇