514 Case Study Panel: LMSs and Learning Platforms

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• 514 Case Study Panel LMSs and Learning
  Platforms
• - Vendor Selection
• February 27, 2007245 pm 345 pm
• Cindy Jaech Dries
• Childrens Hospital and Health System
• Milwaukee, WI

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Case Study Specifics
Healthcare organization 4,000
employees Multiple sites Limited number of
instructors Limited number of PCs and training
rooms
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Case Study Specifics
Mandatory training HIPAA, safety
education Training for existing staff and new
hires Education must be available to staff
24/7/365 Costly to have staff attend ILT Pre- and
post-tests to evaluate learning
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Why research?

• Would you buy a car without researching the
  options it provides?
• Features
• Cost
• How it feels from the drivers seat?
• You must do the same with an LMS!

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What are the business drivers?

• Training Goals
• Improve the speed and access of training?
• Provide improved learning opportunities?
• Reduce training costs?
• Meet compliance requirements?

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What are the business drivers?

• Business Goals
• Deliver a consistent message/product?
• Improve workforce productivity?
• Attract and retain skilled employees?
• Leverage unique SME expertise?

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7-Step Selection Process

• 1 Business Case and ROI
• 2 Requirements Document
• 3 Vendor Identification
• 4 Submit RFI (Request for Information)
• 5 Submit RFP (Request for Proposal)
• 6 Schedule Vendor Meetings
• 7 Vendor Selection

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1 Business Case and ROI

• How is the cost justified?
• Reduced travel
• Reduced administration overhead
• Better reporting
• Better management of skills and competencies
• Consolidation of multiple systems
• Reduced time off-the-job
• Improved performance
• Reduced turnover
• Increased revenue

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2 Requirements Document

• Who are the stakeholders? Involve them in
  creating document.
• Business owner/project sponsor
• Information Systems (IS)
• Training department(s)
• Human Resources
• How will the LMS be used (use cases)?
• Are there different use cases for different
  roles?

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2 Requirements Document

• What are common mistakes to avoid?
• Do not include features you do not need.
• Do include all reporting needs.
• Do not overlook scalability.
• Identify short-term and long-term goals.
• Involve IT early to identify technology
  requirements.
• Verify tools/content integrate.
• Focus on value, not price.

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2 Requirements Document

• Document Requirements
• Document each requirement.
• Assign a priority.
• For each potential vendor, indicate if the LMS
  can meet the requirement.

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3 Vendor Identification

• Identify 7-10 Vendors
• Research Various Sources of Information
• Industry analysis
• Conferences
• Colleagues
• Local professional groups
• Other organizations using an LMS

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3 Vendor Identification

• For each vendor, identify
• Vendor stability of years in business
• Vendor scalability grow with your company
• Vendors niche (i.e. corporate, academic)
• Customer base of customers
• Average customer size
• References (ask about challenges)
• Information on past full-scale implementations

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4 Submit RFI

• Purpose reduce vendor choices to 2-3
• (shortened version of RFP to narrow scope search)
• Include most important RFP requirements
• Request additional information
• of active customers
• Product release history
• Customer profile
• Price range
• Submit RFI to 5-10 vendors

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5 Submit RFP

• Purpose obtain proposals from 2-3 vendors
• Review RFI responses to narrow selection
• Submit RFP to chosen vendors within budget
• Include detailed requirements
• Prioritize requirements based on need

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6 Schedule Vendor Meetings

• Schedule on-site meetings
• Prepare agenda
• Review most important use cases
• Allow ½ day for each vendor
• Invite stakeholders

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7 Vendor Selection

• Decision Criteria General
• Does vendor meet business needs/objectives?
• Does vendor meet functional requirements?
• Are customer references satisfactory?
• What companies does vendor partner with?
• How long is implementation process?

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7 Vendor Selection

• Decision Criteria Support/System
• What level of technical support available?
• When is technical support available?
• Within what time zone does vendor exist?
• Platform independent?
• Browser independent?

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7 Vendor Selection

• Decision Criteria Content
• Support eLearning standards? SCORM? AICC?
• Technical specifications to enable and
  supporta standardized content model that enables
  various software and tools to talk to each other.
• Up-to-date purchased content available?

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7 Vendor Selection

• Decision Criteria Costs
• Pilot costs? Implementation costs?
• Annual maintenance/support fees?
• How often do upgrades occur? Cost?
• How many learners included? Cost of additional
  learners?
• Is there an additional cost for content?
• What costs associated with customizations?
  Turnaround?
• Any miscellaneous a la carte costs?

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7 Vendor Selection

• Decision Criteria Administrative Features
• ILT classroom management tool?
• Registration confirmation via email?
• Custom reporting capabilities?
• Export data?
• Assign multiple levels of admin access?

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7 Vendor Selection

• Decision Criteria Student Capabilities
• Enroll in ILT?
• Self-enroll in courses?
• Search course catalog?
• Print certificates of completion?
• Bookmark course and return later?
• Access to individual performance record?

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7 Vendor Selection

• Decision Criteria Development/Assessment
• Content authoring tool?
• Test building tool? Pre-test and post-tests?
• variety of question types (multiple choice,
  T/F, yes/no)
• able to set minimum passing score
• able to set frequency of retakes
• Assessment building tool?

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ON-SITE Hosting Options

• Advantages
• More control over system modifications
• More control over data mgmt
• More common with large systems
• May integrate better with other business apps

• Disadvantages
• Supply hardware, network, database, help desk
  (costly)
• Maintenance and support staffing is ongoing
• Deployment options can take longer than
  outsourcing
• May not be accessible outside company firewall

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VENDOR Hosting Options

• Advantages
• Single-vendor solution
• Quick deployment
• Better for smaller learner populations
• Content libraries

• Disadvantages
• Application designed to meet needs of many
  customers
• May not be able to customize
• Less control over system modifications, data mgmt

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Lessons Learned
Get everything in writing Verify what features
are customizations () Test deploying various
types of content Verify tests vs.
assessments/evaluations Verify vendor training
options Verify outcome if vendor sold
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Questions?