Learning Management Systems Selecting an LMS DevLearn - November 2007 Tony Karrer, Ph.D. CEO, TechEmpower, Inc. [email_address] http://eLearningTech.blogspot.com

Who’s Here? Have you gone through LMS Selection before? Where are you today? Considering a first LMS Starting Up Evaluating Implementing Living with an LMS Considering a new/different LMS

Have you gone through LMS Selection before?

Where are you today?

Considering a first LMS

Starting Up

Evaluating

Implementing

Living with an LMS

Considering a new/different LMS

Resources eLearning Technology Blog http://elearningtech.blogspot.com LMS Team Size and Time LMS RFP LMS Selection Presentation Reformulated LMS Selection Team and Stakeholders LMS Selection Process LMS - Satisfaction Features and Barriers

eLearning Technology Blog

http://elearningtech.blogspot.com

LMS Team Size and Time

LMS RFP

LMS Selection Presentation Reformulated

LMS Selection Team and Stakeholders

LMS Selection Process

LMS - Satisfaction Features and Barriers

Opening Question You are about to go through an LMS Selection Process, what should you expect? Name the Movie: “Get used to disappointment.”

You are about to go through an LMS Selection Process, what should you expect?

Name the Movie:

“Get used to disappointment.”

2000+ employees, 2000+ learners, corporate Source eLearningGuild Research - 2007 DISSATISFACTION AHEAD

2000+ employees, 2000+ learners, corporate

Source eLearningGuild Research - 2007

Dissatisfaction Rising Worse for Administrators Kathy Sierra’s DISSATISFACTION AHEAD

Dissatisfaction Rising

Worse for Administrators

LMS Selection Process Start Up Evaluation Implementation Life with an LMS

Start Up

Evaluation

Implementation

Life with an LMS

Start-Up Selection Participants Core Team Primary manager Future administrator(s) Project manager Consultant Selection Team IT Procurement / Legal Business Unit Representatives Functional Area Representatives Learner and Line Manager Representatives Additional Future LMS Administrators HR / OD Help Desk / Internal Support Stakeholders Senior Management HRIS owner

Core Team

Primary manager

Future administrator(s)

Project manager

Consultant

Selection Team

IT

Procurement / Legal

Business Unit Representatives

Functional Area Representatives

Learner and Line Manager Representatives

Additional Future LMS Administrators

HR / OD

Help Desk / Internal Support

Stakeholders

Senior Management

HRIS owner

Start-Up Form a core selection team and define stakeholders Define business and learning strategy Agree to process with key stakeholders Question: Companies with 2,000 – 10,000 - employees/learners How many people? How long?

Form a core selection team and define stakeholders

Define business and learning strategy

Agree to process with key stakeholders

Question:

Companies with 2,000 – 10,000 - employees/learners

How many people?

How long?

3 People 20 Months LONG HARD ROAD

3 People

20 Months

Evaluation Capture differentiating use cases Questions around common feature sets Interviews / expectation setting Drill down on non-standard items Conduct initial research, select initial vendors, make contact RFI? eLearningGuild, Brandon Hall or Bersin might help Prepare and send RFP Select finalists Demos Pilot or hands-on tests Negotiate Final selection

Capture differentiating use cases

Questions around common feature sets

Interviews / expectation setting

Drill down on non-standard items

Conduct initial research, select initial vendors, make contact

RFI?

eLearningGuild, Brandon Hall or Bersin might help

Prepare and send RFP

Select finalists

Demos

Pilot or hands-on tests

Negotiate

Final selection

Top Ten Common Mistakes # 10 - Not handling politics Favorites Incumbents Power plays # 9 – Confusing or shorting your process RFI vs. RFP Demo Hands-on test

# 10 - Not handling politics

Favorites

Incumbents

Power plays

# 9 – Confusing or shorting your process

RFI vs. RFP

Demo

Hands-on test

Top Ten Common Mistakes # 8 - Underestimating people required to operate an LMS. # 7 - Over stating how much LMS you need and/or missing the opportunity for a Starter LMS. # 6 - Confusing content authoring selection and LMS selection.

# 8 - Underestimating people required to operate an LMS.

# 7 - Over stating how much LMS you need and/or missing the opportunity for a Starter LMS.

# 6 - Confusing content authoring selection and LMS selection.

Top Ten Common Mistakes # 5 – Poor contract negotiations. # 4 - Confusing critical requirements as compared to requirements that are somewhere on the important - nice-to-have scale. Guesses at my Top 3?

# 5 – Poor contract negotiations.

# 4 - Confusing critical requirements as compared to requirements that are somewhere on the important - nice-to-have scale.

Guesses at my Top 3?

Top Ten Common Mistakes # 3 - Not having differentiating use cases. Not spending the time Not working with different constituents Missing opportunity to set expectations # 2 - Customization # 1 - Putting the wrong requirements in an RFP

# 3 - Not having differentiating use cases.

Not spending the time

Not working with different constituents

Missing opportunity to set expectations

# 2 - Customization

# 1 - Putting the wrong requirements in an RFP

Bad RFP Requirements Generic Requirements “Ability to create a training plan” “Supports a variety of learning formats” RFP Death March Requirements “Describe capabilities for managing course capacity and waitlists issues.” “Please describe how the application displays course information to the users.” “Describe administrative interface and usability.”

Generic Requirements

“Ability to create a training plan”

“Supports a variety of learning formats”

RFP Death March Requirements

“Describe capabilities for managing course capacity and waitlists issues.”

“Please describe how the application displays course information to the users.”

“Describe administrative interface and usability.”

Bad RFP Requirements Vague Requirements “Can customized course catalogs be defined and displayed to different sets of users?” Opinion Requirements “We require a solution that is personalized to the user, possesses a clean and easy-to-use interface, is easy to navigate, provides the ability to search for and find information, is menu driven and is intuitive.” “Have feature rich and flexible administration back-end control panel”

Vague Requirements

“Can customized course catalogs be defined and displayed to different sets of users?”

Opinion Requirements

“We require a solution that is personalized to the user, possesses a clean and easy-to-use interface, is easy to navigate, provides the ability to search for and find information, is menu driven and is intuitive.”

“Have feature rich and flexible administration back-end control panel”

Good RFP Requirments Does your LMS work with WebEx as a virtual classroom tool to: allow administrators to create virtual classroom sessions at a particular day/time that map onto a class in the LMS? allow entry of the date and time is done on one screen by the administrator? provide a link to the learner in an email notification that allows them to launch into the virtual classroom session? track attendance at the virtual classroom session into the LMS? Response columns Question/requirement Meets? Yes, No, Partial Explanation (optional)

Does your LMS work with WebEx as a virtual classroom tool to:

allow administrators to create virtual classroom sessions at a particular day/time that map onto a class in the LMS?

allow entry of the date and time is done on one screen by the administrator?

provide a link to the learner in an email notification that allows them to launch into the virtual classroom session?

track attendance at the virtual classroom session into the LMS?

Response columns

Question/requirement

Meets? Yes, No, Partial

Explanation (optional)

Learning Management Systems Selecting an LMS DevLearn - November 2007 Tony Karrer, Ph.D. CEO, TechEmpower, Inc. [email_address] http://eLearningTech.blogspot.com