Implementing a Learning Management System (LMS) involves careful planning and execution. Successful implementation can result in establishing a sustainable learning platform for your organizations for years ahead. It can bring in huge cost savings with multi fold Return On Investment (ROI) to your organization. On the other hand bad planning or unsuccessful implementation can incur high cost of implementation with re-works.
Successful implementation of Learning Management System greatly depends on identifying your organization's current needs and future growth plans. It starts with listing down clear requirements for your organization’s Learning needs and identifying core team members for evaluation and execution. Whether you are planning to launch a new LMS or migrating from an existing LMS system, there are certain key actions that increases the chances of implementing your LMS successfully.
Here are some key tips for successful LMS implementation from my own experience of helping institutes launch their online Learning apps through Learnyst.
1. List Down Key Requirements
Now that you have made a decision to have a LMS for your organization, the next major and most important task is to list down the key requirements and needs of your organization. To list this you will have to consider your organization's goal, current pain points, business opportunity & ROI. Some of the common high level requirements could be: content security, branded mobile apps, assessment engine, course certificates, SSO, learner analytics, facility to teach online, sell courses online, payment gateway, and integration with third party tools. This step forms the foundation and will be a major contributing factor for having a resourceful LMS for your organization.
2. Identify Key Resources And Core Implementation Team
Next important action after finalizing on requirements is to identify key resources and core team for LMS evaluation and implementation. Since organization requirement is finalized, identifying suitable LMS products and evaluation should not take much time. Most of the LMSs provide free trial which should suffice for evaluation.
3. Finalize On Content Types To Be Hosted On The LMS
Before evaluating Learning Management Systems, it is the responsibility of your core team to finalize on content types that will be hosted on the LMS. It is advisable to have sample course content and assessment module ready so that it can be upload & tested on LMS. Another important factor to consider during evaluation is content access across devices like web, mobiles & tablets.
4. Ease Of Data Upload / Learning Analytics
There are two important criteria to consider apart from fulfilling organizational requirements identified before. First criterion is ease of data upload, or data migration, and second, the learning analytics within LMS. It is important that your core team spends sufficient time in understanding LMS interfaces, vendor's support system, help centers, SLAs and other relevant aspects which are critical for managing the Learning Management System within the organization.
5. Plan For Data Upload And System Setup
Plan for data upload and system setup as it might take considerable time if you are launching for first time. Your core team at this point in time might have to pull in external team for assisting with data upload, both in terms of course content and learners' data. Communicating to all stakeholders about the launch, and onboarding learners to the new platform plays a crucial role for successful implementation.
6. Set Up A Support Framework
Post launch, setting up a support framework will be important to ensure smooth course access for your learners. I would recommend you to involve your LMS vendor as tier 2 or tier 3 support depending on your organization needs. This will help you provide better SLAs to your learners.
7. Plan For Online Marketing
Finally, if you are planning to sell courses online then you will have to plan for online marketing. This might require you to hire skilled resources or have dedicated team to plan, execute and refine online marketing campaigns on a continuous basis.
To summarize, LMS implementation starts with detailed requirement analysis, choosing the right product and finally engaging all stakeholder for successful implementation. Ultimately, LMS implementation can be termed successful if it meets your organizational needs and ROI.