The past nine months or so have been taken up with two things. One was deeply personal and quite traumatic, so we won’t discuss it here.
The other was moving Learning Platforms.
We inherited a big industry-standard learning platform that had all sorts of interesting functions and features that we never worked out how to use, even after several weeks of very patient support from a customer success manager. The problem was, we just wanted it to do the basics:
- Host digital learning
- Host a timetable of classroom courses
- Allow learners to book said classroom courses
- Ensure learners could see the learning relevant to them
- Report on learner engagement for all of the above
As an LXD, I wanted to be able to group the learning assets into interesting topic-based learning pathways, and create curated programmes of skills-based learning.
So we started looking for something that would do all the above and give us some ideas on how we could make the learning experience better for our learners. We had a long list of around six platforms, which we whittled down to two main contenders. In the end the platform we chose won by a whisker because the reporting experience was slightly better.
But, here’s what we learned during the process.
Ask the audience
Ask learners how they expect a learning platform to help them become better in their role. Ask advisors/line managers what skills they want their people to learn. Then use that information to …
Think about the user. All the users.
The original RFP document was long, complex and repetitive. Some of the requirements contradicted each other and we as the buyers were pretty confused, so Lord alone knows what the vendors thought.
So we started again. We conducted some research among our user base and used the data to create a list of key requirements, articulated as user statements for different types of user persona, from learners to super admins. Each persona had at least five statements of what they must be able to do with the platform. For example, a learner’s user statements could be:
- I can use a search engine to find learning relevant to my role and requirements
- I can find a classroom-based course and book a place for a date that suits me
- I can find and start digital learning quickly and easily
- I can find structured learning programmes relevant to my role and development goals
- I can leave a digital learning lesson and pick up where I left off any time
A manager’s user statement might by all of the above, plus:
- I can view my team’s learning progress and identify skills gaps
- I can recommend learning to my team members…
…and so on.
We asked each company on our long list to tell us how they would meet each of these user requirements and, as an optional extra what else could they offer each category of user?
The responses were immensely useful and helped us to narrow down our choices to the two main contenders.
Think about the future
Learning platforms are for life (well, five years) and represent a significant investment by your organisation. That’s why you need to ensure that the platform’s roadmap for development aligns with your organisation’s learning and development strategy.
Keep the user in mind throughout the process
Throughout this process we kept our users at front and centre of any decision, constantly returning to our user personas and testing functions and features against what we knew users would need to do. Doing this helped us stay on track and informed our testing strategy as we moved forward with implementation.
Sarah Slade 