Features

Published January 2007

Effective Business Requirements for the LMS

Pat Alvarado

A good learning management system (LMS) produces a practical environment in which learners can find the content they need, managers can develop their team to improve performance and the learning staff can evaluate training effectiveness. What good is the LMS if it does not meet the needs of all of these people? One of the key factors in finding the right LMS is matching it to business requirements, not the other way around. For this reason, among others, it becomes essential to document effective business requirements and use-case scenarios that describe exactly what is needed and can be included in a request for proposal (RFP).

The key term to consider here is "business." Business requirements are not system requirements - system requirements are very specific to how a system functions and although important, any system ultimately must be useful in reaching business goals or solving business problems.

In this case, the LMS must be useful to the business of training and development and the requirements created from an establishment of business needs. The basis for defining these requirements likely would be coming from a learning strategy.

The learning strategy defines the objectives of the business and the learning organization's alignment to those objectives. At the heart of the learning strategy is defining how the learning organization would achieve the objectives, in other words, the actions that need to be taken and the processes to be executed to accomplish the objectives.

Effective business requirements for an LMS are driven by a clearly articulated learning strategy that defines the processes the LMS can help manage. Defining requirements based on how the business manages learning provides a foundation for creating use-case scenarios that LMS vendors use to show that their product will meet specific business needs.

The Learning Strategy
A learning strategy describes the goals, processes and job roles of the business. The goals define the top priorities on which the business is focused. These goals will change as market conditions and other business factors drive them. Each organization within the business might have its own specific goals that are aligned to overall business goals. Processes are the sets of repeatable tasks executed to support the business in reaching its goals. The accumulation of the processes could represent the business model under which each organization functions. Job roles define the responsibilities and the daily functions that need to be done to execute specific components of the processes.

The focal point of the learning strategy is to describe the approach taken to educate, train and develop the people who occupy the job roles which execute the processes to attain the business goals. People are the foundation of the business, and an LMS can be useful in managing the complexity of improving performance in individuals to attain business goals.

1 2 3 Next Page »

blog comments powered by Disqus

Executive Search

ESI International Director, eContent Strategy
01/14/2010
The Director, eContent Strategy is responsible for providing ESI�s executive team with strategic-level direction to implement alternative blended learning delivery formats to our worldwide client base.

Senior Manager, Global Learning & Talent Development
11/19/2009
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (DTT) is an organization of member firms devoted to excellence in providing professional services and advice. We are focused on client service through a global strategy executed locally in nearly 150 countries.

Director, Leadership & Organizational Development Parkland Health & Hospital System
10/26/2009
Parkland Health & Hospital System (www.parklandhospital.com) located in Dallas, Texas has been voted one of "America's Best Hospitals" by U.S. News & World Report for 16 consecutive years and recently named one of the "Top 100 Hospitals to Work For" by Nursing Professionals Magazine.