INSIDER

SyberWorks CEO Stress Needs Assessment Prior to LMS Selection

By Sarah Fraser

SyberWorks' chief executive, David Boggs, answers TechLearn Newsline’s questions on how to select and work with a learning management system (LMS) vendor.

Q: What should companies look for in a learning management system?

A: It’s always beneficial for organizations to figure out their requirements before evaluating platforms so they can start from a minimum standard in LMS functionality that they require.

Then evaluate the platform decision as you would most enterprise software decisions, as long-term investments understanding the total cost of ownership. This entails looking at how much the system will cost the organization (including maintenance, training, support, upgrades, etc.) over the system lifetime.

Also consider the long-term business strategy of the vendor company. There has been a lot of consolidation in the e-learning industry over the last 10 years and industry analysts say this is likely to continue. Companies that are venture-capital funded, and public companies, can have business drivers that lead them to buyouts or consolidations more readily.

Q: What are the primary challenges to LMS implementation and enterprise-wide adoption and how can companies meet those challenges (e.g., system migration, integration, governance, and change management)?

These are all important areas. There are many things a company can do to meet the challenges to ensure a smooth and productive implementation, but it all starts with a good needs assessment and communication with all the stakeholders—from platform selection, implementation, rollout, and continued follow up. Setting up a workable and realistic implementation plan that all stakeholders agree on and that works within each stakeholder’s job/department priorities is key to the success of an LMS implementation.

Q: Many LMS vendors are adding features and complementary offerings in areas like content development, content management, collaboration, virtual classroom, and competency management. How important should such features be in the purchase decision and why?

It all gets back to the initial needs assessment and then the total cost of ownership calculation. Sure, LMS vendors are adding lots of features and functionality. What is important is determining how much flexibility your company needs. One vendor may have a system with lots of add-on features and functionality. But how long it will take the vendor to integrate they system and get it running may be another thing entirely.

Q: What are the advantages of a hosted vs. in-house solution?

Hosting provides the benefits of outsourcing any product or service provides—it streamlines the implementation process; set up is quick, cost is less up front, you require no IT staff, and you can usually pay as you go. But not always. It’s important to look at the total cost of ownership and the business drivers associated with the acquisition of the system. In many cases, purchasing a license and installing it is a better solution long term. It depends on the business case.

Q: In what ways should a company work with a vendor to ensure successful implementation (e.g., to minimize complexity and length of the project)?

Companies should have an internal project leader or someone responsible for being the main point of contact with the vendor. It’s always good to have an implementation plan with milestones so you can assess progress and make changes along the way. More often than not, the successful implementations are those where companies have done their homework beforehand and communicated with all of the stakeholders and various external and internal audiences along the way.

http://www.syberworks.com

Sarah Fraser is Site Editor at www.TechLearnNewsline.com.