A blank Storyline file does not help a new employee find the HR portal, identify a manager, or make the right choice when a customer asks for help. This storyline onboarding project example gives you a small, reusable build: a personalized first-day module with a role-based message, an interactive systems checklist, and a scored scenario.
The finished project contains one scene and seven slides. Keep the interactions focused. The goal is to create a polished prototype you can adapt for a department, location, or job function without rebuilding the logic.
Set Up The Storyline Onboarding Project Example
Open Articulate Storyline 360 and create a new project. Rename the first scene New Employee Orientation. In Story View, add these slides in order: Welcome, Choose Your Role, Meet Your Team, Set Up Your Tools, Customer Scenario, Knowledge Check, and Results.
Use a 16:9 slide size unless your organization requires another format. Before adding content, create a simple visual system in Slide Master View: a dark header, a light content area, and a progress label at the bottom. Add a Next button to the master, but do not add its trigger yet. You will decide slide by slide when learners can continue.
For this example, build content for two roles: Sales and Support. That is enough to demonstrate personalization without creating a maintenance problem. If your real onboarding content has six or more roles, consider separate scenes rather than cramming every role into one slide.
Create The Variables First
Go to Manage Project Variables and add three variables:
- LearnerName – Text, default value: blank
- EmployeeRole – Text, default value: blank
- ToolsComplete – True/False, default value: False
Creating variables first prevents a common production mistake: designing personalized text and then realizing the variable name changes halfway through the build.
On the Welcome slide, add a text-entry field with the variable set to LearnerName. Add a short prompt such as, “Enter the name you would like displayed in this module.” Include a Continue button. Create a trigger that jumps to the next slide when the user clicks Continue, but add a condition: LearnerName is not equal to blank. Add a layer called Name Required with a brief message, then show that layer if the learner clicks Continue while the variable is blank.
This small validation step makes the project feel intentional. It also ensures later slides do not display an empty name field.
Build Role-Based Content With Buttons And Layers
On the Choose Your Role slide, create two large buttons: Sales and Support. Use distinct icons, but do not rely on color alone to communicate the choice. Each button needs two triggers.
For the Sales button, adjust the variable EmployeeRole to `Sales` when the user clicks. Then jump to the Meet Your Team slide. Repeat the process for Support, changing the value to `Support`.
On the Meet Your Team slide, add the main message: “Welcome, %LearnerName%. Your first contacts will depend on your role.” Create two layers named Sales Team and Support Team. The Sales layer might introduce the sales manager, CRM support contact, and territory lead. The Support layer can introduce the support manager, knowledge base owner, and escalation contact.
Create a trigger on the base layer that shows the Sales Team layer when the timeline starts if EmployeeRole equals `Sales`. Create a second trigger for the Support Team layer. Add a Continue button to each layer that jumps to Set Up Your Tools.
Use this layer approach when most of the slide is shared and only the role-specific content changes. If every role requires different navigation, videos, and assessments, separate slides are easier to test and maintain.
Require Completion Of A Tools Checklist
The Set Up Your Tools slide is where many onboarding projects become passive. Instead of displaying a static list of systems, turn the list into a completion task.
Add four buttons labeled HR Portal, Email Signature, Team Chat, and Security Training. Give each button a custom selected state with a checkmark. Set each button to Selected when clicked. Add a prompt at the top: “Select each item after you know where to complete it.”
Add a Continue button with the initial state set to Disabled. Create a trigger that changes the Continue button state to Normal when the timeline starts, with four conditions: each of the four buttons must be in the Selected state. Storyline evaluates all conditions before enabling the button.
Then create a trigger that adjusts ToolsComplete to True when the learner clicks Continue. You may not need this variable later in a short prototype, but it becomes useful when a final completion slide needs to confirm that mandatory setup items were acknowledged.
Add A Decision Scenario, Not A Click-Next Screen
On the Customer Scenario slide, use a realistic first-week situation. For example: “A customer says their account shows an unexpected charge and asks you to fix it immediately.” Present three choices: promise a refund, collect account details and follow the escalation process, or transfer the customer without explanation.
Give each choice a corresponding feedback layer. The correct choice should explain the action, not merely say “Correct.” For example: “Collect the required details, confirm the customer’s preferred contact method, and submit the case through the approved escalation path. Do not promise an outcome before the account is reviewed.”
On the incorrect layers, explain the risk and provide a Try Again button that hides the layer. On the correct layer, add a Continue button that jumps to Knowledge Check. This structure lets learners practice the exact behavior you expect without turning the interaction into a guessing game.
Create The Knowledge Check And Results Slide
Insert a graded Multiple Choice question for the Knowledge Check. Ask a question that verifies a required action from the project, such as which step comes first when a customer reports an unexpected charge. Make the approved escalation process the correct answer.
Insert a Results Slide and select only this question for tracking. Set the passing score to 100 percent because the example contains one required question. On the Results Slide, customize the success message with `%LearnerName%` and add a Review Quiz button if learners need to revisit the question.
Before publishing, use Preview This Scene and test every path. Enter a name, choose Sales, complete the checklist in different orders, select an incorrect scenario response, and fail the question once. Then repeat the test as Support. Confirm that the role layer appears correctly, the Continue button stays disabled until all four tools are selected, and the results slide reports the right status.
A strong onboarding prototype earns trust when its details work. Once this version is stable, replace the example contacts, tools, and scenario with your organization’s approved information, then keep the same variables and trigger pattern for the next role-specific module.