Before Choosing a Learning Management System

With the popularity of available Learning Management System platform in the market, selecting a proper Learning Management System (LMS) becomes a more difficult decision to make, comparing to what we had experienced before. However, before taking action in selecting LMS platform, understanding Stakeholders' requirements should be realized, I mean, clearly realized.

Management Team: It is possible that the LMS project owners are surrounding with diverse voices within an enterprise environment, where "politically correct" tends to serve the top guideline. One senior director believes the learning content shall be "product-related" where in-and-out Product GUI familiarity keeps the pritorty role. With that, the exact product configuration and GUI/CLI set up should bear the main role in the content. This is a scenario case where your manager believes the target audience of this LMS is the engineers from the business entities who sell and promote your corporate products. If your product configuration/product portfolio is updated on a continuous basis, LMS is required to manage such dynamic content, on parallel processing.

At the same time, some corporate executives credit "Academy Theory," in each subject domain, as these executives believe this type of content, shown in the LMS, can distinguish one from the other. This is a common opinion being addressed, especially, if your LMS is open to general public, instead of only limiting to internal employees.

HR department: When deploying Corporate LMS Software, we need to ensure any of the learning record (or activity) aligns with an employee's profile. In some of the companies, individual employee's performance review is linking with the records shown in LMS. Timely updated learning record with clear/fair statements should justify its power being embedded within a Corporate LMS Software. 

Corporate IT Dept: LMS usually is another application that being hosted by corporate IT dept. The planned LMS system should also be able to mingle with current IT information structure, without causing unnecessary suffering to each party. In addition, what kind of the system alert mechanism LMS requires, should it (or should it not be) in the same IT policy, as other corporate business applications.

Trainers/Content Creators: What do these people (Trainers/Content Creators) recognize about this change, if we are migrating from one system to a new platform? How we are going to train them to keep abreast with what we call "new technology?" Should they take farewell, what would be a proper replacement strategy LMS project owner shall adapt?

Regulation Compliance: With the recognition of personal data protection, regulation compliance, such as "The General Data Protection Regulation (EU)" and "The Personal Data Protection Act," the LMS System Administrators need to be familiar with the regulation guidelines as well as manage those data with due diligence, as they should be.

System Administrator: If the situation deals with migrating from an existing LMS to a new LMS, then, the system implementations bear the responsibility to migrate existing data into new database platform. Example of this type of data include Learner's profile, learning records, certification status. course attending history, and many others). Two major concerns here: (a) any existing field will/will not be migrating to new system, and why is the decision being basing upon; and (b) how would be the users (learners) in the existing system being notified, and (c) what would be the proper remaining time period for the existing LMS to keep on line?

The writer of this blog once being requested to choose a new LMS platform. The instruction being received is to browse a specific web site, such as "Free LMS Software: What Are The Top Solutions For 2019/2018?" and pick up one LMS platform without any further point of considerations. Should you also have an opportunity to receive this type of inspirational assignment on life, what would you do to empower yourself?