BY BRANDON HALL RESEARCH GROUP

Learning management systems are considered to be the cornerstone of most elearning strategies. These systems provide a great way to deliver, track and manage training. Before buying a solution, much homework must be done. Should your organization consider an LCMS or an LMS? How do solutions compare? What resources are available to you to get to the short list? Luckily, many professionals and LMS companies have developed tools, reference guides and online resources to expedite the LMS selection process.

LMS VS. LCMS
—One Letter Away from Each Other as Acronyms, but Miles Apart in Practice

Learning management systems (LMS) and learning content management systems (LCMS) really have two very different functions. It’s unfortunate that both have such similar names and a shared acronym, which only serves to confuse e-learning buyers even more.

The primary objective of a learning management system is to manage learners, keeping track of their progress and performance across all types of training activities. By contrast, a learning content management system manages content or learning objects that are served up to the right learner at the right time.

Understanding the difference can be very confusing because most of the LCMS systems also have built-in LMS functionality. In fact, 74 percent of the systems in Brandon Hall’s LCMS research include LMS functionality as part of their system. Many of these LCMSs have also performed interoperability tests with leading LMS products.

Besides the embedded learning management system functionality, there can also be significant overlap between LCMS and LMS capabilities and purpose. The following chart is based on what we’ve observed by analyzing both LMS and LCMS products. While some products have functionality that crosses the boundaries, we found most systems generally focused on their own domain as the chart above illustrates.

MORE ABOUT LCMS PRODUCTS
A learning content management system is an environment where multiple developers can create, store, reuse, manage, and deliver learning content from a central object repository. An LCMS will generally have a majority of the characteristics noted below. You can use this checklist to determine if a software application could be called a learning content management system. The primary differentiator to determine if a product is an LCMS is if it offers reusability of learning content and is generally constructed using a learning object model.

LCMS COMMON CHARACTERISTICS CHECKLIST
Based on a learning object model.
Content is reusable across courses, curricula, or across the entire enterprise.
Content is not tightly bound to a specific template and can be re-deployed in a variety of formats, such as elearning, CD-ROM, print-based learning, Palm, EPSS, etc.
Navigational controls are not hard coded at the content (or page) level.
There is a complete separation of content and presentation logic.
Content is stored in a central database repository.
Content can be represented as XML or is stored as XML.
Content can be tagged for advanced searchability (both at the media and the topic level).
Pre-tests and post-tests can be automatically aggregated from test questions written for the primary instruction. In addition, the system can deliver the test and prescribe learning based on performance.
The system manages the development process by providing some level of workflow tools to manage a multideveloper, team environment.
Version controls and archiving capabilities to store previous versions of content.
Advanced searching capabilities across all objects in the repository.
Interoperability with third-party learning management systems.
Includes a delivery engine for serving up content, automatically adapting to user or group profiles, adding navigation controls, collaboration tools, utilities, and look and feel (skins).

WHY COMPANIES SOMETIMES BUILD THEIR OWN LMS OR LCMS
Because of the high, enterprise-level pricing of many LMS solutions, many companies choose to build their own LMS from scratch rather than purchase a system. In fact, the use of proprietary systems is still number one in market share when compared with even the most popular LMS solutions. Dismayed by the high cost of systems, your organization may be considering the same strategy.

On average, it will take between $200,000 to $500,000 and about 18 months to build an LMS with moderate functionality. For some very large organizations, that may be a cost savings over purchasing a commercial solution. However, what people seem to forget is that it also requires full-time staff who might be better assigned to items more aligned with company objectives. So, the cost may actually be higher than expected.

Some companies build their own LMS because they need only a fraction of the functionality of commercial systems. Whereas organizations looking to buy an LMS often succumb to feature scope creep, organizations that build their own LMSs tend to remain focused on key functionalities. The cost of features is much more apparent when developing an in-house solution and dealing directly with the system designer and a programming team. Before writing a single line of programming code, the organization has prioritized and focused on its most critical needs.

There’s an important lesson to be learned from organizations that build their own LMS: If we, as potential LMS buyers, learn how to prioritize our needs, we’d be on the right track for choosing the most appropriate low-cost solution.We’d also probably end up with an LMS with more functionality than we’d ever use.

THE SMARTEST WAY TO FIND LMS INFORMATION
If you need comprehensive, up-to-date, indepth information about learning management systems, resources are available. A number of consultancy groups serving the e-learning market provide a wide range of services to help you achieve your goals.

Consult the Professionals with Expertise on LMSs Consultancy service professionals work with global organizations to help them find LMS solutions – on-site or on the phone. Assure your organization gets the best possible outcome for your organization and purchase decision with a professional service.

Conduct LMS Proposal Evaluation & Recommendation Have an objective, independent, thirdparty review your proposal for any enterprise e-learning initiative. Reviewers with precious experience evaluating hundreds of similar proposals are readily available.

Create Use Case/ Evaluation Tool A myopic focus on features alone doesn’t ensure you will pick a system that meshes with your internal processes or be userfriendly. Preparing use cases and describing unique scenarios, workflow, or “a day in the life” of a user can help you provide a perfect match when selecting an LMS.

Leverage Existing RFP Tools & Writing Services For all budgets, resources exist for RFP templates and custom writing services. (See Elearning! Magazine Fall 2006: How to Write an RFP) Companies offering LMS hosted services provide full selection check lists and RFP templates for free. Consultancy services have written RFPs for projects ranging for $50,000 to $5 million. If you need help setting the proper scope for the project and determining what questions to ask on best practices, contact an e-learning consulting group that has databases of hundreds of RFPs for similar projects to use as guidelines and templates for you. (See sidebar)

Host Informative On-site LMS Review and Evaluation There is nothing like seeing an actual system in action.What you need is an applesto- apples comparison of the technology. By creating an assignment of specific tasks to complete during the demonstration, you can achieve this. It is vital that the system you select addresses your company’s specific needs and fits within your process and infrastructure.

LMS RESOURCES
Be prepared. You will not successfully find a learning management system with numerous or unusual combinations of features. Neither can your RFP produce a list of affordable systems if you have asked for too many features or have asked for combinations of uncommon features. For instance, if your organization is looking for an LMS to run on your Linux server that supports the Mandarin Chinese language and tracks e-learning content on mobile devices, you’re out of luck. You’ll need to work with an LMS vendor to custom build at least some of the features you require. Although systems have many common functions, they also have their own areas of strength and innovative technologies. After identifying the needs of your organization, you can access a number of available resources to guide your way to the right solution.

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Brandon Hall Research was founded by Brandon Hall, Ph.D., a leading independent expert in e-learning. He helps organizations make the right decisions about technology through his writing, advising, and presenting. For additional resources to help you select the proper LMS/LCMS, please visit: www.brandon-hall.com

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