When approaching the implementation of a brand new Learning Management System (LMS), there are a wide variety of variables an organization should consider. Surprisingly, a successful implementation process begins before a new LMS is even procured. Below is a concise list of best practices:
1. Establish An LMS Team
When your organization decides it is time to undergo the procurement project of determining what new LMS may be perfect for your organization. It is best that you round up all of the potential training professionals and high-end users within the hypothetical system and obtain feedback as to what they would ideally wish to achieve. This team is a strong tool in working towards an ideal implementation and should be involved throughout the entirety of the go-live process.
2. Determine Your Requirements
Use your team’s previous experience in training to determine what is most important for your organization's unique needs. How do you want your users to interact with learning? What type of reporting features do you need to evaluate learning initiatives? Are there external integrations required to extend the full capabilities of the offering?
3. Define Roles Αnd Permissions
Once you have defined the general parameters of your search, it is imperative to establish just what users are going to be allowed to encounter within the application. As well as defining the roles that have the abilities for course development, and users that can administer the entirety of the accounts themselves and what limitations need to exist on them.
4. Procure Your System
At this point, you are ready to make the leap into an LMS, as you have all of the required information you need to make an informed decision. The scoping exercises you accomplished via steps 1-3 are imperative in shaping the ease of a new implementation going forward.
5. Prepare Your Content
Work with the implementation expert at the LMS provider of your selection and report your findings of the first 3 steps. That implementation expert will then establish a timeframe for the project scope, and work with other individuals within their company to conform the system to the organizational guideline. While this is going on, they may also provide the naming conventions and structure required for files to be properly imported into the new LMS. At this point, begin organizing the content to upload so it will be ready for import when requested.
6. Test
When everything is structured and organized as the organization would like within the LMS, and the content from the previous step has been loaded, reassemble the LMS team and test the application from every possible angle. Make sure the content is working as anticipated and that there are no outstanding issues with the structuring or requirements in which you have established.
7. Record Feedback
Have a meeting to follow-up with your internal testers and obtain overviews of their experience. Then report those findings to your LMS provider.
8. Tune, Test, Confirm
Once the LMS provider has interpreted your feedback and made the required changes, repeat the previous process. Keep repeating the process until the outcome matches what is desired for your organization.
9. Go-Live
Once you have approved the operation of your LMS, enjoy your new system as it is ready to launch!