5 key decisions when choosing an e-learning LMS

Follow our guide to the things you need to decide before buying an e-learning LMS.

There are so many choices when choosing an e-learning LMS — but there are some key decisions you can make that will help you find the best learning management system for your organisation.

Deciding what you and the organisation need from an LMS will help you make the right decision. Here are the five key considerations.

1. How much should I spend on an e-learning LMS?

Deciding how much to spend is perhaps the most important decision you have to make when buying an LMS. Even if this is ultimately set for you in the form of a departmental budget, it’s important to understand how much you need or would ideally spend to achieve the e-learning LMS you want.

This will be impacted by your requirements, including:

• User numbers
• Level of customisation
• Features and functionality
• Storage space
• Hosting arrangements

It’s also useful to build a business case for the ROI your LMS will deliver. Showing how your new platform will save time, money and resources might result in your management team approving the LMS with the higher price that will achieve the best returns.

2. What features and functionality do I need from an e-learning LMS?

The next step is to decide what you need your LMS to do. Are there any must-have features that are deal breakers when choosing a platform? To some extent, the features and functionality will be guided by your budget, but you still need to decide on some essentials and like-to-haves for your LMS.

This shouldn’t be a decision that you make alone. Engage your educators and learners through focus groups, A/B tests and simulations to build a picture of what they need from an LMS and how they expect a learning platform to work.

Also, second-guess your brief: do you really need that feature? Why? Could the same functionality or outcome be achieved in a better way? Our e-learning experts are always happy to have these conversations with you to help you make the best decision for your organisation.

3. How will users access our e-learning LMS?

‘Build it and they will come’ is not a strategy for a high-engagement learning platform. That means making some key decisions about how users will access your LMS. You need to think about how to achieve ease, automation and accessibility.

How will you get users up and running on your LMS, assigned to the right courses and following personalised learning pathways?

The best decision is to choose a good learning management system that streamlines all these processes for your organisation. That will usually entail:

• Syncing with your HR system to automate sign-ups and enrolment
• Choosing a platform that’s built to the highest standards of accessibility
• Incorporating single sign-on (SSO) to make it easier for users to access your LMS

4. Who will host our e-learning LMS?

Your LMS hosting infrastructure can play a significant role in the overall performance, cost and security of your platform. Self-hosting an LMS gives your organisation greater control over technology, security and costs. But it requires time, space and specialist knowledge.

Managing hosting requires a lower capital investment, as well as freeing up floor space and capacity within your IT team. It also gives you the peace of mind that you’re paying to have experts handle server monitoring, anti-virus protection, backups, maintenance and support.

The best decision for your organisation will probably depend on the level of relevant LMS hosting knowledge and availability within your IT team.

5. How big does our e-learning LMS need to scale?

Choosing an e-learning LMS means being able to look a few years ahead to predict your organisation’s future requirements. Will the LMS you choose today still be suitable in five years?

Deciding how your organisation is likely to change and grow will protect your investment and future-proof your LMS. Usually, this will involve buying an LMS with the scalability to grow with your organisation. That means you’re not wasting your budget on unused capacity in the short term but won’t need a completely new LMS if your requirements change.

Remember to explore the development roadmap for the LMS — is it following a similar path to what your organisation needs? Will the platform be designed and built sustainably or will complicated customisation have to be redone each time you upgrade?

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